Dave Kingman Home Run Ball--???

[lorenw]

I recently bought this official Bobby Brown AL Ball at an estate auction along with authenticated Don Newcombe and Bobby Richardson balls. I did not know who had signed it, and frankly was confused by the "#399" under the signature, but since the lot of three went cheap, I bought 'em. After searching online, I realized this is Dave Kingman's autograph--the "Dav" and the "man" parts of the signature as well as the dot from the "i" to the far right match several examples I found, and it appears that the "K" section matches some older examples, but not quite those of more recent vintage. The signature is a bit faded due to age. The ball was clearly used; there are some "dirty" areas along with toning on the ball. So here is my question to experienced collectors--would the "#399" under the signature identify this ball as possibly the one Kingman hit for that home run? Research shows his #399 was hit when Kingman was with the A's on July 24, 1985 at Fenway where it "cleared the Green Monster" according to a website post; he hit it off of Oil Can Boyd. So the age of the ball is right (Bobby Brown), the League is right, it's clearly used, and anyone out in the street behind the wall could have retrieved the ball (as opposed to it landing in a bullpen, etc.). But I'd like to ask of anyone who is expert in Kingman items--would it make sense for him to have signed the ball in this manner from someone? Would there be another reason he wrote "#399"? He hit #400 on August 17, so there was about a three week window when he was at 399, but would he have signed any balls that way? Or does the #399 mean something entirely different?

I'd be really interested to hear from more experienced collectors, especially those really familiar with Kingman. I tried to contact several people listed on his (former) website, but the emails failed. Or, if anyone knows how I could contact Mr. Kingman directly, that would be great, as maybe he could comment, or--maybe he'd even like to have it, if it's an actual H.R. ball? Anyway; thanks for any thoughts/advice.........

[Zito75]

I recently bought this official Bobby Brown AL Ball at an estate auction along with authenticated Don Newcombe and Bobby Richardson balls. I did not know who had signed it, and frankly was confused by the "#399" under the signature, but since the lot of three went cheap, I bought 'em. After searching online, I realized this is Dave Kingman's autograph--the "Dav" and the "man" parts of the signature as well as the dot from the "i" to the far right match several examples I found, and it appears that the "K" section matches some older examples, but not quite those of more recent vintage. The signature is a bit faded due to age. The ball was clearly used; there are some "dirty" areas along with toning on the ball. So here is my question to experienced collectors--would the "#399" under the signature identify this ball as possibly the one Kingman hit for that home run? Research shows his #399 was hit when Kingman was with the A's on July 24, 1985 at Fenway where it "cleared the Green Monster" according to a website post; he hit it off of Oil Can Boyd. So the age of the ball is right (Bobby Brown), the League is right, it's clearly used, and anyone out in the street behind the wall could have retrieved the ball (as opposed to it landing in a bullpen, etc.). But I'd like to ask of anyone who is expert in Kingman items--would it make sense for him to have signed the ball in this manner from someone? Would there be another reason he wrote "#399"? He hit #400 on August 17, so there was about a three week window when he was at 399, but would he have signed any balls that way? Or does the #399 mean something entirely different?

I'd be really interested to hear from more experienced collectors, especially those really familiar with Kingman. I tried to contact several people listed on his (former) website, but the emails failed. Or, if anyone knows how I could contact Mr. Kingman directly, that would be great, as maybe he could comment, or--maybe he'd even like to have it, if it's an actual H.R. ball? Anyway; thanks for any thoughts/advice.........

Let me ask you this - are there any scuffs on the ball?

[lorenw]

Let me ask you this - are there any scuffs on the ball?

Thanks for your reply. I would say no, there aren't any major scuffs or rough areas on the ball. There are a couple of small "breaks" in the darker areas (what appears to be old "dirt"-?) but there aren't any abrasion areas as I'm guessing there would be if the ball had hit the infield, etc.. If you look at the two photos closely--the surface condition of the entire ball is consistent--relatively smooth; there are just varying degrees of "dirt"/toning around the ball.

[Zito75]

Thanks for your reply. I would say no, there aren't any major scuffs or rough areas on the ball. There are a couple of small "breaks" in the darker areas (what appears to be old "dirt"-?) but there aren't any abrasion areas as I'm guessing there would be if the ball had hit the infield, etc.. If you look at the two photos closely--the surface condition of the entire ball is consistent--relatively smooth; there are just varying degrees of "dirt"/toning around the ball.

OK, thanks for the reply. I'm intrigued by this story. I'm thinking if the ball completely cleared the Monster, my guess is it landed on some cement outside the park - the chances are very small that someone caught it on the fly. After hanging out at literally hundreds of Spring Training games & practice games in Arizona, I've retrieved dozens of balls (hit either has HR or foul) that have gone out of the park and landed in a road or parking lot. Each one has significant damage to it. Your ball however, does line up in a few instances, however. 1) The Bobby Brown as Commish is consistent with the time AND 2) The clay rubbed on the ball is 100% authentic as a game used ball. Clearly, being #399 is open to intrepetation. My guess is someone caught a foul or HR ball, met Kingman and had him sign it as #399. Then again I could be wrong. As a life long A's fan, I think the ball is cool no matter what - nice find.

[Dude Paskert]

If Kingman really bombed it, he might have reached the parking garage across the street and hit a car...could have hit a car on the street, too, I guess. I do wonder if the balls might be changed a lot more in regular schedule games than in the games Zito75 is talkign about, Kong would probably have had more of a chance of hitting a fresh ball in Fenway.
That is a cool item, no matter what!