Charles Stoneham "Chub" Feeney spent 40 years in Major League Baseball, most notably as president of the National League from 1970 to ’86. He began his baseball career as a front office executive with the New York Giants in 1946 at the tender age of 24. His grandfather, Charles Stoneham, owned the Giants from 1919 to ‘36 before passing the torch to Chub’s uncle, who owed the team through 1976. Chub served as the team’s head of baseball operations until 1970, essentially functioning as the GM. After a successful run under his grandpa during the Mel Ott era that yielded three World Series titles, Chub was instrumental in rebuilding a winner in the early 1950s by bringing up African-American stars Willie Mays, Monte Irvin and Hank Thompson. And when his uncle moved the Giants from the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan to San Francisco in the late ‘50s, Feeney was the first to bring in Latin American stars such as Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal and the Alou brothers.
Feeney’s tenure as NL President was relatively stable and may be best remembered for the league’s dominating All-Star Game record of 14-3. As president for 17 seasons, he built himself quite a collection of World Series and NLCS rings. Presented here is Chub’s 1984 San Diego Padres National League Championship ring made of 10-karat gold with real diamonds. It marked San Diego’s first pennant thanks to their young star and NL batting champ, Tony Gwynn, along with notable veterans Steve Garvey and Goose Gossage. After knocking off the Cubbies in the NLCS, the Friars fell to the Tigers in the Fall Classic, 4-games-to-1.
The face features a sparkling "SD" spelled out in 23 diamonds atop a brown/yellow stone surrounded by "Padres National League Champions". The left shank has "FEENEY" and the NL insignia, while the right shank has "1984", "Dreams Can Come True", a relief image of Jack Murphy Stadium and "RAK" [owner Ray Kroc]. Inside is stamped "BALFOUR 10K". The only difference we can tell from this example and those issued to players is the gold karat; Gossage’s ring that we sold for $22,226 was crafted in 14-karat. It measures size 9 and weighs 30 grams, with very little wear. Includes LOA from Feeney family.