This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/10/2022
The 1978 Los Angeles Dodgers cruised to another NL West title after finishing the regular season at 95-67. The Boys in Blue became back-to-back NL champions after beating the Philadelphia Phillies in four games in the NLCS. The team faced the New York Yankees in the World Series for the second straight year and again fell short of the title, losing in six games.
Offered is former Dodgers General Manager Fred Claire's 14k gold NL Championship ring. The top of the ring has a single inset "real diamond" with the look of a baseball lofting skyward on a beautiful, rich, bright azure stone atop "Dodgers" in silver script. "National League Champions 1978" wraps around the perimeter of the stone. The left shank features crossed bats behind a baseball with the name "Fred Claire" on the baseball. The right shank provides an "LA" logo and the number "3,347,845," making note of the first time in Major League history a team surpassed three million in attendance in a season, as depicted on the Dodgers scoreboard with the letters LA prominently displayed below. The size 11 ring weighs 25 grams and has the Balfour 14 stamp inside "LGB 14K" and comes in the original box as sent out from the factory. Part of the Claire Collection.
Fred Claire was a longtime member of the Dodgers front office. He was the general manager of the team from 1987 to 1998. After a dismal 1987 season, Claire built the team into a contender overnight. After acquiring players like Kirk Gibson, the Dodgers won the 1988 World Series over the heavily favored Oakland A's in just five games. A portion of the proceeds from each of Claire's items in this auction will go to the City of Hope.