This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/24/2016
In 1968, at the age of 31, Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Don Drysdale set a major league record that few thought would ever be broken. Pitching six consecutive shutouts stretching from May 14 versus the Cubs until June 4 against the Pirates, Drysdale recorded 58-and-two-thirds innings of scoreless pitching. The old mark of 56 scoreless innings was pitched by the late, great Walter Johnson. Drysdale’s streak finally ended in the fifth inning of the team’s 5-3 win against the Phillies on June 8 at Dodger Stadium. Despite the streak’s end, Drysdale still earned his seventh straight win that day; he struck out a total of 46 batters during the three-week stretch. Twenty years later, another Dodgers’ pitcher, Orel Hershiser, set the new MLB record by pitching 59 consecutive innings without allowing a run.
This lot features a special plaque that Drysdale was awarded in 1984 by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America following his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The 10” wide by 14” high wooden plaque includes a metallic reprint of an Associated Press photo of Drysdale setting the new record versus the Phillies. Below the photo and its caption rests a gold plaque that reads: “B.B.W.A.A. HALL OF FAME RECOGNITION AWARD DON DRYSDALE Thanks for the memories Big ‘Big D’ And Congratulations. Feb. 15, 1984.”
Includes LOA from the Drysdale Family.