OUR MUSEUM IN ACTION
TOMMIE AGEE 1969 WORLD SERIES GLOVE
You can honor one of baseball’s greatest by helping fund the work that will preserve this symbol of excellence for today’s generation and the next.
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
The 1969 New York “Miracle Mets” are one of the baseball’s most unlikely World Series champions. After seven seasons as an expansion team, the Mets had a 394-737 record, never finishing higher than ninth in the National League.
The Mets finished the 1969 regular season 100-62, eight games ahead of the second place Chicago Cubs. In a season filled with ups and downs, from the low of striking out a then-record 19 times in a single game, to the thrill of overcoming a 10-game deficit in mid-August to win the NL East, there may be no more memorable moment than Tommie Agee's performance in Game 3 of the World Series against the Baltimore Orioles.
The 1966 Rookie of the Year was not a traditional power hitter, but Agee would lead the 1969 Mets with 26 home runs and place sixth in NL Most Valuable Player voting. Serving as the leadoff man in Game 3, Agee took Hall of Famer and Orioles starter Jim Palmer deep to center field in the bottom of the first inning. While his bat gave the Mets a quick 1-0 lead, it would be his glove that would help immortalize Agee in autumn glory.
In the top of the fourth, Agee would track a ball to deep left-center off the bat of Elrod Hendricks and make an incredible backhanded catch. Agee braced himself as he crashed into the wall right under the 396’ sign at Shea Stadium. With the ball hanging on the edge of his glove, he secured out number three, preventing at least two runs.
Agee outdid himself just three innings later. With two outs and bases loaded, Paul Blair smacked a ball to right-center. Agee ranged to his left and made a diving catch to snag the ball just inches before hitting the warning track.
The Mets would go on to win the game 5-0. Rattling off two more wins, the Mets defeated the Orioles in five games.
Agee's glove used to make these two brilliant catches to secure this “Miracle Mets” World Series win is preserved in the Hall of Fame's collection and is now in critical need of care and conservation. Please consider making a gift to ensure this important artifact remains a part of baseball's rich history.