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A third-round draft pick by the Indians in the 1972 MLB draft, Dennis Eckersley broke in with the Tribe three years later. After posting a 13-7 record and a 2.60 ERA, Eck was named the American League Rookie Pitcher of the Year.

The 6’2″, 190-pouder spent three years in Cleveland highlighted by a May 30, 1977 no-hitter against the Angels. In March of ’78 the Indians sent him to the Red Sox in a six-player swap.

Eck’s first year in Beantown featured a 20-win season. The right-hander followed that up with a 17-win campaign in ’79. The remainder of Eckersley’s time with the Red Sox he was a middling 47-52. On May 25, 1984, the Sox dealt him to the Cubs for Bill Buckner.

In four seasons with Chicago, Eckersley went 37-36 with a 3.73 earned run average. On the Cubs sent him packing to Oakland. His days as a starter were over. From 1975-1986 in that role Eckersley posted 152 victories, 100 complete games, and 20 shutouts.

In the collection is a twice-signed contract with the Autoball company, producers of souvenir baseballs with stamped facsimile signatures. The terms of the deal? The pitcher received one cent per ball sold. Eck signed this contract on March 18, 1975 nearly a full month before his big league debut on April 12 that same year.

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Dennis Eckersley’s first dozen years in the big leagues were solid if unspectacular. By 1986 his record stood at 151-128 with 100 complete games, 20 shutouts and a 3.67 ERA. Sure he had a no-hitter and a 20-win season, but those came in 1977 and ’78. The first seven seasons of the 80s he was four games below the break-even mark with a 4.14 ERA.

On April 3, 1987, the A’s traded for Eck, gave him a change of scenery and moved him to the bullpen. The improvement was immediate and drastic. In his final year as a starter Eck’s ERA+ was 12% below league-average; in his first as a reliever it improved by 49 points. The following year in ’88 he made the All Star team, led the league in saves, finished Cy Young balloting and 5th in the MVP race.

From ’88 to 1992, Eck marched toward Cooperstown by posting 220 saves and a 1.90 ERA along with a 24-7 win/loss record. The run included a Cy Young and MVP nod. The only pitcher with 100 saves and 100 complete games, Dennis Eckersley took an unconventional road to Hall of Fame.

Shown here is his first card depicted as on Athletics player. Eck has signed in boldly in black sharpie. During his nine years in Oakland Eck recorded 320 saves and picked up the 1992 Cy Young and MVP Awards along the way, solidifying his Cooperstown credentials.

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The 1988 Oakland Athletics won 104 games to claim the American League Western Division title. In the ALCS, they manhandled the Eastern Division champion Boston Red Sox in a four-game sweep.

Meanwhile in the NL, the Dodgers faced off against the Mets in the Championship Series. New York had dominated Los Angeles in the regular season by winning 10 of 11 games.

In the NLCS, the 100-win Mets had every reason to feel confident. Instead the underdog Dodgers came away with  an unlikely triumph in the seven-game Series.

The rested A’s entered the World Series heavily favored over Los Angeles. Their Game 1 matchup went down as one of the most memorable in Fall Classic history. It set the tone for a Dodger victory.

In the first inning Mickey Hatcher’s two-run homer off of Dave Stewart staked the Dodgers to a 2-0 lead. The A’s answered in their next time at bat with a Jose Canseco grand slam.

The Dodgers cut the lead to 4-3 in the 6th thanks to a Mike Scioscia RBI single. Oakland held the lead into the 9th, just three outs away from a Series-opening road victory.

In the final frame Mike Davis drew a two-out walk off of closer Dennis Eckersley. Dodger skipper Tommy Lasorda sent up the injured Kirk Gibson to pinch hit for pitcher Alejandro Pena.

The ’88 NL MVP, the hobbled Gibson was not even on the field for the pre-game introductions. Working with two bad legs, his swing was be limited to the strength in his arms.

When Gibson was announced, the 55,983 on-hand rose to their feet to cheer their hero. Eck went right after Gibson, quickly getting ahead in a no-ball-two-strike count.

Fouling off pitch after pitch, Gibson worked the count full. On Eckersley’s 3-2 pitch, the gimpy Gibson hit the ball out of the ballpark to cap another yet unlikely victory.

After Gibson finished circling the bases, Dodger announcer Vin Scully summed it up perfectly. “In a season that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened!”

Behind the momentum, the Dodger vanquished the A’s 4-games-to-one to earn their second title of the decade.

Gibson enjoyed a 17-year big league career dotted with outstanding moments. Named the 1988 NL Most Valuable Player, Gibson remains the only player to earn the MVP Award yet never appear in an All Star game.

Fifteen years after retiring as a player, Gibson became manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The following season he was chosen as a coach for the All Star game. In the collection is this document signed by Kirk Gibson for receipt of his first and only All Star ring from the 2011 Midsummer Classic.

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Dodger scout Mel Dider played a key role in the Dodgers 1988 World Series championship campaign. Or so the story goes.

According to Rory Costello’s SABR biography, Didier told Ross Newhan of the LA Times about an important observation he shared in his scouting report about the Oakland pitchers.

“When we got to [Dennis] Eckersley, and it was my turn to speak, I used my best Southern drawl and said, ‘Pardners, you can bank on this as sure as I’m standing here. If you’re a left-handed hitter and you get in a tough, tough situation with Eckersley, he’s going to throw you that back door slider.’

“Well, when the count went full on Kirk [Gibson], the players tell me that everyone on the bench was whispering, ‘Back door slider,’ and Kirk told me later that he stepped out of the batter’s box and kind of laughed and smiled to himself because he could see me standing there talking about it. He said: ‘Mel, I knew what I was going to get, picked it up as soon as it left his hand and hit it as hard as I could.’”

In 1988 when Didier scouted Eckersley, the right-hander went to a 3-ball, 2-strike count four times in the regular season and the playoffs. It is unknown how many of those Didier saw or how many times the pitcher threw the backdoor slider.

It remains unclear why the Dodger scout felt comfortable enough to draw his conclusion based on a four-pitch sample-size. What is certain is that Eckersley thew exactly the pitch Didier said he would and Gibson hit it out of the park for the game-winner.

Shown here are two tickets to that October 15th contest. Notice Eckersley’s signature along with his inscriptions, “Gibby got the best of me”, and “Shouldn’t have throw a backdoor slider”.

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During their 7 seasons together with the Oakland A’s Dave Stewart and and Dennis Eckersley were a powerful duo on the hill. During that time Stewart won 107 contests while Eck came out of the pen for 236 saves. Forty of Stew’s victories featured an Eckersley save.

All seven seasons saw either a Stewart 20-win season or a 40-save campaign by Eck.  The pair combined for eight top-6 Cy Young finishes, with the reliever earning the the award in his ’92 MVP campaign. They propelled Oakland to three pennants and the 1989 World Series title. Fittingly Stewart was named the Series MVP while Eck recorded the final out in the four-game sweep.

Both hurlers also captured ALCS MVP honors for the A’s, Eck in ’88 and Stew in ’90.

Shown here is a ticket that allowed a lucky fan into Game 2 of the 1992 ALCS at Chicago’s Comiskey Park. Pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays, Stewart allowed one run on four hits in six innings to earn the win. The White Sox won the next two games to tie the Series at two-games-apiece. After Toronto won Game 5 to put the White Sox on the brink of elimination, Stewart returned to the mound.

In 7 1/3 innings Smoke surrendered two runs on four hits to propel the Blue Jays to their second consecutive Fall Classic appearance. Two wins and a 2.03 ERA proved enough to garner Stewart his second ALCS MVP nod. Shown here is a ticket that allowed a lucky fan into Game 2 at Chicago’s Comiskey Park. Stewart signed the ticket and added the inscription, “93 ALCS MVP”.

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Dennis Eckersley delivered a historic performance in 1992. He recorded 51 saves, becoming the second pitcher to reach the half-century mark. In 69 games, he went 7-1 with a 1.91 ERA.

That year, Eckersley earned his sixth—and final—All-Star selection. It marked his fourth All-Star nod in five seasons as a full-time reliever. He dominated awards voting, securing 19 of 28 first-place Cy Young votes and 15 of 28 MVP first-place votes.

The Kansas City lineup card shown here comes from Opening Day, April 6, against the Eckersley’s Oakland club. The A’s led 5-3 entering the bottom of the ninth. Eckersley took the mound to close it out.

George Brett led off with a single to right. Pinch-runner Gary Thurman replaced him but was erased when Mike Macfarlane grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.

Keith Miller then singled. Jim Eisenreich followed with another hit, putting the tying runs on base. Terry Shumpert was due next, but Royals manager Hal McRae opted for left-handed Chris Gwynn.

With the count 2-1, Gwynn drove a deep fly to right. Jose Canseco drifted back and caught it at the wall. Eckersley escaped the jam and notched his first save of the season.

He signed the lineup card afterward, adding the inscription: “First save of Cy Young MVP Season.”

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In 2018 the Oakland A’s decided to recognize players for the team’s Hall of Fame In a pregame ceremony on September 5th seven men were inducted as part of the inaugural class. Among them, five are now members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Rickey Henderson, Catfish Hunter, and Reggie Jackson. The other two charter members of the Oakland Hall were team owner Charlie Finley and former World Series Most Valuable Player Dave Stewart.

A’s President Dave Kaval told MLB.com at the time, “Our franchise is built on the history of legends. The Athletics Hall of Fame allows us to recognize the individuals who have shaped our identity and brought us success. We are honored to celebrate Eck, Rollie, Rickey, Catfish, Reggie, Stew, and Finley as our inaugural class.”

Stewart will never receive a plaque in Cooperstown but will forever be remembered as one of Oakland’s most influential players.

Shown here is a Yankee payroll check made out to Henderson on the last day of March in 1987. That was Stewart’s first full season with Oakland. In the A’s championship year of 1989 they reacquired Henderson in a June three-for-one deal with the Yankees. After hitting .247 in New York, a re-energized Rickey hit .294 with a .425 on-base percentage the rest of the way in Oakland. Rickey led the league in both steals (77) and walks (126).

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In 2004 Hall of Fame voting the baseball writers elected two men in their first year on the ballot. Paul Molitor and Dennie Eckersley got their call to Cooperstown with 85.2% and 83.2%, respectively.

Playing for the Brewers, Twins, and Blue Jays, Molitor amassed 3,319 hits, 605 doubles, 1,782 runs, and 1,307 RBI. The 1993 World Series MVP has a career .306 average in 21 big league seasons.

Dennis Eckersley was a starting pitcher for the Indians, Red Sox, and Cubs before switching his primary role to relief with the A’s. It was in Oakland that he found his greatest success.

The 1992 Cy Young and MVP, Eckersley was a three-time pennant-winning closer who earned the save in the Atheltics’ World Series clincher in 1990. He finished his career with 197 wins and 390 saves.

Shown here is Molitor’s Topps rookie card that features Mickey Klutts, U.L. Washington, and fellow Cooperstown man Alan Trammell. All four men autographed it.