Lot # 988: April 30, 1952 Ted Williams Day Program - Williams Game-Winning Home Run in Last At-Bat Before Korean War ServiceService

A great American hero was bid farewell by adoring fans, when the Boston Red Sox hosted Ted Williams Day on April 30, 1952. Williams, who had already lost three years of his baseball career during WWII, was called up for active duty in the Korean War. This 1952 activation cost him nearly two more full seasons of baseball, and added to his WWII military service, Williams lost nearly five full seasons of his glorious career. In the process, Williams' time as a Navy/Marine Corps aviator cost him his shot at breaking some of baseball's most important records.

The offered program is a Red Sox standard issue, with an added larger format cover. Williams is pictured on the front of the special cover, which is titled "Ted Williams Day" at top. The site "Fenway Park", and date "Wednesday, April 30, 1952" are printed at bottom. True to his determined nature, Williams took Detroit Tigers hurler "Dizzy" Trout deep in the bottom of the 7th inning, for a two-run, game-winning homer, in his last at-bat before heading off to Korea, where he flew 39 combat missions. With deference to a pair of staple removal holes near the top-right corner, the special cover shows Vg+ details. The standard program has a 4" spine split at top, otherwise it shows Ex details.