1993 Philadelphia Phillies National Championship Ring – Eli Grba

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/19/2016

Eli Grba’s life story is one about redemption. He made his Major League debut with the New York Yankees in 1959 and played with Mantle, Maris, Berra, Ford, and the rest of this talented cast in the Bronx all the way to the 1960 World Series. The Yankees left him exposed for the 1960 Major League Expansion draft and he ended up being the first overall pick by the California Angels. He started the first game in club history on April 11, 1961, pitching nine innings in a 7-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. He spent two full seasons in the Angels' starting rotation, and held the team's all-time wins record (19 wins) at the end of the second season. Unfortunately, he also held the team's all-time losses record (22 losses). His major league career ended during the 1963 season when he was only 28 years old.

By 1967 and three failed comeback attempts, Grba starts working odd jobs and hitting the bottle hard. To put it mildly, it led a 1970 divorce and the loss of custody of his children. The rest of the decade became a blur of hangovers, medical issues, another short-lived marriage, drunk driving, and suicidal thoughts. In 1981 Grba reached rock bottom and checkedhimself into a detox center. Fortunately he sobered up and his long journey back to the Majors began.

He managed to land a few Minor-league coaching stints throughout the 1980s which would lead him back to the majors as a Philadelphia Phillies scout. He was working in the organization when the rag-tag 1993 Phils made their fairytale journey to the World Series. Thus, with 33 checkered years in between them, this is the second of Grba's league championship rings—the redemption ring.

This very striking 10K Balfour Size 13 ring that was presented to Phillies scout, Eli Grba. The top of the ring features an extravagant array of twelve 3-pt. diamonds, eight 1-pt. diamonds, and a large 40-pt. center stone that is highlighted by four 2-pt. genuine ruby stones with "Phillies National League Champions" in raised lettering around the perimeter. The detailed shanks feature the name "ELI GRBA" and the year "1993", as well as the Phillies Liberty Bell team logo and the "4-2" World Series Game score. The ring has some light overall wear and exhibits tremendous visual appeal

The ring rates EX-MT with minor shank wear. Accompanied by the original Balfour box. Doesn’t get much better than this!