Ray Apple was the first player to ever sign a contract with the New York Mets. After playing on the 1960-61 Ohio State National Championship team with Bobby Knight, Apple chose to begin a career in baseball. Mets scouts saw lots of potential in the hard throwing righty. They inked him to a contract in June of 1961. The catch was the Mets didn't even have a minor league system yet, so they had to loan him to other teams during his early development. The side effect was that Ray was worked very hard. He developed shoulder issues during an 11 innings shutout in 1963. Apple was never the same afterwards. He walked away from the game after the 1964 season and founded a successful real estate business in Nashville, Tennessee.
This baseball was signed by Mr. Apple after being mailed to his office. He also called and talked baseball with me for almost 45 minutes. He had lots of great stories and was definitely the highlight of my through the mail experience so far.
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