This is a ticket stub from September 6, 1980. The Montreal Expos beat the San Francisco Giants 9-0 in the 3rd game of a 4 game series in Candlestick Park.
In the bottom of the 4th inning, Tim Wallach made is MLB debut replacing Ron LeFlore in left field. In the top of the 5th Wallach came to bat for the first time with 2 outs and nobody on. Facing Bill Bordley, Wallach drew a walk. He was left stranded when Tim Raines, pinch hitting for Rodney Scott, grounded out to the pitcher.
Wallach's 2nd plate appearance came when he led off the top of the 8th. Wallach, in his first official "at-bat" homered off of Phil Nastu, making the score 8-0 Montreal. He became the 54th player in MLB history to homer in their 1st at-bat. (As of today 114 have done so)
Wallach would be given the start the next afternoon and go 0-3. He wouldn't see action again until pinch hitting on September 17 against the Mets in Shea Stadium. In total, Wallach would appear in 5 games with the Expos in 1980.
This is an item I almost passed on when I first saw it pop up on ebay. But the minute I pulled it out of the envelope I was glad I sprung for it. I would have been a fool not to buy it at twice the price. It's instantly become one of the crown jewels of my Wallach collection.
My aim now is to find the San Francisco or Montreal newspaper from the following day with the story on the game, and frame the ticket with the paper. I don't know how feasible that is, so I'll likely frame this thing before I track down the paper, it's small enough that it isn't going to cost much to get done.
Other Notable Players to Homer in 1st at-bat
Earl Averill
Hoyt Wilhelm
Bill White
Gary Gaetti
Will Clark
Terry Steinbach
Jermaine Dye
Carlos Lee
That is awesome!
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