Mariano Rivera broke into the big leagues in 1995, donning #42 on the back of his jersey. Given to him by the clubhouse manager, the number has historic baseball ties.

The Brooklyn Dodgers Jackie Robinson wore 42 when he broke the game’s color barrier on April 15, 1947. On the 50th anniversary of Robinson’s debut, Commissioner Bud Selig announced the retirement of that jersey number throughout baseball. Though the number would never again be issued, active players wearing it were allowed to keep it until their careers concluded.

When Mo Vaughn retired in 2003, Rivera became the last player to don Jackie’s number. He wore it for the next decade before calling it quits in 2013.

Robinson, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, would be proud of his eventual Cooperstown mate. Rivera is quite simply the greatest closer who ever lived. The all-time leader in saves with 652, he also holds the record for ERA+ (205) and games finished (952).

Shown here is Robinson’s autograph on a personal check.

Mariano Rivera’s accolades are many. The 13-time All Star was a two-time ALCS MVP, and All Star MVP. Rivera earned the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award five times, a record he shares with Kansas City’s Dan Quisenberry. In 2014 the award was re-named after Mariano in the AL and Trevor Hoffman in the NL.

Mariano’s individual performances helped fuel team success as his Yankees won five World Series titles during his tenure.

His greatest moment was a distinct mixture of solo excellence and team achievement. In the 1999 regular season he posted a stingy 1.83 ERA to go along with a league-leading 45 saves. That pushed the Yankees to 98 wins and the Eastern Division crown.

In the postseason he was even better. Against the Rangers in the ALDS Rivera saved two of his team’s three wins and did not allow a run. His scoreless string continued in three games against the Red Sox in the Championship Series, three appearances and two saves resulted.

On baseball’s biggest stage Rivera was remained untouchable. In the Yankees sweep over the Atlanta Braves he sandwiched a Game 3 extra-inning win between saves in Game 1 and the series-clinching Game 4. He threw 4 2/3 innings of shutdown baseball. The mound work earned him the World Series MVP and gave the Yankees the second of three-consecutive Fall Classic triumphs.

Overall in the postseason, Rivera twirled 12 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing nine hits while striking out ten.

Rivera’s autograph above comes from Game 4 of the 1999 World Series. In the Series, Rivera pitched 4⅔ innings, recording 18 outs while facing only 17 batters. His dominance cemented the title and his legacy as one of baseball’s greatest closers.

Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer in baseball history. His 652 career saves rank #1 on the all-time list. At his best when it mattered most, Rivera has an MLB-record 42 postseason saves and a stingy 0.70 ERA. In 96 postseason appearances spanning 141 October innings he gave up just 11 earned runs.

Rivera pitched into playoff baseball in 16 seasons covering 32 Series. Despite his regular October appointment, more men have walked on the moon (12) than have scored an earned run (11) off the pitcher.

One of the few runs he did give up a run involved the most memorable hit in Arizona Diamondbacks history. It came courtesy of Luis Gonzalez in 2001.

Appearing in the franchise’s first World Series, the Snakes took the first two games against Rivera’s Yankees. New York stormed back with three-straight Series victories.

Game 6 in Arizona was a lopsided affair as the Snakes pummeled Andy Pettitte for 7 runs in the first two innings. After the lefty’s exit, Arizona tacked on 8 more to force a deciding Game 7.

Roger Clemens got the ball for New York against Arizona’s Curt Schilling. The two hurlers men did not disappoint. Clemens allowed just one run through 6 1/3. Schilling held the Yankees scoreless through the 6th before allowing a run to score in both the 7th and the 8th innings

With just six outs needed for the championship, Yankee skipper Joe Torre summoned Rivera out of the pen for the bottom of the 8th. The right-hander responded by striking out the side. With the nearly-unhittable Rivera on the hill a one-run lead in the 9th felt secure.

The Diamondbacks had other plans.

First baseman Mark Grace opened the frame with a single to center then gave way to a pinch runner. After a fielder’s choice and a throwing error, followed by a failed bunt attempt, Arizona had runners on first and second with one out.

Tony Womack shocked the baseball world by lacing a line-drive double to right to tie the game. Rivera then hit Craig Counsell to load the bases.

As Gonzo came to the plate, play-by-play announcer Joe Buck set the scene.  “A chance of a lifetime for Luis Gonzalez. Two-two, bottom of the 9th, Game 7 of the World Series. Bases loaded. Infield in, one out.”

Gonzalez fouled off Rivera’s first offering.

Color man Tim McCarver surveyed the situation. “The one problem is Rivera throws inside to left-handers and left-handers get a lot of broken-bat hits into shallow outfield, the shallow part of the outfield. That’s the danger of bringing the infield in with a guy like Rivera on the mound.”

As if on cue, Gonzalez broke his bat on Rivera’s next pitch. The ball landed just past the edge of the infield dirt behind second base.

Buck made the call. “Floater, centerfield. The Diamondbacks are World Champions!”

With the one swing, Gonzalez etched his name into World Series lore and earned the love of Diamondback fans forever.

In the collection is a ticket to the World Series championship clinching game signed by Gonzalez. He adds the inscription, “Walk off win”.

Mariano Rivera played all of his 19 big league seasons for the New York Yankees. When his team won, Rivera was often on the hill slamming the door.

Rivera’s out pitch was his cutter. The pitch had great movement, breaking away from right-handed hitters and into lefties. Rivera had outstanding command of the pitch throughout his career.

A fan favorite in New York, Rivera’s presence in a game usually meant a Yankee victory. As the great Yankee Stadium entered its final season of use, fans became nostalgic.

It is only fitting that the game’s greatest closer and a lifetime Yankee threw the final pitch in the stadium’s illustrious history.

In the collection is a photo taken of the last Major League pitch in old Yankee Stadium. Rivera is on the hill and has signed the photo adding the inscription, “Final Out 9.21.08”. Rivera was magnificent that season, posting a 1.40 ERA with 36 saves.

When Mariano Rivera broke into the big leagues in 1995, only one man in history reached the 400-save mark. That was the all-time saves leader Lee Smith. During the same ’95 season, the Padres Trevor Hoffman entered his third year in the majors with 25 career saves to his credit.

Both Hoffman and Rivera eventually obliterated Smith’s mark. Hoffman was the first to catch Smith. In 2006 he recorded his 479th career save to claim the top spot. The following year Hoffman eclipsed the 500-save mark.

On Septemer 7, 2011, Hoffman reached 600 with Rivera just two behind him. A week later Mariano tied Hoffman then tacked on three more saves. After reaching 600, Hoffman recorded just one more save in his final big league appearance on September 29.

Shown here is a ticket to the September 7, 2010 contest between Hoffman’s Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals. It was a historic night for the pitcher. Hoffman recorded his 600th career save, making him the first pitcher to reach the milestone. When Hoffman closed the game by inducing a routine groundout, teammates rushed the mound as the crowd celebrated.

This ticket allowed a lucky fan to witness Hoffman’s moment. The closer signed it and added, “1st MLB closer to 600 sv”.

Jerome Holtzman began his sportswriting career as a copy boy at the Chicago Daily News in 1943. He wrote through the paper’s merger into the Chicago Sun‑Times and stayed until 1981. He then moved to the Chicago Tribune and worked there until he retired in 1999.

After retiring from the Tribune, Major League Baseball named Holtzman its first official historian. He held that position until his death in 2008.

Holtzman earned several major honors. In 1991 the Baseball Writers’ Association of America gave him the J.G. Taylor Spink Award, baseball’s top writing honor. In 1997 he received the Red Smith Award, baseball’s most prestigious sports journalism prize. In 2004 he entered the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame, and in 2005 he joined the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Perhaps Holtzman’s greatest contribution to the game is the invention of the “save” statistic in 1959. Ten years later it became an official Major League Baseball stat, the first new official stat since runs batted in were recognized in 1920.

Career Yankee Mariano Rivera is the all-time leader with 652. Just behind him is Trevor Hoffman who holds the NL mark with 602.

Shown here is Holtzman’s 1986 Cubs media credential as a Chicago Tribune writer. Hall of Fame closer Trevor Hoffman signed it and added the inscription “All time NL saves leader”.

The Hall of Fame’s website described the 2019 induction beautifully.

Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, legends all. Yet none of them were unanimous selections to Cooperstown.

The first man to earn that distinction was Yankee closer Mariano Rivera. The 13-time All Star and 5-time World Series champion, Rivera retired as the game’s all time leader in saves.

Rivera had 9 seasons of 40 or more saves including two 50-save campaigns. Dominant until the end, Rivera was 6-2 with 44 saves and a 2.11 ERA as a 43 year old in his final season. Quite simply, he was the best ever at his position.

Shown here is the autograph of Rivera’s teammate Derek Jeter who fell one vote short of Rivera’s unanimity. The Yankee captain Jeter penned his name across this ticket to Game 2 of the 1996 World Series. Jeter went 1-for-2 against Braves ace Greg Maddux who also hit Jeter with a pitch.

Maddux stifled New York, holding the eventual champs scoreless in eight innings of six-hit baseball. Rivera pitched a scoreless 9th.

After dropping the first two in New York, the Yankees stormed Atlanta by winning three in a row. The Series returned to the Big Apple where the Yankees closed out the Series in Game 6 to claim their first title since 1977.

Baseball crowns its immortals in the Hall of Fame, the sport’s highest honor. Only a sliver of major leaguers ever reach Cooperstown. More than 98.5% fall short of that dream. The few who earn a plaque reach the summit of a lifetime journey.

In 2019 Mariano Rivera claimed his place among the game’s legends as the Hall’s first unanimous selection.

Each summer, Hall of Famers return for induction weekend and sign the official roll call sheets. This sheet from 2024 captures a special gathering. Rivera came back to honor Adrian Beltré, Todd Helton, Jim Leyland, and Joe Mauer. His signature sits alphabetically between Cal Ripken and Scott Rolen in a lineup of greatness on paper.

The weekend buzzes with stories, laughter, and shared history. Legends reconnect and swap memories from long seasons past. Fans line the streets and chase autographs. Cooperstown turns into baseball’s beating heart, and every inductee feels the game’s full embrace.

The weekend buzzes with stories, laughter, and shared history. Legends reconnect and swap memories from long seasons past. Fans line the streets and chase autographs. Cooperstown turns into baseball’s beating heart, and every inductee feels the game’s full embrace.