Within baseball circles exists a network of team employees broadcasters and even players who quietly collect and trade important mementoes from the game. Uniforms stadium artifacts signs and other items that are impossible for the average collector to obtain are often traded like currency among these "insider collectors " and the opportunity to view such a collection is simply stated a thrill. For 33 seasons between 1971 and 2003 the Philadelphia Phillies made Veterans Stadium their home. A typical 1960s/70s multi-purpose stadium it hosted the Phillies the Eagles of the NFL and often the Army/Navy football game. Named in honor of America's war veterans the Phillies took occupancy in 1971 future Hall of Famer Jim Bunning defeating the Montreal Expos with Don Money hitting the park's first home run. On the park's final day in 2003 Phillies hero Tug McGraw made his final public appearance. Shortly after Atlanta's Andruw Jones crossed home plate with the Vet's final run and the park emptied a grounds crew member dug home plate out of the ground. From there it passed to the team's equipment manager and eventually gifted to our consignor a longtime broadcaster for a nearby Major League ballclub (he prefers to remain anonymous to all but the winning bidder). The plate (which weighs about 500 pounds) remained in his possession until last month when we hoisted it into the car and drove it back to our offices. The plate is well-worn - beaten up actually still coated in a thin layer of baseball clay with excessive cleat marks from those early 2000s Phillies' pitchers giving up lots of runs. Five giant metal bolts secure the plate into three inches of solid wood result in a solid durable and display-worthy collectible. If anyone ever asks you where the last home plate used at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium is you can tell them it's in Love of the Game Auctions' storage area. But it can be yours and in addition to the plate we will furnish you with a letter of provenance from its consignor. Please note this thing is heavy (realistically 30 lbs.) and will cost a great deal to ship though we are happy to waive shipping costs in the event the winning bidder would like to pick it up at our New Jersey office.