It was spring 1983, and Kip Ingle was an intern with the New York Yankees in Fort Lauderdale, harboring dreams of landing a job with a major league baseball team. Fate intervened when the Yankees scheduled split-squad games and Ingle was assigned to accompany one team to West Palm Beach.
He was told to check in with Dave Szen, the team’s director of publications, for a ride to the airport.
“That chance meeting changed my life,” Ingle said.
During the ride, Ingle made an impression. Soon after, Szen offered him a position.
“I graduated from Florida Southern College, and he hired me as the team’s publications assistant,” said Ingle, who earned degrees in business and communications.
Though he occasionally wrote articles, Ingle’s primary duties that first year involved editing team publications — magazines and game programs. He handled layout and headlines, cover design and coordinated articles written by New York beat writers. He also worked on the yearbook and media guide.
The Yankees were managed by Billy Martin and owned by George Steinbrenner. Within months, Ingle found himself involved in two events that still resonate with Yankees fans.
On July 4, left-hander Dave Righetti threw 132 pitches en route to New York’s first no-hitter since Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series.
“Seeing Rags throw a no-hitter was special,” said Ingle, who lives in St. Petersburg.
The day before that game, the latest edition of Yankee Magazine had been finalized and was ready for the printer. After Righetti’s Independence Day gem, Steinbrenner insisted the magazine be changed to highlight the 4-0 victory over the Red Sox.
“The magazine was done,” said Ingle, thinking it may have been a Graig Nettles cover story that got bumped. “Now it had to be rewritten. It had to be all about the no-hitter.”
That meant a new cover design, rushing writers to produce articles, gathering photos, editing — all while meeting the publication deadline.
“We stayed up two days straight and pounded it out,” Ingle recalled. The following year’s media guide also featured Righetti’s no-hitter prominently.
A few weeks later, Ingle became entangled in a controversial game forever known as the Pine Tar Game. On July 24 in a contest against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium, George Brett hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to give Kansas City a 5-4 lead. Yankees manager Billy Martin demanded umpires examine Brett’s bat, claiming it had too much pine tar and was ineligible.
After heated arguments and the umpires ruling with Martin, calling Brett out, the future Hall of Famer erupted. The Royals played under protest, with New York winning 4-3.
Steinbrenner didn’t want to lose the argument after the protest was filed and demanded the American League office receive proof that Brett was wrong.
“I got a call from the general manager’s office and was told that Steinbrenner wanted tapes sent immediately to the league office,” Ingle said. “I was told I would be taking the tapes directly to (league president) Lee MacPhail.”
MacPhail eventually sided with the Royals and ruled the homer valid. The game resumed Aug. 18 with the batter after Brett. Kansas City won, 5-4.
Ingle enjoyed his two years with the Yankees, but in November 1984, the 25-year-old was offered a more responsible — and lucrative — job with the St. Louis Cardinals. From fall 1984 through 1989, Ingle served as the team’s public relations and media relations director.
During his tenure with the Cardinals, who held spring training in St. Petersburg at the time, Ingle accumulated treasured memories. St. Louis won National League titles in 1985 and 1987, though the Cardinals lost both World Series — to the Royals in seven games in 1985 and the Minnesota Twins in seven games in 1987.
“As a child, I always wanted a World Series ring,” said Ingle, a former high school first baseman. “I didn’t get a World Series ring, but I do have two rings from the National League championships. Getting the first one was one of the most exciting things to happen to me.”
With the Cardinals, Ingle worked with some of the era’s finest players: Jack Clark, Terry Pendleton, Ozzie Smith, Vince Coleman and 1985 Most Valuable Player Willie McGee.
“I have a lot of fond memories with the Cardinals,” said Ingle, who traveled with the team. “I got to the Big Dance three times, if you count my senior year in high school. Never won the big one.” (His high school team finished second in Illinois.)
His duties ranged from compiling game notes and statistics for media use to coordinating press releases and handling press conferences. Once, he appeared on the New York Mets’ iconic postgame show, “Kiner’s Korner” with Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner. Guests received either a watch or a $100 gift certificate to a steakhouse.
“That was exciting,” Ingle said, though he can’t recall which gift he chose.
Equally thrilling was Game 6 of the 1985 National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cardinals trailed 5-4 in the ninth when Jack Clark slammed a two-out, three-run homer to give St. Louis a 7-5 lead that held up for the National League crown. In 1987, St. Louis trailed the NLCS 3-2 but won two straight to beat the San Francisco Giants. A photo of pitcher Ricky Horton dousing Ingle with champagne after the victory appeared in various newspapers.
Baseball has always been central to Ingle’s life. He grew up in a baseball-loving family — his mother was a Cubs fan, his father rooted for the Cardinals.
“I remember going to Opening Day in 1972, and my parents had a bet on who would win,” said Ingle, whose favorite player was Tim McCarver. “The winner would get either a new dress or a new suit. It was cold, in the 30s, and matched Bob Gibson against Ferguson Jenkins. Billy Williams won the game 2-1 with a home run in the 10th. My mom got the dress.”
In November 1989, Ingle signed a three-year deal to become general manager of the Fort Myers Sun Sox of the Senior Professional Baseball League. It was a promotion, and the league — for players 35 and older — looked promising. The Sun Sox were managed by former major league pitcher Pat Dobson, with former All-Star outfielder Amos Otis among the high-profile players.
The Sun Sox and the league survived the first season but folded early in the second. By then, it was too late for Ingle to hook up with a major league team.
“Baseball has been my passion for life, always a big part of it,” said Ingle, now 65. “So I was like, ‘What do I do now?'”
Fortunately, Ingle had a backup plan. His relationships with former players led to setting up appearances and eventually entering the sports memorabilia business full-time.
“I didn’t have a lot of skills to fall back on, but I knew a lot of players,” Ingle said. “I started with Terry Pendleton and Tom Glavine,” later adding Ozzie Smith, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz.
For several years, he’s been a vendor with the National Sports Collectors Society, which holds a major annual event drawing more than 100,000 people.
“As a youth, I always collected autographs. Even in college, I would go to spring training games and get autographs,” said Ingle, who sells autographed balls, yearbooks, media guides, game programs and other collectibles.
These days, Ingle also stays connected to media as a frequent guest on the radio show “Tampa-St. Pete Sports Connection.”
Pine Tar Game. Righetti’s no-hitter. Two National League titles. Friendships with former players. For someone whose passion for baseball never ends, you can’t beat it.