This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/4/2017
Willie Howard Mays (born May 6th, 1931) was nicknamed “The Say Hey Kid” and played 22 seasons with the New York / San Francisco Giants before finishing up with the Mets. Mays won 2 NL MVP awards, and finished his career with 660 homeruns. Considered by many to be the greatest defensive player of all time, Mays finished his career with 12 gold gloves, and won the final wearing this shirt.
For this lot, we are proud to offer a very special Willie Mays shirt which entered the hobby originally from hobby icon Dick Dobbins. His original LOA is included with this lot. Dave Grob has provided the evaluation for this lot. Enjoy!
Dave Grob’s Comments and Working Notes for:
1968 Willie Mays San Francisco Giants Home Jersey
Size: The jersey is tagged as a 42 and measures as a size 42/43 with a slight taper to the body. This was confirmed through measurement across the chest and comparison with on-hand 1968 Wilson major league uniforms in sizes 40 and 42. A size 42 is also appropriate and consistent with period sizing data I have assembled for Willie Mays. As such I would consider this to be an appropriate sized jersey for Mays at this point in his career. (PLATE I)
Manufacturers Tagging: The jersey features a c. 1967-1973 style Wilson manufacturer's tag as well as a one year only 1968 Wilson year and set tag. Missing from this jersey is any sort of supplemental tagging in the collar to annotate the player the uniform was manufactured for. There are also no signs that this tag or one like it was ever present on the jersey. While atypical for San Francisco Giants home Wilson products of this time frame, this is exactly what we should have expected to have found. According to a letter from Dick Dobbins dated 1 September 1991 (d. 1999), “in 1968 and 1969, the Giants did not have names in their home uniforms.” As such, I would consider this to be an appropriately tagged jersey. (PLATE II)
Construction/Style: The jersey is constructed of a professional grade white wool flannel blend major league quality fabric. The quality of the fabric was ascertained by comparing it with on-hand 1968 Wilson major league uniforms in my exemplar library (examination of fabric weave with a digital microscope). The sleeves are Set-In style and cut to a length of 3”. This style and length of sleeve is period appropriate for Mays as confirmed by contemporary images. All tagging and alpha-numeric font styles and placement is consistent with contemporary images as well. (PLATES III-VI)
Use/Wear: The jersey shows signs of moderate use and wear. Moderate wear is assessed to the athletic felt over tackle twill lettering and numbering as well as the anchor stitching throughout the body of the garment. Heavy use and wear was not expected as Mays appeared in 148 games in 1968 and only 117 in 1969. During this time frame, home uniforms for the Giants were provided by Wilson, McAuliffe, and Goodman & Sons. As such there would have been 3-4 home uniforms in the available inventory. 1969 is mentioned with respect to use and wear since the left sleeve features outlines of a once applied and removed 1969 Major League Baseball 100th Anniversary patch. The removal of this patch was done with some care as only the stitch lines remain and there are no fabric cuts. All buttons are assessed as being original to the jersey and all remain firmly affixed. It should be noted that this jersey only features six (6) buttons and they are done in custom manner with no button having been affixed to the top of the placket and this is consistent with period images (PLATE III). The black over orange soutache at the collar and sleeve ends remains vibrant in color, firmly affixed, and free of any appreciable signs of fraying. All lettering and numbering is assessed as being original to the jersey at the time of manufacturer and the garment is free of any signs or evidence of alteration (other than the above mentioned 1969 patch) and or contrived use or wear. At the time of my evaluation, the jersey was autographed on the left lower chest area. I offer no opinion on this autograph, but only note it was present at the time of my evaluation. (PLATES VII-VIII)
Opinion: In my opinion this jersey possesses all the characteristics you would expect to see in jersey manufactured in 1968 by Wilson for home use and wear by Willie Mays. The jersey is all original and compares favorably with period images. It is assessed as being all original, without any apparent signs of alteration (other than above mentioned patch) or contrived use and wear. The only writing on the jersey is the above mentioned autograph for which no opinion is offered.
The MEARS worksheet and grading criteria provides for 5 categories for which points may deducted, I found this reason to deduct points:
-.5: Missing 1969 MLB 100th Anniversary patch. A missing patch is typically a -1 deduction, but in this case we are dealing with a patch that was added post manufacturer and for a subsequent season.
Note # 1: No points were deducted for the absence of a player name in the collar since for 1968-1969, it was never applied to begin with.
Note # 2: As a special service to our consigner and the winning bidder, the MEARS Museum is donating a period original 1969 MLB 100th Anniversary patch with comparable use to that found on this jersey. While this will improve the visual appeal and value of the jersey should the winning bidder choose to apply the patch to the jersey, it will not result in a grade change as only ½ point was deducted and the deduction for a restored vintage non-rare patch is also ½ point.
Note# 3: No points were deducted for the missing top button as it appears none was ever present.
As such, the final grade for this jersey bearing the MEARS hologram # 315416 is A9.5
Dave Grob
Enclosures:
-PLATES I-VIII
-Dick Dobbins Letters
(03E0270)
LOA Troy Kinunen / MEARS
(JSA Auction Letter)