Yogi Berra's perfect game jersey already topping $240,000 on auction block
Years ago, one part of “The Price of Perfection” was established when former New York Yankees pitcher Don Larsen sold his perfect game memorabilia at auction.
Next month, Grey Flannel will help memorabilia collectors determine the price of the other half.
The jersey that Yogi Berra wore during Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series is up for grabs from the Westhampton, N.Y.-based auction house.
Bidding sits at $241,577 with more than two weeks to go before the April 14 closing date.
According to Grey Flannel, the uniform had been tucked away for years after it was issued to prospect Ron Stevenot when he reported to camp in 1959. (Uniforms were commonly re-used in the past.) It had the year “1956” sewn onto the No. 8 jersey along with Berra’s name.
“When I first examined it, I had a hunch it might be the one Yogi wore during the ’56 World Series,” said Grey Flannel President Richard Russek. “We took it to our headquarters in New York and compared it first to blow-ups of the famous photo, then to DVD ‘stills’ of the perfect game. Every Yankee pinstripe is like a fingerprint to when the jersey was worn. We compared the way the pinstripes matched up to the ‘N’ and ‘Y’ on the front, how they matched up to the collar and sleeves, and it was an exact match. It was the uniform Berra wore as catcher during the perfect game.”
Among the more than 1,000 other lots are a 1972 Pittsburgh Pirates home jersey worn by Roberto Clemente, a Derek Jeter 2008 New York Yankees game-used road jersey, a circa-1986 game-worn Mark Messier Edmonton Oilers jersey, a mid-1970s Dallas Cowboys game-used Roger Staubach jersey and Ben Kelly’s 2001 New England Patriots Super bowl Championship ring.
For more on the auctions, click here.
Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
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