This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 12/8/2016.
Willie Stargell was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988. On the inside below the rear collar is a “Wilson” size “46” manufacturer’s tag with washing instructions. Across the chest reads, “PIRATES” and the player number “8” appears on both the front and on the back. All numbering and lettering are done in black on white tackle twill sewn directly onto the yellow jersey. Spring Training jerseys were issued as a simplified stripped down version of the regular season jerseys, produced without names on the backs and player identification strip tags. This shirt was sourced directly from Henry and Betty Reader. Henry was the Pirates Chaplain in Bradenton for several years during Spring Training, and it makes sense that he received a spring training jersey for his services (no pun intended). Most of these jerseys were sent to the minors, which makes this jersey scarce with ironclad provenance. This jersey is properly tagged, was presented to us as Spring Training-worn and in our opinion shows appropriate wear.