This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 6/22/2017.
Sandy Koufax became the first ever three-time Cy Young Award winner in an era when Major League Baseball only handed out one award for both leagues. Koufax had a completely dominant run from 1961-66, winning the National League Triple Crown. Koufax was a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee in 1972 and the first major league pitcher to pitch four no-hitters. He was a four-time World Series champion and has his No. 32 retired by the Dodgers franchise. Koufax started 28 games in the 1964 season going 19-5. He threw his third career no-hitter on June 4th in a 3-0 victory over the Phillies. On the front left tail is a “Wilson” size “40” manufacturer’s tag with washing instructions. Below is a white strip tag with, “Koufax - 1964” embroidered in blue chain-stitching. Across the chest reads, “Dodgers” in traditional underscored script done in blue felt lettering. Player number “32” appears below in red felt lettering. Across the back is “32” done in the same blue felt. The logo and numbers are all original to the garment, affixed with a straight in-line stitch. Period correct adhesive backing appears on both sets of numbers. The sleeves are the abbreviated styling favored by Koufax on his 1960s flannels. The jersey body itself is an off white cotton flannel devoid of any significant wool content with 7 original buttons down the front. This jersey is in pristine, all-original condition. Koufax signed below the front player number in black pen and in our opinion, rates a 7 overall. This jersey was originally offered in a Richard Wolffers sale in the early 1990s. At that time it was accompanied by documentation from Koufax himself. The letter has been lost overtime but given the fact that this shirt was sourced from Koufax, the level of use is right in line with what we would expect to see from a superstar pitcher who retained possession of the shirt after the season. Dave Grobe of MEARS originally dismissed this shirt due to the size 40 tag without measuring it, stating it did not match any known exemplars. This jersey is tagged size "40" but actually measures much larger. MEARS has since authenticated an identical 1964 Wally Moon home Dodgers jersey manufactured by Wilson with the same style application of Player ID and tagging. The rectangular player ID swatch is a canvas whipcord material which matches Wilson’s style of player ID application for this timeframe. The Moon was re-used by the Dodgers for multiple seasons and features the same mismarked size "40" Wilson tag, but measures out much larger. Correctly sized for Moon and the exact same as the offered Koufax. Major League uniforms from this period were made to order products as opposed to stock sized garments which would require that a size tag be present and accurate. It is a hobby accepted norm that shirts were created specifically for athletes to fit their body's as opposed to fitting the exact size as tagged. Flannels from this era are somewhat inconsistent with actual measurements as they were worn more loosely as opposed to a tapered fit evidenced by the double knit era. 1964 exemplars for the Dodgers of Wally Moon, Charles Bohling a non-roster ST invitee and Johnny Podres prove that Wilson manufactured a set of jerseys for use. While there is not enough definition in the available period imagery of Koufax wearing a home uniform in ‘64 we are able to determine that Koufax did in fact wear a Wilson manufactured product and that there were multiple sets of home uniforms issued to the Dodgers from different suppliers. This jersey is properly tagged, was presented to us as game-used and in our opinion shows appropriate use. Accompanied by a LOA from PM&G grading the jersey an 8, a Full JSA LOA and a plethora of examples verifying its validity. A museum level relic emanating directly from Koufax in 100% original and unaltered condition.
Please note that the photo-matching and grading authentication work on this jersey was performed by a new hobby service for game-used material PM&G. More information can be found at Photo-Match.com