This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 12/10/2001.
There is baseball lore in this highly-treasured 1960 game-worn NY Yankee jersey of Casey Stengel, a man who was part-clown, part-genius and all American original. Stengel, a big league player from 1912, was a showman who once doffed his cap and let a bird fly out from under it, but he was also a fiery player and a baseball genius who turned to managing. By 1960, the "Ol' Perfessor" was in his twelfth season as Yankee manager, having taken the team to unprecedented success, winning ten pennants and seven world championships including a record five straight from 1949 to 1953. When the Yankees fell to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1960 World Series, the team sacked the aging legend, who hooked on as skipper and chief PR man of the expansion NY Mets. This jersey is a bittersweet memory of a one-of-a-kind man. The home flannel jersey has a white felt patch in the neck with "Stengel" in black chain stitch. On the left tail is the "Spalding" label and size "44." Below is the year "60" in blue chain stitch. On the inside left tail is the wash tag with the flag tag reading "Set 1 1960." On the left breast is the "NY" logo and on back "37" with the logo and number in blue felt. The jersey shows wear and except for a number change, appears to have no alterations of any kind.