Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn finished his career with 3,141 hits and is one of 31 players in baseball history to reach that milestone. Gwynn currently is number 18 on the all-time hit list. During the August 1st, 1998 game against the Montreal Expos, Gwynn collected career hits 2,897 and 2,898 as he steadily moved closer to the 3,000-hit mark. This offered uniform set, that features his road gray San Diego Padres jersey, pants and navy blue cap, were worn by the sweet-swinging lefty during that game.

                The road gray button-down jersey is a size 50 and manufactured by Russell Athletic. This jersey features “SAN DIEGO” sewn on the chest in navy blue, white and orange tackle twill. The back of the jersey has “GWYNN” sewn on directly to the jersey in navy blue tackle twill with his number “19” sewn on below in navy blue, white and orange tackle twill. The left sleeve has a “SAN DIEGO PADRES BASEBALL CLUB” patch, while the left sleeve has the navy blue embroidered Russell Athletic logo. Gwynn signed his name in silver marker vertically on the “1” on the back of the jersey. The Russell Athletic tag is sewn on the bottom front left tail and hand written in black marker is “2897 2898 vs MTL 8/1/98”. This jersey displays light use comes with a LOA from the game used expert at Mears, who have graded this jersey a perfect A10. There is also a COA from Steve Grad of Beckett Authentication (C99744) for Gwynn’s signature.

                Also offered in this lot is the matching gray pants worn by Gwynn. Like the jersey, these pants were also manufactured by Russell Athletic and have a waist size of 39 and an inseam of 30. The Russell Athletic tag is sewn on the inside back waist with an additional tag to the right that reads “19  39-30-96”. Hand written in blue marker on that tag is “MTL”, “8/1/98” and “2897, 2898”. As Mears determined in their LOA “While the pants are tagged indicating a 1996 year of issue this is not problematic as teams frequently carry over items from previous seasons for use in subsequent seasons.” Gwynn signed his name in blue marker on the back of the white inner waist band. These pants are part of the LOA provided by Mears for the jersey and also carry an A10 grade. There is also a COA from Steve Grad of Beckett Authentication (C99743) for Gwynn’s signature.

                The final item in this lot is the cap worn by Gwynn during the August 1, 1998 game. This size 7 3/8 New Era Diamond Collection wool cap is navy blue with a raised interlocking “SD” on the front. The “S” is white and the “D” is orange. The MLB logo patch is embroidered on the back of the hat in navy blue, white and orange. The cap bears 1997 tagging, but was worn for this game in 1998. Inscribed on the gray underside of the brim is “8/1/98 #2897 #2898 vs MTL”. This cap comes with a LOA from noted game used jersey expert Dave Miedema for the game use and a COA from Steve Grad of Beckett Authentication (C99745) which authenticates Gwynn’s signature.

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