In 1999, Tony Gwynn became just the 22nd member of the 3,000 Hit Club, beating Wade Boggs to the hallowed mark by one day. Gwynn accumulated every hit in his career while playing for the San Diego Padres, in the city of his birth. “Mr. Padre” sprayed his hits to every field, especially later in his career after striking up a friendship with Ted Williams, who instructed the 15-time All-Star on some of the more esoteric aspects of hitting the baseball. Gwynn, a seven-time Silver Slugger award winner, used these erudite tips to collect eight National League batting titles in his career, tied with Honus Wagner for the most in League history. In fact, Gwynn’s impact on National League hitting was so great that the annual winner of that league’s hitting title is designated the “Tony Gwynn National League Batting Champion”. Gwynn finished his career after the 2001 season, eventually assuming the head coaching role at his alma mater, San Diego State University. In 2007, Gwynn was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

Gwynn used this ensemble, which includes his jersey, pants and wristbands to collect the 2,937th hit of his career. The milestone game took place on April 10th, 1999, at 3Com Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants. Gwynn’s Padres defeated their National League West rivals by a score of 11-1 behind Andy Ashby’s masterful pitching performance and home runs from Wally Joyner, Jim Leyritz, and John Vander Wal. Gwynn finished 2-4, slapping an RBI single in the third inning for his 2,936th career hit before hitting a single to center field in the top of the seventh inning against Felix Rodriguez for career hit 2,937. Gwynn made the 15th and final All-Star team of his career in 1999, finishing the season with a batting average of .338 and 10 home runs.

The first item in this collection is the jersey Gwynn wore that day, a gray, button down road jersey with “SAN DIEGO” sewn across the chest in navy blue, white, and orange tackle twill. A Padres 30th Anniversary patch is sewn on the left sleeve, while a Russell Athletic logo is sewn on the right. “GWYNN” is sewn across the back shoulders in navy blue tackle twill. His number “19”, which has been retired by the Padres, is sewn on the back of the jersey in navy blue, white, and orange tackle twill. A Russell Athletic size “50” tag with an attached “100% Polyester” flag is sewn on the front left tail of the jersey. “2936 2937 vs SF 4/10/99” is written on the tag in blue ballpoint pen. Gwynn signed the “1” digit on the back of the jersey in silver marker. This jersey comes with a LOA from MEARS, who have assigned the jersey a perfect grade of A10 and a signed COA from Alicia Gwynn. 

The next item is the pants Gwynn wore during the April 10th game. These gray pants have a two-button front, and a Russell Athletic logo sewn above the back left pocket. Russell Athletic size “39” and “19-39-41-30-99” tags are sewn in the back of the waistband. An “H-Cut” flag is attached to the Russell tag, and “4/10/99 vs SF / 2936, 2937” is written on the second tag in blue pen. Gwynn signed the waistband of these pants in black marker. These pants come with a LOA from MEARS for game use and a signed COA from Alicia Gwynn for the game use and signature. Also included in this lot are two blue wristbands worn by Gwynn during the April 10th game. These wristbands have a circular Rawlings logo, as well as a white “19” sewn on the fabric. These wristbands come with a LOA from MEARS and a COA from Alicia Gwynn. 

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