Babe Ruth 100th Anniversary Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/12/2014
By the summer of '71 Reggie Jackson was one of the game's brightest stars. His brash personality, backed up by the power of his bat, made him the most exciting player in the American League. For the first time since 1931 the A's surged to the top of the standings and finally brought a winner to owner Charlie Finley, winning the American League pennant. That season Jackson made the second of what would eventually be 14 All-Star teams and hit .277 with 32 homers.
This '71 team marked the beginning of the Jackson-led A's dominance in the AL West and what would shortly be known as one of baseball's greatest dynasties. A's owner Charlie Finley wanted his ball team's uniforms to match the young team's upstart personality and he clad them in what was then eye-popping green and yellow vest jerseys. This is Reggie Jackson's home jersey from that year. The cream-colored wool flannel has the century-old A's logo on the left chest in green and gold tackle twill and Jackson's feared number "9" is set on the right side in the same Technicolor tackle twill. The collar and sleeve openings are trimmed in matching green and gold. The left front tail has the McAuliffe label stitched in along with added year "71" and size "44" strip tagging. The "44" size matches all known Reggie Jackson jerseys from this era and the labeling type is consistent with other 1971 A's jerseys that exist in the hobby. Jackson has signed the front, just below the A's logo in blue Sharpie adding "H.O.F. 93". The back of the jersey has "JACKSON" in green tackle twill sewn directly onto the jersey and his number "9" appears below in A's green and gold tackle twill. Overall the jersey shows heavy, even game wear. While many MLB jerseys were stripped and sent down to be used in the minors after the season ended, this one has survived un-changed with all the graphics still intact. This is an outstanding example of one of the hobby's most sought after jersey styles, made all the more extraordinary as it belonged to the most exciting star of the 1970's, Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson. Comes with full Letter of Authenticity from MEARS, graded a perfect A-10.