Baseball is one of those sports that are defined by historical moments, especially in the World Series. From Willie Mays’ over-the-head catch in the 1954 World Series, to Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off home run that ended the 1960 Fall Classic, to Carlton Fisk’s memorable walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, there are defining moments that shape a franchise or a player(s).

One of the most iconic home runs in World Series history was Los Angeles Dodgers’ Kirk Gibson’s walk-off home run against the heavily favored Oakland A’s in the 1988 World Series. This home run was remarkable on many levels as the A’s came into the series after steamrolling the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS and the Dodgers having to fight off the New York Mets in seven games of the NLCS. Oakland had the best record in the Majors that season with 104 wins, while the Dodgers were tops in the NL West with a 94-67 record.

With Oakland leading 4-3 going into the top of the 9th inning in Game 1 thanks to a second inning grand slam by Jose Canseco, Hall of Fame closer Dennis Eckersley, who led the Majors with 45 saves and was the ALCS MVP after pitching six scoreless innings against the Red Sox, walked former teammate Mike Davis on five pitches with two outs – brining the tying run on base and the winning run at the plate. With Gibson seemingly unavailable due to his bad knees, Hall of Fame manager Tom Lasorda called on Gibson anyway to try and save the Dodgers. After eight pitches, where Gibson fouled off several fastballs and even hobbled down the line on a foul grounder, Eckersley hung a back door slider and Gibson cranked it out of Dodgers Stadium over the right-centerfield fence to send the Dodger Stadium crowd into euphoria and giving the Dodgers a vital 1-0 lead in the series.

Goldin Auctions is proud to offer one of, if not the premier game used jersey ever offered. This road Oakland A’s button-down jersey was the very jersey that Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley was wearing when he served up the memorable home run to Kirk Gibson. This jersey is a Rawlings size 44 gray jersey with “Oakland”, a paraph and Eckersley’s number “43” sewn on the front in dark green and yellow tackle twill. The Rawlings tag is sewn on the inside front left tail and has a “SET 1 1988” flag attached, along with an adjoining gray patch with “T” embroidered in green. The back has “ECKERSLEY” sewn on in green tackle twill on a matching gray nameplate, while the number “43” is sewn on below in green and yellow tackle twill. The left sleeve has the A’s elephant standing on a ball patch, while the right sleeve is adorned with the “1988 WORLD SERIES” patch and the Rawlings wordmark embroidered in dark green. It’s important to note that the A’s did not wear a patch on their sleeves during the ALCS as shown in the photo match LOA provided by PM&G from the ALCS. To complete this historic gamer, the Hall of Famer Eckersley has signed this jersey in bold black marker below his number on the back.

What an incredible piece of baseball history with impeccable provenance. It was Dennis Eckersley who coined the phrase “walk-off home run” when he described that moment. This jersey comes with a LOAs from the Oakland A’s, signed by Steve Vucinich Equipment Manager, who states that this jersey was worn by Dennis Eckersley during Games 1 & 2 of the 1988 World Series. A letter from the Los Angeles Dodgers dated November 13, 2017 thanking the owner of this jersey for allowing them to display it at Dodger Stadium in the organization’s “2017-2018 Pop-Up Museum” in March of 2018 as a loan. A letter from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. of Cooperstown, New York dated February 3, 1994 acknowledging the “Gift Agreement” for displaying this jersey in Cooperstown. This jersey has also been photo matched by Sports Investors Authentication (200722D1) to the regular season and the first two games of the 1988 American League Championship Series from Fenway Park in Boston, with an apparent photo match to the World Series and have provided two LOAs. This jersey has also been photo matched by PM&G to the 1988 ALCS. There is also a LOA from Beckett Authentication for Eckersley’s signature.

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