Throughout his 23 season MLB career, Rusty Staub played for five different teams and became a fan favorite for each and every one. Perhaps his most indelible mark was made on the expansion Montreal Expos as the team’s first star player. Playing with the nickname “Le Grand Orange”, bestowed upon him by the Expos French-Canadian fanbase, Staub made All-Star teams in each of his three seasons with the Expos. Despite his short tenure with the team, Staub’s number “10” became the first number ever retired by the Montreal franchise. In 1972 Staub joined the New York Mets for the first of his two stints with the team, playing from 1972 to 1975 and again from 1981 until his retirement in 1985. In 1973, Staub helped lead the Mets to only the second World Series appearance in franchise history, hitting .341 with four homers and 11 RBI in their playoff run. After his retirement from the Mets, Staub joined Tim McCarver, Ralph Kiner, and Steve Zabriskie in their broadcast booth, helping to call the Mets 1986 World Series run.

     This water color painting measures 11 x 18 inches, and was created by acclaimed sports artist LeRoy Neiman, a master using abstract expressionism to view sports through a new and unique lens. Staub is portrayed thrice in front of a hazy blue and green background, his profile highlighted by his shock of orange locks. Both Neiman and Staub have signed this painting, with Neiman inscribing “Shea Stadium” and “Most Valuable Player New York Mets 1975” written in gray pencil underneath Staub’s signature. This painting comes in a 20 ½ x 27 inch frame. It comes with a LOA from JSA (Z42156) and a LOA from Rusty Staub.

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