After he single-handedly pitched the New York Mets to their improbable World Championship in 1969, Tom Seaver became the team's first superstar and the very face of the young franchise. From 1970 until his heart-breaking trade in 1977, Seaver led the National League in strikeouts five times and ERA three. Mets fans knew that with Tom Terrific on the mound the odds were in their favor that they were going to win that day. With five seasons of 20 or more wins and three Cy Young Awards, Seaver and his number "41" embodied New York Mets pride. When he finally hung up his spikes in 1986, Seaver had won 311 games. To this day his number "41" is the only one retired by the Mets and his 98.84 percentage of votes on the Hall of Fame balloting was the highest ever until Ken Griffey, Jr, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera in recent years.

Seaver’s third and final Cy Young season came in 1975 when he had a National League best 22 wins and 243 strikeouts. Seaver finished the 1975 season with a 22-9 record and 2.38 ERA winning more than a quarter of the Mets 82 wins. Offered here is one of the very jerseys that was worn by Hall of Famer Tom Seaver during his 1975 Cy Young Award-winning season. This road gray has been photo matched by Sports Investors Authentication to an undated photograph from the 1975 season when the Mets were facing the Cincinnati Reds. This button-down jersey was manufactured by Rawlings and is a size 46. “Mets” and Seaver’s number “41” is sewn on across the front in blue and orange tackle twill. The Rawlings tag, which is the appropriate style for 1975, is sewn on the right front tail. Blue piping runs around the collar and down both sides of the buttons and a rectangle twill fabric is stitched to the back of the neck that reads “45 75 41”. Game used jersey expert William Henderson notes in his LOA that “The 45 likely means the jersey was tailored in one inch from its stock size of 46. Examples of other game worn Seaver jerseys shows that he was wearing a size 44 up through 1973, and his jerseys of 1974 were also marked in the collar as “45” from a 46 base.” This jersey also features bobbed-short sleeves that are common characteristics of mid-1970’s Mets jerseys.

The back of this jersey has Seaver’s number “41” sewn on in blue and orange tackle twill and the left sleeve has the Mets’ skyline circle logo patch. This jersey displays a full season of use and remains in good condition. Unlike many jerseys from the 1960’s and 1970’s, all of the lettering and numbers on this jersey are all original. There are several dirt/rusty stains on the jersey, notably on the 6th button from the top, in between the two front numbers and on the front tails. Please note that there are remnants of a tacky adhesive inside the jersey, along with pin holes and staple marks that indicates this jersey was at one point framed. This jersey comes with a full LOA from noted game used baseball jersey expert William Henderson and a LOA from Sports Investors Authentication, who have photo matched this jersey to an undated photo from 1975.

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