This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/7/2022
Ted Williams, as a young man, he knew what he wanted. At age 20, he said, “All I want out of life is that when I walk down the street folks will say, ‘There goes the greatest hitter that ever lived.’” In a conversation late in life, when someone asked whether he thought he’d accomplished that, he simply said he didn’t know but that it was a great honor just to hear his name in the same sentence as a Ruth or a Gehrig. Any argument as to the greatest hitter of all time always involves Ted Williams. It’s an argument that can never be definitively answered, but that it always involves Williams says a lot. One could probably count the legitimate contenders on the fingers of one hand. Most would narrow the field to just two players, Babe Ruth being the other. One could make a good case for Lou Gehrig and a very small handful of others. Ted himself ranked Ruth, Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Rogers Hornsby, and Joe DiMaggio as the top five (he elected not to include himself in any such ranking) Offered is an emotion stirring 1955 Boston Red Sox road game used jersey of the incomparable Ted Williams dating to the very prime of his illustrious career. The jersey displays its original "Boston" in blue against the grey flannel as well as the original "9" on the reverse of the important article. The original Tim McAuliffe tagging remains on the right front tail ("55 25 2ins. 9" chain itching in reference to the year, size, and number) A dry clean tag appears on the inside tailor the front. The exceptional jersey absolutely displays game use including surface wear as well as a few minor areas of staining. On the left sleeve, exceptionally close inspection reveals very faint traces of the placement of the Harry Aggainis memorial armband that would have been on the jersey for a very short period of time. Also included with the jersey is a pair of matching 1956 road pants that were issued to Johnny Schmitz. The pants also reveal a Tim McAuliffe tag inside the waistband and as well also included is an original belt with the pants and a pair of 1956 style red, white and blue striped Boston sox. The featured uniform can trace its roots back to its first time being offered in a charity auction at Etrusco Association in Scituate, MA. The jersey was originally purchased for a paltry sum of $50.00 in 1964 by a large contributor for the Jimmy Fund. At the time of the original purchase it was given to a volunteer at the auction as a gift, and that is exactly where the jersey stayed until it made its way into the hobby. A Ted Williams game used jersey of this extraordinary level with the amazing and airtight authenticity and provenance is an exceeding are opportunity. The featured item includes LOA's from MEARS A-9 (a one point deduction for the missing arm band) and Mile High Card Co. as well the jersey comes with a letter of provenance from the original owner who received the jersey as a gift of service at the 1964 auction. As good as it gets!