1961 Roger Maris New York Yankees Game Worn Uniform -- Photo Matched!...

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Sold on Feb 22, 2025 for:

$1,586,000.00 Bid Source: Internet bidder

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Multiple home run game matches from record-breaking MVP season!

1961 Roger Maris New York Yankees Game Worn Uniform -- Photo Matched! There's a certain element of fairness in baseball that makes it particularly well suited for its role as our National Pastime. It's one of the purest of meritocracies, with success based on nothing more or less than ability and performance. The son of a senator has no better chance than a son abandoned to an orphanage, or a child raised by parents in an unhappy marriage in the frostbitten town of Fargo, North Dakota.

But aside from their Yankee pinstripes and difficult childhoods, Babe Ruth and Roger Maris were different in just about every other way, and followed dramatically different paths to page one of the single-season home run record book. While Ruth was the most beloved player in the sport, celebrated at home and abroad, Maris was widely seen as a Yankee interloper, ungrateful for and unworthy of the "NY" over his heart. It could be argued that no other athlete in American history has encountered as much adversity while setting a single-season record, and for this reason the achievement stands as all the more remarkable.

The experts at MeiGray have determined that Roger Maris wore just two home pinstriped jerseys as he chased down the ghost of Ruth in the House he Built, and this is one of them, thus one of the most important garments ever worn upon that hallowed ground. The photo matching experts at that authentication service have located the unique patterning of pinstripes of the subject jersey in sixteen photographs from thirteen different dates.

We direct interested bidders to our online listing for a full accounting of those photo matches, but we'll report the home run games from that list below:

July 2: Maris goes 3-for-4 with two home runs in 13-4 victory over the Washington Senators. Home runs number 29 and 30.

August 15: Maris goes 2-for-3 with one home run in 2-1 loss to Chicago White Sox. Home run number 46.

September 2: Maris goes 3-for-4 with two home runs in 7-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Home runs number 52 and 53.

MeiGray likewise found that Maris wore just two pairs of pinstriped pants during that dramatic season, and, remarkably, those pants are the pair that Maris wears in most of the jersey photo match images, including all of the matches to home run games. Again, we direct readers to our online listing for the full accounting of dates in the MeiGray documentation.

The jersey survives in original and unaltered condition, the logo "NY" on the chest and the number "9" on verso both present for the entirety of that record-breaking MVP and World Championship season. The sleeves are cropped short for fashion and function, an instantly recognizable trait favored by both M&M boys. A "Maris" swatch is sewn into the collar, while lower left front tail is tagged, "Spalding [size] 44" above that historic "61" embroidered directly into the jersey body. Interior tail bears a washing instructions label anchoring a year and set tag.

Matching pants bear the same "Spalding" manufacturer's label at interior waistband, paired with the washing instructions tag. Felt swatch embroidered, "Maris 9 36 61" anchors the year and set tag. Maris' navy blue belt and stirrups complete the ensemble. All uniform pieces exhibit fine game wear and present beautifully, as visitors to the museum at Yankee Stadium can attest as it was showcased for years in that location. Our consignor's deceased husband acquired the uniform from a close friend of the Maris family in the 1980's.

In the four decades beginning with Babe Ruth's delivery of the first World Championship to the Bronx, it would be difficult to assign the term "underdog" to members of a franchise who ended half of those seasons atop the baseball world, but Maris is that exception to the rule. "Maybe I'm not a great man," Maris allowed as the baseball world bristled at the thought that the quiet newcomer might drive the Sultan from his throne, "but I damn well want to break the record."

Over six decades later, one can't help but be inspired by the fortitude of that long and lonely climb against all odds. In a country built upon the principle that everybody has the opportunity to achieve greatness, this is an artifact that validates baseball's claim to the characterization of our national pastime. Photo match LOA's from MeiGray. LOA from Heritage Auctions.