1983 George Brett Game Worn & Signed Kansas City Royals Jersey, MEARS A10--From the Pine Tar Game!...

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A royal meltdown!

1983 George Brett Game Worn & Signed Kansas City Royals Jersey, MEARS A10--From the Pine Tar Game! In any other street fight, you'd pick the guy holding the baseball bat, but when rookie home plate umpire Tim McClelland pointed the knob of Brett's Louisville Slugger at the future Hall of Famer with his left hand and signalled "out" with his right, all conventional wisdom was stampeded by wild-eyed fury. "I had never seen anyone as mad as George Brett on that day," said Hall of Fame Yankees closer Goose Gossage, who had surrendered what was, and then was not, and then ultimately was again the dramatic game-winner. McClelland was narrowly saved by crew chief and second base umpire Joe Brinkman, who managed to horse-collar the raging Royal a moment before he flattened McClelland.

That otherwise inconsequential July 24, 1983 game at Yankee Stadium would prove to be George Brett's defining moment despite a World Championship, thirteen All-Star Game appearances, three American League batting titles and a 1980 MVP Award. It likewise remains one of the most famous events in the entirety of post-war Major League Baseball history, that controversial lumber enshrined for eternity in the Baseball Hall of Fame, one of its most popular attractions.

Since the bat itself is unavailable to the collecting community, the offered jersey will reign forever as the most significant and desirable relic from that contest within private hands. Certainly any garment from Brett's professional wardrobe carries enormous collecting intrigue, but this powder blue beauty is quite literally as good as it gets for the greatest figure in Royals franchise history.

The style is the one most directly associated with that special era in KC, white tackle twill on powder blue, with "Royals 5" on front giving way to "Brett 5" on verso. Left sleeve provides the team logo patch. Lower left front tail is tagged "Wilson [size] 42" above an "83" embroidered year swatch. Brett autographs both sides in 9/10 black sharpie, the obverse notated, "Pine Tar Game, 7/24/83." Just to the right of Brett's signature, at the edge of the button path, we can spot a small pine tar stain, and the entire jersey is soft and supple from sweaty wear.

The experts at Resolution Photomatching determined that no image from the Pine Tar Game was clear enough to provide a certain match, but they stress that it is consistent with those photos and can be matched to the July 30, 1983 visit to the Detroit Tigers six days later.

Rarely does the opportunity to own the most significant artifact of a player and a franchise present itself to the hobby, and we expect no shortage of fireworks when advanced collectors face off on Platinum Night. The winning bidder will immediately find himself king of the Royals collecting community.

Please search website for "Pine Tar Game" to find other related items from this event in Session 2 of this auction. LOA from MEARS, A10. LOA from Heritage Auctions. LOA from Resolution Photomatching (July 30, 1983 game). Full LOA from PSA/DNA (autograph).

Pine Tar Game