High grade and rare two year style make for a powerful combination you won’t want to miss out on.
Player Attribution and Dating: The jersey features a c 1946-1965 McAuliffe tag and a “62” year identification tag. The jersey is attributed to Joe Hicks by the presence of the number 31 which is original to the jersey. Hicks spent the 1961 and 1962 seasons with the Washington Senators wearing 31 both seasons. The jersey is tagged as and measures out to be a size 42. Hicks is listed as being 6’, 180 lbs and as such I would consider a size 42-44 to be an appropriate size for him.
Construction: The jersey is constructed of professional grade 4 oz flannel; sleeve cut is Set-In. All lettering and numbering is done in navy blue felt with a double straight stitch pattern. This double straight stich applique can actually be seen in period images of Senator road jerseys. What can also been seen in period images dated to the time frame this style was worn (1961-1962) are the opaque pearl gray, concave four-hole buttons that are not typically found on Rawlings, Spalding, MacGregor, or Wilson products of this time frame. Combined with the diamond point numeric font style, this jersey is consistent with what you would expect to see in Stahl & Dean product offered by Tim McAuliffe, Inc. All of these materials are period team, manufacturer and period appropriate. (PLATES I-II)
Use and Wear: The jersey features signs of moderate to heavy wear, but not to the point were any of it becomes a detraction from the overall appearance of the jersey. All seven original buttons remain firmly affixed. There is some light staining/soiling on the rear of the jersey in the area between the top of the numerals and collar area. This staining/soiling is better seen when the jersey is viewed under UV lighting. The surface wear to the felt on the rear numerals is slightly more pronounced that that on the front felt for Washington, including a single small 2mm hole on the “3”. I do not doubt that both are original to the jersey and this may have been caused by contact with a hard surface such as bench in the dugout.
Opinion: This jersey possess all of the characteristics that I would expect to find in a McAuliffe road product provided to the Washington Senators in 1962 for use and wear by Joe Hicks. The MEARS data base includes other 1962 Senators road jerseys manufactured by McAuliffe as well. The MEARS grading criteria for pre-1988 jerseys begins with a base grade of 10 and five categories for deductions. I found this reason to deduct points from this jersey:
Category 5: -.5 Staining on the back
As such the final grade for this 1962 Joe Hicks Washington Senators Road Jersey with Cert # 311411 is A9.5.
Dave Grob
MEARS
Enclosures: PLATES I-II