This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/5/2017
Standing 6’2” tall and weighing 195 pounds, the kid from Refugio, TX grew to be the greatest pitcher of our generation. When his career was finished, Nolan Ryan amassed 5,714 strikeouts, seven no hitters, 300+ wins, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999. A true treasure of our generation, no player commands the fan admiration of Nolan Ryan, and his game worn jerseys are highly sought after.
For this lot, we are very proud to announce a fresh to the hobby jersey worn by Nolan Ryan during the 1974-1975 era and was gifted to our consignor personally from Angels clubhouse manager Mickey Shishido at the conclusion of the 1975 season. It has been in his possession ever since until being consigned to MEARS for our January auction. Upon evaluation, this is one of the finest examples of a Ryan shirt to enter the market and reserved for those seeking the absolute best example!
It was a very important two year span of Ryan’s career that the shirt was issued to be worn. First, 1974 marked the major league milestone of Nolan Ryan becoming the first player in the history to strikeout 300+ batters for three consecutive seasons. Secondly, in 1974 Ryan posted a 22-16 record, struck out 367 hitters, and threw his third no hitter during the last game of the season. In 1975, Ryan posted a 14-12 record, while striking out a 186 batters and pitched his forth no hitter. Simply put a phenomenal shirt from the peak of Ryan’s career.
To prepare for this auction, the shirt was reviewed by the professional staff of MEARS. Our findings:
Style: Issued as the home pullover with blue/red/blue metered “V” neck and matching arm openings with rounded tail. “Angels” appears on the front with red on blue double tackle twill. “Ryan” and “30” appears on both the front and reverse in matching double tackle twill. For the years 1974-1975, names were added to the shirt. (see accompanying photo). Shirt compares favorably with period images.
Manufacturer (Goodman & Sons): Per the Official MEARS tagging database, the style of the tag is consistent with what the team issued during the 1970s.
1973 Vida Blue
1975 Bill Singer
Dating (1974-1975): Per the manufacturer and the jersey style (name on back, 1974-1975), we date this shirt to the 1974-1975 season. 1973 found the Angels wearing McAuliffe products and 1976 found the team with no names on the back.
Size (44): Measurement of the actual shirt confirms it is consistent with the tagged size of 44. Shirt is also consistent with respect to size of other period Ryan shirts from the era. Included for example are:
1972 (size 44)
1973 (size 44)
1979 (size 44)
Therefore, size 44 is consistent with what you would expect to see on a 1970s era Nolan Ryan shirt.
Game Wear: Shirt exhibits heavy game wear, and based on information from our consignor, worn over the course of a full season or possibly two. The wear is evenly distributed on both front and reverse of the shirt. Heavy puckering and wear to the lettering and numbering. Slight areas of staining, associated with heavy game wear.
Provenance: Per our consignor, the shirt was originally obtained from California Angels equipment manager Mickey Shishido.
Final Grade (MEARS A9.5): After comparison to the five categories of evaluation per the Official MEARS Grading and Evaluation Worksheet, the shirt was assessed a ½ point deduction for a heavy stain found at the bottom of the tail.
After review by MEARS and verification that the shirt matches factory traits, has optimal game wear, provenance, and high grade, this shirt is the crème de la crème of Nolan Ryan game worn jerseys.
(99A0531)
(JSA Auction Letter)