Spring Premier Auction 2014

Legendary slugger Ted Kluszewski was an almost cosmic addition to the weak-hit, good-field, great-pitch "Go Go" White Sox late in the 1959 campaign, one of the key additions that helped avoid the collective American League embarrassment of having the New York Yankees win 10 pennants in a row between 1955 and 1964. "Big Klu" played for four teams for 15 seasons, 1947 through 1961, with a heyday with the Reds when he had a remarkable three-year (1953-55) stretch in which he eclipsed the 40-homer plateau in each campaign and, in doing so, launched a total of 136 round-trippers - a National League three-season standard at that time. Still, for a generation of White Sox fans, his power hitting after his trade to the Chicago White Sox late in the season is what is remembered, a timely trade that helped that team clinch the American League pennant. Kluszewski truly endeared himself to Sox fans as he went on to register 1959 World Series bests with three Fall Classic clouts, 10 RBI and a .391 October batting mark. Offered here then is a Chicago White Sox home jersey from that glorious campaign and donned by the Herculean figure during the stretch run that propelled them into that Series against the Dodgers. This blue-pinstriped, cream-colored flannel, button-down garment features "Sox" angled on the left breast in blue-on-red double twill and Kluszewski's number "8" sewn to the back in like fashion. Tailored for the slugger's decidedly muscular frame, the sleeves on this jersey are cut and hemmed at the shoulders - identical in style to the uniforms he had worn in Cincinnati, all the better to display bulging muscles to the delight of hometown fans and the consternation of pitchers everywhere. On the left front tail, a "Wilson" manufacturer's label is accompanied by a flap tag denoting Size "48" and a felt strip tag with a chain-stitched notation of "1959 - 2." Within the nylon-lined collar, a felt strip tag reads "Kluszewski" embroidered in cursive. The item shows moderate wear, with no signs of repair or alteration.

Comes with a Letter from MEARS A10.