This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/18/2014
From a relatively modest beginning as a New York Met in the late 1960's, Nolan Ryan pretty quickly grew into the dominant hurler in the American League after the Mets traded him after the 1971 season. Ryan, a hard-throwing, right-hander, threw pitches that were regularly recorded above 100 miles per hour. He was an eight-time All-Star, and his 5,714 career strikeouts rank first in baseball history by a significant margin. Ryan and Sandy Koufax are the only two pitchers inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame who had more strikeouts than innings pitched. Ryan is the all-time leader in no-hitters with seven, three more than any other pitcher. He is tied with Bob Feller for most one-hitters, with 12. Ryan also pitched 18 two-hitters. This amazing jersey hails from that epic 1973 season, only his second year with the Angels, when he won 20 games for the first time and logged an MLB record 383 strikeouts, a record that remains intact four decades later despite the, uh, eagerness of modern players to swing from their heels.
On the front inside tail of this classic is the "McAuliffe" manufacturer's tag directly above the Size "44" smaller tag. The year "1973" and wash tags flank the McAuliffe tag. Across the front is "Angels" in red-on-navy blue tackle twill; below on the left and on back is the player number "30" in the same fashion. Across the back is the player name "Ryan," also in red-on-navy blue tackle twill. On the left sleeve is the “State of California” embroidered patch. Ryan’s autograph appears in black marker on the front of the shirt above the "Angels" lettering. The jersey shows solid game-use with no alterations of any kind.
Includes a LOA from MEARS (Graded A10) and a Letter of Provenance from the Newport Sports Museum Collection.
This lot has a Reserve Price that has not been met.