Featured here are two fine Tony Gwynn San Diego Padres jerseys, neither gamers, but quite possibly event-worn by "Mr. Padre" himself. Each one was framed nicely and displayed in his lovely home, leading us to believe that they were issued by the Padres post-retirement and likely worn by Tony for certain functions. In 1984, just his third season, Gwynn hit .351 to win the 1st of his NL-record 8 batting titles and topped the 200-hit plateau for the 1st of what would be four times. Gwynn batted over .300 an NL-record 19 times, never hit below .309 in a full season and ended his sterling career with a .338 career average that ranks supreme among all post-WWII players. He won as many batting crowns as Honus Wager (eclipsed only by Ty Cobb's 12) and struck out just 434 times in 10,232 plate appearances. Mix that in with five Gold Gloves and the rest is inevitable: election to the Hall of Fame with the 7th-best voting percentage in history (97.61%).
The classic 1984 white throwback and mid-late 1990's home white jersey are each manufactured by Majestic and come in a massive size 56. The '84 throwback sports a six-button-down design with "Padres" across the front chest in orange, yellow and brown tackle twill - same fashion for his famed No. 19 on the back. His name appears in brown tackle twill on a white nameplate on the upper back. The "RAK" initials of former team owner and McDonald's founder Ray Krok are sewn in brown block letter tackle twill to the left sleeve. The ends of each sleeve have elastic bands in the striped combo of brown, orange and yellow. The Padres have worn the 1984 home white throwbacks at least twice in the last five years: 5/22/14 vs. Cubs and 9/30/10 vs. Cubs. They most likely issued this jersey to Tony around one of these times. The 90's home white jersey with navy pinstripes has "PADRES" on the front and "19" on the back in navy tackle twill outlined in white and orange. "GWYNN" appears in navy tackle twill on the upper back. Based on the lack of any patches on the sleeves and other design features, we believe this to be a 1995, '96 or '98 throwback style. Both jerseys show signs of light wear, furthering our event-worn theory.
Includes Letter of Authenticity from the Gwynn Family.
A portion of the proceeds generated by the Tony Gwynn Collection will be donated to the Tony and Alicia Gwynn Foundation. The TAG Foundation is a non-profit, 5013(c) charity dedicated to creating and supporting programs that enhance opportunities for youth to become healthy, educated, and productive citizens. The TAG Foundation was organized in San Diego in 1995 by Tony’s wife, Alicia. For more information, visit www.tagwynn2.org.