This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/29/2019
In the fall of 1953, Dodgers manager Chuck Dressen demanded the unthinkable from team owner Walter O'Malley: a multi-year contract. Despite winning two consecutive pennants, management refused to give in to Dressen's demands and he was replaced by a relative unknown named Walter Alston. Walt gladly signed the one-year deal, and he kept signing them for the next 23 years, becoming the longest tenured manager in Dodgers history. Over that span, "Smokey" consistently proved his mettle, ultimately winning seven NL pennants and four World Series and piling up over 2,000 victories before retiring in 1976. He was selected as Manager of the Year six times and skippered seven All-Star games. His quiet, reticent managerial style was finally given its proper due in 1983 with election to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
By the time Alston donned this 1965 L.A. Dodgers road jersey, he had already won three championships, managing Brooklyn to its lone title in 1955 and then adding two more on the West Coast in '59 and '63. The well-worn gray flannel features a scripted blue felt "Los Angeles" across the chest with a red felt No. "24" and that number repeated in blue felt on the back. The lower left front tail is properly tagged by Rawlings with a size 46 label along with "Alston 65" chain-stitched in blue below. Just inside the left tail is the wash instructions with a "Set 1 1965" flap tag. The button-up shirt is original and unaltered, displaying sweat staining around the neck and heavy sweating/soiling on the front. The felt numbers and letters are original to the garment, showing consistent pilling. The Dodgers won 97 games in 1965 before defeating the Minnesota Twins in an exciting seven-game Fall Classic to give Alston his fourth and final World Series title. A classic and important flannel from the proud franchise's most accomplished manager.