It's difficult to imagine a more compelling piece of Don Drysdale memorabilia than this breathtaking Los Angeles Dodgers home jersey from 1966, the final year of his famed collaboration with Sandy Koufax, who retired at the close of the season. Drysdale was the workhorse of the legendary Dodgers staff, a cadre of fireballers that propelled the newly transplanted Dodgers to three World Series titles in seven years and solidified a spot in Cooperstown for the imposing right-hander. In 1962, Drysdale won 25 games and the Cy Young Award; six years later, he set major league records with six consecutive shutouts and 58 consecutive scoreless innings, a staggering record broken by fellow Dodger Orel Hershiser 20 years later. He ended his career with 209 wins, 2,486 strikeouts, 167 complete games and 49 shutouts. If the year 1966 needed any addition historical oomph, there's the realization that 1966 was the year of the "Great Holdout," when the two pitching aces announced prior to spring training that they were seeking a contract of just over $1 million for three years, divided equally between them. Ultimately, they would sign for $130,000 (Koufax) and $105,000, which was thought to be a lot of money at the time. In truth, it was a tiny glimpse of what was to come as the management/labor paradigm was turned on its ear with the growing muscle of a remarkable labor union and the eventual free agency a decade later.
This amazing treasure features a vibrant rendering of the classic Dodger Blue felt script on the front and Drysdale's famed No. 53 on the back. Just as vivid is the red felt numbers on the jersey front; the shirt shows optimal game use but is in problem free condition with no alterations of any kind. The McAuliffe tag appears on the front-left tail directly beneath a white felt tag with "Drysdale" in embroidered red stitching. Attached to the McAuliffe tag are smaller flag tags with "66" and the size, "46."
Includes a LOA from MEARS (Graded A10) and a Letter of Provenance from the Newport Sports Museum Collection.