Sheer ability, consistency and resiliency were the hallmarks of Henry Louis Aaron. For twenty consecutive seasons, he totaled more than 20 home runs – 15 times topping the 30-homer mark and eight times walloping 40 or more big flies. As Aaron biographer Lonnie Wheeler once wrote, "Hank’s excellence was not expelled in blinding bursts of energy, but rather played out, patiently and inexorably, over a whole generation."
The Hammer spent his entire 23-year career with the Braves, split almost evenly between Milwaukee and the franchise’s current dwelling in Atlanta. The 25-time All-Star (most ever) is still largely considered baseball’s true Home Run King with 755, and he stands as MLB’s all-time leader in runs batted in and extra base hits. The key to Aaron’s consistent stat production was his conditioning and durability, which helped extend his prime much further than his contemporaries. In his five seasons from age 35 to 39, Aaron batted .300 and averaged 40 HR and 101 RB1.
Presented here is Hank’s game worn road jersey from the strike-shortened 1972 campaign. Defying age, death threats, doubters, and pressure from the media, the 38-year-old slugged 34 more long balls to push his career total to 673 and move closer to catching the immortal Babe Ruth. He also surpassed 2,000 RBI and became baseball’s all-time leader in total bases. This superb piece of history has received the highest possible grade (Superior) from SGC’s expert jersey authenticator, Dave Grob, and it comes with outstanding provenance to boot.
The predominantly royal blue knit pullover has a two-button neckline with satin eyelet reinforcement (only used on this ‘72 style) and white sleeves with the Braves vintage decorative feather crest adorning each sleeve. "Braves" is scripted across the chest with Aaron's famous No. "44" below and repeated in larger font on the reverse. All letters and numerals are appliquéd in white-on-red-tackle twill. There are three important tags residing in the back collar: A Sand-Knit exclusive label, a Sand-Knit "size 40" tag, and a cream-colored felt swatch with "Aaron 72 - Set 1" chain-stitched in blue. The laundered shirt displays adequate wear with puckered letters and numbers, moderate fraying and light pilling to the fabric.
According to a well-documented source, “the 1972 season was a transition year for most MLB uniforms because teams were switching from flannels to knits. As such, there were certain issues which arose with this new fabric in regards to wear, washing and fit. The Braves had nightmarish problems with shrinkage and discoloration in this transition year to knits and, as a result, the team switched to dry cleaning its jerseys.” This explains the relatively short-looking torso and tail on this Set 1 exemplar. SGC’s authentication paperwork addresses this as well and they did not deduct grading points for any apparent shrinkage.
As a token of gratitude, this jersey was gifted by Atlanta’s traveling secretary to the VP/GM of the visiting team hotel during a Braves road trip through Chicago in ’72. (The Cubs hosted the Braves at Wrigley for just two series that abbreviated season: May 2-4 and July 14-16.) From the mid-1960’s to the late 70’s, MLB teams all stayed at Executive House downtown when they came to the Windy City to play the Cubs or White Sox. A detailed letter of provenance is provided, both from the recipient and his son who has consigned it. Also included is SGC’s thick professional authentication booklet explaining the jersey and its corresponding evaluation.