This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/24/2016
From a relatively modest beginning as a New York Met in the late 1960's, Nolan Ryan grew into a dominant hurler in the American League after being traded to the California Angels following the '71 season. The hard-throwing right-hander regularly threw pitches above 100 miles per hour throughout his Hall of Fame career. In 1980, he returned to his home state of Texas by joining the Houston Astros and becoming the first ever player to earn a million dollar per year salary. The 1980's were a decade of many milestones for Ryan as he passed Walter Johnson’s all-time strikeout mark, got his 5th no-hitter to break Koufax's MLB record, and struck out his 5,000th batter. "The Express" retired in 1993 with seven no-hitters and 5,714 strikeouts, both tops in MLB history by a wide margin. Presented here is a one of his game-worn road jerseys from the 1988 season, his last with the Astros before heading up the road to finish his career with the Texas Rangers.
The Rawlings cream knit pullover shirt with a V-neck is signed by Ryan on the front in 8-9/10 black marker. "ASTROS" and the team logo adorn the front, with Ryan's No. "34" on the back, all sewn on in navy blue on white tackle twill. "RYAN" is sewn on a back cream nameplate in navy blue tackle twill. The sleeves are lined at the top with the Astros' classic 70's/80's "comet trail" striping pattern that so typified the fashion of that era. Rawlings size 44 manufacturer's tagging appears on the left front tail with a "Set 1 1988" flag tag. The shirt displays light-to-moderate wear with some puckering to the numbers and letters. Research indicates that in 1988 Ryan still wore Goodman & Sons jerseys when he pitched (team switched to Rawlings in 1987), but photos on his non-pitching days would often show him wearing Rawlings-tagged shirts in the dugout. So while this jersey was most likely not worn during one of his starts, it still considered game-worn during a non-pitching day.
Autograph pre-certified by PSA/DNA.