This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/21/2017
Addendum: This jersey is from 1973, not 1969 as previously indicated. The Astros began wearing knit jerseys in 1971. The description has been updated accordingly.
In 1969, Jim Bouton was traded to the expansion Seattle Pilots. After the Pilots sent him to the minors, he was traded to the Astros where he got into 16 games and went 0-2. The knuckleballer artfully recorded his tumultuous season in baseball’s most entertaining and notorious memoir, “Ball Four”. This Bob Watson 1973 Houston Astros home “Shooting Star” jersey originated from Bouton's personal collection. How Bouton wound up with the jersey is not recorded. The two were teammates 1969-70 Bouton served primarly as a reliever and Watson was settling in as the team's primary first-baseman. In '73, Watson had one of his finest MLB seasons, batting .312 with 16 HR and 94 RBI. He scored a career-high 97 runs and earned his first of two N.L. All-Star nods.
The sand-knit home white jersey has “ASTROS” and a shooting star arching across the front in orange and navy chenille embroidery over white cotton twill backing. The collar and sleeve ends are trimmed in orange, navy and white ribbing and the front is fastened with a zipper enclosure. The left front tail has “73” chain stitched in navy on a white strip tag. The left sleeve has the Astros logo featuring the new Astrodome in orange, navy and white embroidery. Wilson size “46” label is sewn inside the collar. “WATSON” is arched across the shoulders and number “27” is below, both in orange and navy tackle twill. Overall the jersey shows heavy game use. The white sand knit shows toning from age and there are many pine tar spots and turf stains throughout, in particular on the left front chest and below the right arm pit. The back of the jersey also shows a heavy number of pine tar spots. The tackle twill and felt letters have some puckering from repeated laundering and though there are loose threads present, the stitching remains tight.
LOA from Jim Bouton.