Rod DeDeaux (Legendary Manager) 1984 Home USA Olympic Worn Uniform (Robert "Ish" Smith LOA)

After playing only two games at shortstop for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Rod DeDeaux turned to coaching and became a legendary manager of the USC Trojans. At USC, he managed some of the Major League best players, including, Tom Seaver, Mark McGwire, Dave Kingman, and Ron Fairly. In 1974, USC named their new baseball stadium after him. He was a member of the first class of inductees into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. He died at the age of 91 that same year.

Home white Team USA uniform worn during the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles by legendary skipper Rod DeDeaux. Jersey is a white pullover with a Rawlings size 46/wash tag on the tail (a faint "46" is also written on the tail near the tag). DeDeaux's name is affixed to the back on a nameplate, and his number 24 are on the front and back. Jersey exhibits moderate evidence of game use, including some loose stitching and a small stain on the back. The pants are white with red and blue striping down the legs. There is a Rawlings size 36/wash tag in the waistband, and a size/wash flag tag sewn into the rear. Also included in this group is DeDeaux's "USA" cap from the games, which is made by EXACE, and is a size 7 1/8. Includes a hand-written and signed LOA from Dr. Robert "Ish" Smith, President of the United States Baseball Federation. Dr. Smith ran the 1984 baseball games at the Olympics, where he obtained this uniform (as his letter states). A historic piece of United States Olympic history with impeccable provenance.
View Lot Detail page

[russyurk]

Hey all, be careful on this one. I'm a pretty serious Team USA jersey collector and despite the letter from Mr. Smith there are a lot of inconsistencies with this set.

1. Coach's last name was spelled "Dedeaux" not DeDeaux. This is consistent in the 1984 Team USA media guide. Coach was a part of multiple USA squads as far back as the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo so a misspelled name is questionable.
2. Coach was famous for wearing #1. According to the 1984 media guide coach was #1 and BJ Surhoff was #24. When coach passed away in 2006 all USA Baseball teams wore a patch to commemorate the occasion and it included large #1.
3. The white 1984 Olympic gamers were button ups and not pullovers. I have a wire photo of John Hoover from the Games that clearly shows buttons.
4. The white 1984 gamers also included a “Baseball USA” patch on the sleeve and it doesn’t appear that this jersey has one.

I don’t have a clear picture of coach in his white jersey that can specifically be linked to Olympic action but there are a number if things that don’t quite mesh.

[Birdbats]

I am the consignor of this uniform. I received it at an FCA auction in Effingham, Illinois, directly from Ish Smith. After I won the uniform, Dr. Smith wrote the LOA in front of me. Dr. Smith runs the FCA in southern Illinois and has held a few auctions to benefit the organization. He donates his own personal items to these auctions, including this uniform. I have absolutely no reason to doubt Dr. Smith when he says this jersey was worn by Rod Dedeaux. Dr. Smith was instrumental in getting baseball into the Olympic games and ran the LA games' baseball tournament in 1984. I do not claim to be an Olympic baseball expert, but I am certain that I received this uniform directly from Dr. Smith and watched as he wrote the LOA. If anyone questions the authenticity of the jersey, then they are questioning the word of the man who was the long-time president of both the US Baseball Federation and the International Baseball Federation.

[kingjammy24]

jeff

you're sharper than that. i have no clue about olympic gamers but at a minimum, this russyurk fellow brings up several specific issues for discussion. it's hardly an answer to any of it to say the jersey ought to coast on its provenance. if players can be mistaken about the very gear they personally used, i'm guessing it's possible for mr.smith to be mistaken. from your description of him, he sounds like he's a big mayor mccheese when it comes to olympic baseball in the US. that's great. how is he with gamers?

remember the crystal mantle glove? not much of a response to have said "if anyone doubts this glove, they're doubting the word of mickey mantle himself". turns out mickey was wrong. turns out esken knew more about mickey's gloves than mickey himself did.

russyurk brings up 4 specific issues. maybe he's completely wrong on all of them. maybe he's right on a few and confused on others. who knows. at a minimum, i think it warrants a discussion of those specific issues rather than simply a blanket reply that mr.smith's word is beyond reproach and the provenance automatically makes the jersey infallible.

rudy.

[ironmanfan]

Lets face it, the 1984 Olympics (baseball included) were far from a secret and there has to be some photographic evidence of them wearing this style uniform. Could "Ish" have been innocently mistaken and perhaps this is some sort of a Salesman Sample, with corrections to Dedeaux's name/number & style done once competition began (particularly since he was the Federation's President)? Dedeaux would make sense as a sample since he was the manager before any individual players were named to the team....Just some thoughts I had in looking at this lot as well...

[kingjammy24]

here's a pic i found. it's supposed to be from '84.



rudy.

[kingjammy24]

here's another one i found. i know for a fact that this one is indeed from
the '84 olympics in LA. why is it different from the other pic i posted?:



rudy.

[kingjammy24]

Originally Posted by kingjammy24

here's a pic i found. it's supposed to be from '84.



rudy.

stupid me. this pic is from 1988. that's jim abbott leaping in the air by the way. should've noticed the missing hand.

rudy.