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Bill Buckner played his first major league game in 1969 with the Los Angeles Dodgers (at the age of 19) and his last game in 1990 (at the age of 40) with the Boston Red Sox. He won the National League batting title in 1980 with the Chicago Cubs and was an All-Star in 1981. For his entire career, "Billy Buck" was known as one of the more consistent contact hitters in the major leagues: in 2,517 games, Buckner accumulated 2,715 hits and only 453 strikeouts.
This home white California Angels jersey was worn by Bill Buckner during the 1987 season. It is tagged on the tail with a Rawlings size/wash tag and an embroidered "1 87" swatch tag (indicative of the set number and the year of the jersey). The Angels team patch is affixed to the left sleeve of this jersey. Buckner has signed and dated this jersey in the collar with his name and "11/10/87". This jersey exhibits good evidence of game use – including some staining and extensive wash wear. This jersey is all original and completely unaltered.
Included with this lot is a Letter of Opinion from MEARS (pictured above) which graded the jersey an A9 (base grade of 10, minus 1 point for light staining). Also included is a Letter of Authenticity from Robert Edward Auction/JSA Authentication (also pictured above) which states the jersey was originally sourced from Barry Halper. The Robert Edward Auctions LOA states the following:
"Barry was friends with Bill Buckner and received this jersey directly from him. Among other items Barry obtained from Buckner were the original cleats and glove he was wearing at the time of his famous error. Those pieces were sold in 1999, but Barry always had a special fondness for Buckner and kept this jersey as a reminder of Buckner's place in history and Barry's friendship with him."
A great example of a late career Buckner gamer sourced from Barry Halper!View Lot Detail page