Spring 2019 - Item detail
1969 Mike Marshall Seattle Pilots Game-Used Road Jersey
- Sold For:
- $13,200
- Year:
- 1969
- Auction:
- 2019 Spring
- Lot #:
- 2122
- Category:
- Post-1900 Baseball Memorabilia
Rare 1969 Seattle Pilots road jersey worn by former National League Cy Young Award winner Mike Marshall during the club's one and only season. The blue flannel jersey is lettered "Seattle" across the front and features the club’s embroidered logo patch on the right breast. The number "28" appears on the reverse. All letters and numerals are appliquéd in gold on blue tackle twill. A Major League Baseball "100th Anniversary" patch adorns the left sleeve. The player's name and jersey size ("Marshall 42") are chain-stitched in blue upon a blue strip tag in the collar. Located on the left front tail are a "Spalding" label, an adjacent "42" size tag, a laundry tag, and a flag tag reading "Set 1 1969." All of the letters and numerals on the front and back, including the front logo patch, as well as the 100th Anniversary patch on the left sleeve have been restored. The name tag in the collar and the tagging/labels on the left front tail are all original. Light wear is displayed throughout.
The history of the Seattle Pilots is quite brief. Joining the American League as an expansion club in 1969, the franchise, due to financial considerations, was quickly sold and relocated to Milwaukee the following spring. Although the team hardly distinguished itself on the field, finishing in last place with a 64-98 record, the club was later immortalized in Jim Bouton's groundbreaking "tell all" book, Ball Four. Because the Pilots only played one year in Seattle, game-used items, especially jerseys, are exceedingly rare. The fact that this jersey was worn by Marshall, who became one of the game's most dominant relief pitchers, only adds to its significance.
Mike Marshall was used primarily as a starter by the Pilots in 1969 and finished the season 3-10 with a 5.31 ERA. After the Pilots were sold and the franchise moved to Milwaukee, Marshall's was traded to the Houston Astros, where he once again returned to the bullpen. Following another trade to the Montreal Expos during the middle of the 1970 season, Marshall quickly became on of the best relief pitchers in baseball. After finishing among the top five in the Cy Young Award voting in 1972 and 1973, Marshall was traded to the Dodgers, where he helped lead the club to the 1974 National League pennant. In what was his finest overall season, Marshall appeared in a record 106 games, winning 15 and saving a league-leading 21. Those numbers, along with his 2.42 ERA, earned him the 1974 Cy Young Award at season's end (he finished third in the MVP voting that year). Marshall finished his 14-year career in 1981 with a record of 97-112, 188 saves, and a 3.14 ERA. Graded A5.5 by MEARS (base grade of 10, with 4 points deducted for the replaced numbers and letters, and a half point deducted for the replaced sleeve patch). LOA from Troy Kinunen/MEARS. Reserve $500. Estimate (open).
The history of the Seattle Pilots is quite brief. Joining the American League as an expansion club in 1969, the franchise, due to financial considerations, was quickly sold and relocated to Milwaukee the following spring. Although the team hardly distinguished itself on the field, finishing in last place with a 64-98 record, the club was later immortalized in Jim Bouton's groundbreaking "tell all" book, Ball Four. Because the Pilots only played one year in Seattle, game-used items, especially jerseys, are exceedingly rare. The fact that this jersey was worn by Marshall, who became one of the game's most dominant relief pitchers, only adds to its significance.
Mike Marshall was used primarily as a starter by the Pilots in 1969 and finished the season 3-10 with a 5.31 ERA. After the Pilots were sold and the franchise moved to Milwaukee, Marshall's was traded to the Houston Astros, where he once again returned to the bullpen. Following another trade to the Montreal Expos during the middle of the 1970 season, Marshall quickly became on of the best relief pitchers in baseball. After finishing among the top five in the Cy Young Award voting in 1972 and 1973, Marshall was traded to the Dodgers, where he helped lead the club to the 1974 National League pennant. In what was his finest overall season, Marshall appeared in a record 106 games, winning 15 and saving a league-leading 21. Those numbers, along with his 2.42 ERA, earned him the 1974 Cy Young Award at season's end (he finished third in the MVP voting that year). Marshall finished his 14-year career in 1981 with a record of 97-112, 188 saves, and a 3.14 ERA. Graded A5.5 by MEARS (base grade of 10, with 4 points deducted for the replaced numbers and letters, and a half point deducted for the replaced sleeve patch). LOA from Troy Kinunen/MEARS. Reserve $500. Estimate (open).