Auctions
Yogi Berra World Series perfect game pants, rookie jersey up for bid at Grey Flannel
When catcher Yogi Berra rushed to the pitcher’s mound and leaped into the arms of pitcher Don Larsen, it capped the first perfect game in World Series history and one of the most iconic moments in baseball.
The uniform pants the Yankees legend wore that day in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series is now up for bid in the Nov. 16 Holiday Auction at Grey Flannel Auctions.
The auction features two historic items related to the Yankees’ legendary catcher. Also up for bid is Berra’s jersey from his 1947 rookie season.
Berra’s 1947 rookie jersey is photo-matched to April 17, 1947, the second game of Berra’s rookie season. The flannel, pinstripe home jersey features the original Spalding label, a size 44 tag, and “Berra” chain-stitched in navy cursive. The jersey displays Berra’s rookie number 35 in navy felt and includes his signature beneath the “NY” logo.
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Berra’s storied career, which included 18 All-Star selections and 10 World Series titles (the most by any player), began in 1947, the season that marked the Yankees’ first World Series title in 23 years.
Berra’s 1956 perfect game pants are photo-matched to Oct. 8, 1956, when Berra famously leapt into Larsen’s arms after catching the final out of the only perfect game in World Series history. The pinstripe flannel pants feature the original Spalding label and Berra’s retired number 8.
“Having both Yogi Berra’s 1947 rookie jersey and his 1956 Perfect Game pants in a single auction is simply unprecedented,” said Michael Russek, director of operations at Grey Flannel Auctions. “These bookend one of the greatest careers in baseball history—from Berra’s first steps as a Yankee to the immortal image of him leaping into Don Larsen’s arms after perfection. The 1956 pants quite literally capture the moment Yogi became the only catcher ever to call a World Series perfect game—a record untouched nearly 70 years later.”
Other auction highlights include:
• Michael Jordan game-used and dual-signed rookie-era Air Jordan 1 shoes photo-matched to the Oct. 26, 1985 Bulls-Pistons game that fueled one of the NBA’s fiercest rivalries. Each shoe bears Jordan’s signature and came from longtime Bulls equipment manager John Ligmanowski.
• Paul Hornung’s 1956 Notre Dame jersey from Hornung’s Heisman Trophy season.
• Willie Mays 1971 complete road uniform photo-matched to multiple games, including his 20th Giants anniversary.
• Mickey Mantle 1959 game-used Rawlings glove.
• Babe Ruth “Double Babe” signed photograph inscribed “To My Pal Babe” to Babe Herman.
• Wilt Chamberlain 1966–67 76ers shooting shirt from his MVP season with “WILT” on the back.
• Cy Young Award winners’ jerseys: Don Drysdale (1961–62), Tom Seaver (1974–75), and more.
• Joe Montana 1988 game-worn 49ers jersey.
