A mythical figure in New York Yankees lore, Roger Maris will always be remembered as “The Man who Beat the Babe”  when he hit 61 home runs in 1961, besting Babe Ruth’s record that stood for 34 years. As a result, a large controversy began, questioning who really is the single season Home Run King? Some say Ruth and most say Maris. Sosa, McGuire or Bonds have yet to be acknowledged as the keepers of the crown, because of their involvement with performance enhancing drugs. In the end, it is Roger’s record. This amazing feat went under-appreciated at the time, even by the home team fans, who didn’t want the Babe’s record to come down, which was very frustrating to Maris.  He died very young (51), which is a definite reason for the relative scarcity of Maris memorabilia and signed Maris objects.  This is one of the most desirable Maris items ever put to auction.

    While we are not  sure if Roger Maris ever wore this size-44 Rawlings grey flannel New York Yankees 1962 road jersey, we can place it in his possession, and in his hands on at least the two occasions when he signed this vintage garment, most likely during his fabled seven-year stint in the Bronx. Quite possibly a salesman’s sample jersey presented to Maris, as Spalding, not Rawlings, was the official manufacturer of Yankees jerseys at the time.  It was tailored to his specifications and his name “Maris” is stitched in red on a wool strip tag on the inside collar where Maris signature also appears in pronounced blue fiber tip marker. Maris signed the jersey again,  (both 10/10), just below the “Action-Tailored” by Rawling’s size-44 manufacturers tag on the left front tail in the same thick fiber marker. The manufacturers laundering instructions: “Wash in Lukewarm Water with Mild Soap Dry Slowly At Room Temperature” with a “Set 1 1962” flag tag. “New York” is applied in navy block wool letters across the front of this button jersey which contains all of the design elements of the Yankees 1962 road uniforms including ventilated armpit sleeves. Maris familiar number 9 is also applied on the back of the jersey in the same thick wool navy block lettering. While it is uncertain if this is a game worn jersey, it does display wear consistent with its vintage; the five mother-of-pearl buttons remaining on the jersey do not contain any broken stitches but one button is missing. This intriguing vintage garment is the only signed number 9 jersey we know of its kind, and one of only two known authenticated signed Maris Yankees jerseys to be sold at auction, and the ONLY ONE that is a 'Roger Maris' jersey; comes with JSA LOA Certification #X32868, and a full LOA from PSA/DNA.

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