This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 5/26/2016.
Dave Winfield’s 22-year Hall of Fame career began in 1973 with the San Diego Padres, where he hit three home runs with 12 RBI in 56 games. He would later appear in 12 straight All-Star games, win a World Series championship in 1992, win seven Gold Glove Awards and six Silver Slugger Awards. Winfield has his No. 31 retired by the Padres. On the front right tail is a “Rawlings” size “46” manufacturer’s tag with washing instructions. Across the chest reads, “PADRES” and the player number “1” appears on the back. Both are done in brown tackle twill sewn directly onto the yellow jersey. The number “31” outline is visible and shows obvious signs of a number change. There is substantial fading throughout the shirt. The shirt has ironclad provenance from Andy Strasberg, who was an executive with the Padres from 1975 through 1996 (his letter of provenance is included). Strasberg has owned the jersey since receiving it from the club in 1976, and attests to its original condition. This style of jersey was only worn for two years, in 1972 and 1973. A player named Rafael Robles wore No. 31 in 1972, but only for 18 games. The length is correct, as Winfield and most others wore their pants very high at the time. The jersey has never had a name tag in the neck, which further leads us to believe that this belonged to Winfield, who joined the club over two months after the 1973 season began. Robles started the 1972 season with the Padres, so his name most likely would have been present in the neck if this were his jersey. There is no evidence of a name tag ever being removed. This jersey is properly tagged, was presented to us as game-used and in our opinion shows outstanding use. Accompanied by an LOA from Padres executive, Strasberg.