A jersey worn by Roberto Clemente during the 1960 World Series season for the Pittsburgh Pirates is among items up for auction by online outlet Lelands.
The iconic sleeveless jersey from what was Clemente’s first All-Star season received a grade of excellent from sports memorabilia authenticator SGC, the second-highest grade attainable. The gray (away), button-up vest was worn during a season in which Clemente hit .314 with 94 RBIs in helping the Pirates to what was at the time their first World Series title in 35 years.
The Pirates beat the New York Yankees, four games to three, in a World Series that famously ended with Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off home run at Forbes Field.
The Clemente jersey comes with a hardcover authentication book. It features a “60” felt year tag inside. According to Lelands, the “PIRATES” and “21” are 100% original, albeit some of the felt partially separated from the jersey and has been professionally stabilized.
Some frontal buttons and piping around the shoulders and neck were restored by period piping or buttons from another original Pirates jersey in areas in which the Clemente jersey’s piping were worn or missing. Other than the piping and the buttons, per Lelands, the jersey is otherwise original.
The Clemente jersey up for auction had a starting bid of $25,000 and had reached $31,906 by Monday afternoon. The auction closes March 16. Clemente’s jersey is among the highlights of 1,500 lots of sports memorabilia it comprises.
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.