1980-81 Oakland Athletics Game Worn Alpha Batting Jersey, Utra Rare, Retired Num

Description

The Oakland Athletics would don pregame batting jerseys for the first time during the 1980 season. The design of the jerseys was simple, colorful, and dare I say, close to iconic. This first generation of pre-gamers featured a screened A's logo on the front left breast that was a simple, green outline (a more substantial logo would follow in 1982).
A California sportswear company by the name of Alpha supplied both the Athletics and S.F. Giants with their inaugural batting jerseys; a feat that would never happen in today's over-sponsored professional sports leagues. It was a different story 40 years ago however, and these "beer league quality" shirts (as some collectors call them) made it to the MLB show. The quality of the jerseys themselves isn't really that bad... The true offenders are the screened numbers on the backs that were known to flake off if you looked at them the wrong way.
Regarding the jersey available here, it features the appropriate Alpha tagging in the neckline and is identified as a size L. The measurements are approx. 21 inches across from pit to pit, then tapers to approx. 19 inches across along the stomach. The length is approx. 29 inches from the shoulder to the front tail hem. This shirt shows very little wear except for.... THE NUMBERS!! As expected, the heat-applied numbers have struggled and flaked off in several small places (please see the close-up photo). Virtually every example I've ever seen of this style has similar or worse damage to the numbers. The good news is that the numbers should be fine at this point, but I wouldn't recommend throwing this in the washing machine or dryer.
As a bonus, this jersey features the number 24, which has been retired by the Athletics in honor of Rickey Henderson. While it is true that Rickey was playing for the Athletics during the 1980 and '81 seasons, he was wearing the number 35 at the time. Please note that Henderson did NOT wear this jersey.
The famous Granny Goose cards from 1981 and 1982 give us a great look at this style. Names on the back were not used. Bill Henderson also features a couple examples of this style (including Rickey Henderson's number 35) in his Game Worn Guide to MLB Jerseys.
This shirt would be a RARE and welcome addition to any MLB or A's collection. The winning bidder will receive FREE Priority Mail shipping, complete with insurance, tracking and delivery confirmation. We will only ship this item to a United States address. Please ask any and all questions before bidding and thanks for looking!
Celebrating 22 years on eBay without a negative feedback.
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