A rare piece of baseball history is hitting the auction block. The home jersey worn by Lou Gehrig during his final fully dominant season with the New York Yankees is being sold by SCP Auctions, and TMZ reports it is expected to fetch between $3 million and $4 million.
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The year was 1937, the last season Gehrig played before ALS began its devastating impact. And he was unreal. The Iron Horse crushed 37 home runs, drove in 159 runs and hit .351, all while striking out only 49 times. By comparison, last year's MLB strikeout leader whiffed 221 times.
Nearly nine decades later, that same pinstriped jersey, complete with the interlocking NY, is authenticated and ready for bidding. SCP brought in three of the industry's top verification groups, including Resolution Photomatching, Sports Investors Authentication and MeiGray.
Back then, players often wore the same jersey dozens of times in a season, and this one logged its share of innings.
Gehrig wore it in "several home games throughout the 1937 campaign," including an August 5 matchup against the White Sox in which he belted two home runs and drove in five.
He also donned the jersey in Game 2 of the 1937 World Series, going 1-of-2 with a pair of walks in an 8-1 Yankees win over the New York Giants.
The jersey appeared in the Yankees' official 1937 team photo, and it was worn in the iconic portrait that later inspired Gehrig's Monument Park plaque.
The Yankees won the Series that fall. Gehrig returned in 1938, but the early effects of ALS were beginning to show. He retired in June 1939. More than 100 years after his debut in 1923, Gehrig remains one of the most feared hitters to ever step into a batter's box.
The auction closes on Saturday.
