George Brett jersey, said to be from Royals’ Pine Tar Game, is being sold at auction
I’m unsure where this fits in any list of great Royals moments, but it’s one of the most memorable.
The Pine Tar Game from 1983 featured George Brett charging from the dugout in perhaps the most rage-filled moment in baseball history. Brett had been called out for having too much pine tar on his bat, nullifying a home run that gave the Royals a ninth-inning lead over the Yankees in New York.
Each July 24, on the anniversary of the game, the clip of Brett running at home plate umpire Tim McClelland is shared on social media and TV.
Heritage Auctions has a Brett jersey from the 1983 season up for bids. Here is part of the description: “1983 George Brett Game Worn & Signed Kansas City Royals Jersey, MEARS A10--From the Pine Tar Game!
“The style is the one most directly associated with that special era in KC, white tackle twill on powder blue, with ‘Royals 5’ on front giving way to ‘Brett 5’ on verso. Left sleeve provides the team logo patch. Lower left front tail is tagged ‘Wilson (size) 42’ above an ‘83’ embroidered year swatch. Brett autographs both sides in 9/10 black sharpie, the obverse notated, ‘Pine Tar Game, 7/24/83.’ Just to the right of Brett’s signature, at the edge of the button path, we can spot a small pine tar stain, and the entire jersey is soft and supple from sweaty wear.
“The experts at Resolution Photomatching determined that no image from the Pine Tar Game was clear enough to provide a certain match, but they stress that it is consistent with those photos and can be matched to the July 30, 1983 visit to the Detroit Tigers six days later.”
The current bid is $85,000 and with the Buyer’s Premium* of $17,000, the total cost is currently $102,000. The bidding closes in two days.
*This is a percentage of the final bid and goes to the auctioneer to cover administrative costs
Given that this story is about the Pine Tar Game, it’s a good excuse to show the video of Brett’s charge from the dugout:
