Sandy Koufax Jersey From Dodgers 1963 MVP Season Fetches Over $400k At Auction
An anonymous MLB memorabilia collector has paid nearly $430,000 for a flannel baseball jersey worn by baseball legend Sandy Koufax. The 1963 game-worn road jersey that contains Sandy’s signature was sold on the Goldin Auctions website, with bids that started at $150,000.
Sandy Koufax broke in with the then-Brooklyn Dodgers in 1955 on his way to become one of the greatest baseball pitchers of all time.
“As for the jersey, it’s unclear which specific game it was used in… but authenticators were able to confirm Koufax used it at one point during the season. The jersey — a road jersey — was also signed by Koufax who wrote, ‘1963 W.S. Champs,'” TMZ Sports explained about the lavishly priced laundry.
In the 1963 campaign with the Los Angeles Dodgers after their relocation to California the previous year, Koufax won the National League MVP and became the first-ever unanimous Cy Young Award winner. During the regular season he went 25-5 and went on to defeat the New York Yankees twice in the World Series, being named MVP in the Fall Classic in the process.
In his 12 years in the big leagues, Koufax compiled a 165-87 record, with a 2.76 ERA and about 2,300 strikeouts.
In 1963, Sandy Koufax led the NL in ERA at 1.88 and struck out 306 opposing batters. Koufax was a five-time ERA leader and a four-time strikeout leader over his career.
Koufax, a lefty who batted from the right side of the dish, also completed 137 of this starts, which is unheard of in contemporary professional baseball, as well as pitching 40 shutouts. An arthritic condition unfortunately led to the MLB retirement of Sandy Koufax after the 1966 season. Now 82, he was the youngest player ever inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972 at age 36.
Sandy Koufax's 1963 Game-Worn Jersey Sells For $429,000! https://t.co/S71zNFJOGD
— TMZ (@TMZ) May 7, 2018
In a statement about the Sandy Koufax jersey that was auctioned off for $429,625, Goldin Auctions founder Ken Goldin had this to say.
“The rarity of Koufax game-worn memorabilia combined with its impeccable authenticity and the fact that it was from perhaps his greatest season when he captured the Cy Young, NL MVP Award and the World Series MVP makes it truly special.”
According to Goldin Auctions, the Hall of Famer’s rookie jersey sold for $667,000 and the 1963 uni is only one of eight of his jerseys to hit the auction block.
The career honors on the illustrious resume of Sandy Koufax include being named to the All-Star Team seven times, four World Series championships, three Cy Young Awards, and pitching a perfect game in September 1965. He also won the so-called pitching Triple Crown three times in the context of leading the NL in wins, strikeouts, and ERA.
