Jim “Catfish” Hunter was baseball’s first big-money free agent in 1975 when he was coming off three straight World Series victories with the Oakland Athletics from 1972-74. He became the highest-paid player in baseball and highest-paid pitcher in history when he signed a five-year contract with the Yankees worth $3.35 million. He went on to win two more World Series titles while wearing pinstripes in 1977 and 1978 to give him five total for his career. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, and that ring is also being offered in this auction.

Offered is this New York Yankees home jersey worn by Hunter during the Aug. 12, 1977, game against the California Angels. In the first game of a double-header, Hunter threw a complete game, allowing only one run in nine innings to lead the Yanks to a 10-1 victory. The button-down jersey has the interlocking "NY" logo sewn on the upper-left chest in navy tackle twill, with a white strip tag in the collar stitched with "Hunter." On the front left tail is the "Wilson 46" manufacturer's size tag with a stitched "77 1" tag below it, indicating the year and set number. This tag is consistent with similar Wilson tags of that era. The reverse has Hunter's number "29" sewn on the back in navy tackle twill. The jersey shows heavy use with consistent wear and all typical characteristics of a Hunter jersey from the era. It comes with an LOA from MEARS, who have given the jersey their highest possible grade of A10, along with a photo match. This jersey also comes with an LOA from Resolution Photomatching (426269), who have provided a ResMatch to this jersey to the Aug. 12, 1977, game.