After the Yankees overused his right arm Jim Bouton attempted to stay in the majors with a knuckleball he’d developed back in high school. The strange pitch was misunderstood by his managers in Seattle and Houston and Bouton called it quits after the 1970 season. However even after his literary success after the publication of “Ball Four” Jim Bouton remained a ball player at heart. Still relatively young Bouton began the long hard road back to the majors. This vibrant red uniform worn with the independent Class A Portland Mavericks in 1975 marks the first step of the knuckleballer’s long climb back to the big leagues. Bouton went 4-1 in 5 games for the Mavericks subsequently made famous by the popular documentary “The Battered Bastards of Baseball” and made the Championship Series. Ol’ Number 56 put up a heroic complete game fight in Game 1 but lost. Eugene slept the 3-game series but Bouton had proven he still had something left in his tank and began moving back up the minor league ladder.

The jersey is a striking red sand knit with “Mavericks” across the front in black and white tackle twill script. Bouton’s famous number “56” is below in matching black and white tackle twill. Size Large (42-44) Medalist Sand Knot label is sewn in the lower left front tail. Black and white ribbing runs down the arms from the collar to the leave ends. The back has Bouton’s number “56” in black and white tackle twill. The jersey shows good game use and has some light staining as expected from a pro gamer. The black tackle twill has faded in areas from age and the white tackle will shows toning and light staining from use. The stitching on the lettering remains tight with a few loose threads present and there is some glue spots between the “5” and “6” on the jersey’s front. The lettering has some puckering visible from repeated laundering. The matching red pants have a black expandable waistband with black and white ribbing running down the outside of each leg. The pants have elastic cuffs and two rear flapped pockets with buttons intact. The pants show moderate game use with just very minimal staining present. The sand knit and black and white ribbing show some wear from repeated laundering. A very scarce uniform set from The Battered Bastards of Baseball’s most prominent player.

LOA from Jim Bouton.