The double-knit era hadn’t entirely taken hold in 1971. Among the uniforms donned by the defending World Series champions that year was the old school “Baltimore” road gray flannel. The one jersey any Orioles fan would have coveted 
owning is the famous #5 of Brooks Robinson.
Heritage Auctions, which sold the bulk of Robinson’s personal memorabilia collection not long ago, has the ’71 gamer in its current auction. It’s expected to sell for at least $30,000.
Even casual baseball fans knew the name of the O’s third baseman by the end of the 1970 World Series. His diving stops, commemorated on a baseball card during the spring of 1971, were water cooler discussion across the country. He was named MVP of the Series after the Orioles toppled the Cincinnati Reds.
In ’71, now 34 years old, he continued his excellent play, with the 12th of his 16 Gold Gloves, 20 homers and 92 RBI. Robinson finished fourth in the American League MVP balloting.
The Spalding Professional jersey is a size 42 and still includes all of the tagging from that 1971 season. It comes with LOAs from Mears and PSA/DNA. At a much later date, the affable Hall of Famer added his signature to the front, which has been verified by SGC Authentic.
The Heritage Consignment of the Week is among the featured memorabilia items in the May catalog auction, closing May 11-13 at HA.com.
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