It had been 11 seasons and a new city since the Braves franchise had reached the post-season. Their 1958 World Series loss as the Milwaukee Braves was the last October hurrah until 1969 when the Atlanta model made history.
The Braves and Mets became the first teams to square off in the new National League Championship Series, following Major League Baseball’s shift to four divisions in the wake of the latest expansion.
The jersey Hank Aaron wore for at least part of that season is on the auction block. Heritage Auctions is offering the size 40 Wilson pinstripe model in its current Platinum Night event, set to conclude later this month. The current high bid has surpassed $30,000 and it’s expected to go significantly higher.
The jersey has been photo-matched to the NLCS. Aaron homered in each of the two home games of the series, making it the only Aaron jersey in the hobby definitively linked to a postseason home run.
There’s an interior collar tag denoting “H Aaron/1969/Set 3”.
The MLB Centennial patch is missing and there’s a stain in the lower portion of the front, but otherwise the jersey remains in good condition and carries a grade of A7 from MEARS.
Heritage sold another Aaron pinstriped Braves jersey last year for $83,650.
1969 was an eventful year all the way around. In July, man walked on the moon (an event honored on one of the NLCS programs), Woodstock made headlines and Aaron, the Braves’ 35-year-old superstar, would pass Mickey Mantle on the all-time home run list. He belted 44 in all, driving in 97 runs and leading the league in total bases as he finished third in the NL MVP balloting.
The auction takes place November 16-18 at HA.com.
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