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YANKEE HISTORY! Autographed Letter When Reggie Jackson Joined the Yankees!
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This is a true piece of New York Yankee history! This is an original autographed 1976 Reggie Jackson Historic New York Yankees Free Agency Signed Letter. It was a day that forever changed the destiny of Major League Baseball. With Curt Flood's long battle of attrition against baseball's reserve clause finally won, the 1976 season saw the dawning of free agency that would prove to be one of the most significant milestones in the history of the professional game. While Flood never personally benefited from the fruits of his labor, that court decision made Reggie Jackson the highest-paid player in the history of Major League Baseball on November 29, 1976. Check the "Transactions" section of Jackson's "Baseball Reference" page and you'll see that is the date he signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees to a five-year contract totaling $2.96 million, the ultimate prize in the new economic frontier of our national pastime. George Steinbrenner threw in a Rolls-Royce Corniche as a bonus too. Beyond the tectonic shift of Major League history at large, the arrival of Reggie Jackson in the Big Apple would immediately pay dividends in the form of two World Championships, and ultimately turn the double-fours of Jackson's new uniform into a Monument Park staple. You'd have to travel back to late 1919 and the deal that delivered Babe Ruth from Boston to New York to find a transaction with such far-reaching implications for the Yankees franchise and the sport at large. This single typed page from the team archives tells us that the future Mr. October was well aware of the possible blowback to a deal of this magnitude, reading in part, "I respectfully request that none of the terms or covenants of my agreement with the New York Yankees be disclosed to any parties whatsoever, with the exception of Mr. Lee MacPhail, President of the American League." But the next day, the story was plastered across the pages of The New York Times anyhow, with even Jackson himself providing commentary:" It was like trying to hustle a girl in a bar," the flamboyant Jackson said about Steinbrenner's efforts after he signed a five-year contract with the Yankees said to be worth $2.9 million. "Some clubs offered several hundred thousand dollars more. possibly seven figures more,- but the reason I'm a Yankee is that George Steinbrenner outhustled everybody else." The 11x8.5" letter is typed on a blank sheet and signed by Jackson in 10/10 black ink. Reginald Martinez Jackson (born May 18, 1946) was inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame with the class of 1993. Jackson was a 14 time All-Star (1969, 1971–1975, 1977–1984) and a 5× World Series champion (1972–1974, 1977, 1978). He won the AL MVP (1973) as well as a 2 time World Series MVP (1973, 1977) and 2 Silver Slugger Awards (1980, 1982). Jackson was a 4 time AL home run leader (1973, 1975, 1980, 1982) and the AL RBI leader (1973). The Oakland Athletics retired his No. 9 jersey number and the New York Yankees retired his No. 44. He is a member of the Athletics Hall of Fame and is a New York Yankees Monument Park honoree. It is accompanied by a full letter of authenticity from Beckett Authentication Services. This is your chance to own a one of a kind piece of Yankee history from a time that changed the baseball free agency forever!
Item #: B7100 Shipping Weight:
2 lbs
Your Price:$1,950.00 USD
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