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1951 Charlie Keller Detroit Tigers Game Worn Jersey
Offered is an all-original, one-of-a-kind 1951 Charlie "King Kong"Keller Detroit Tigers jersey. Charlie Keller got his King Kong nicknamein part because of his very muscular, 5'10", 185 lbs. physique, onewhich the outfielder developed by extensive farm work, starting at 4a.m., on the family farm in Maryland when he was growing up. Kellerspent most of his playing career with the New York Yankees, for whom heplayed from 1939-43, and again from 1945-49 after almost two yearsmissed playing time while he was serving in the United States MerchantMarine during World War II. In his career, the lefty batter hit .286,with 189 home runs and a .928 OPS. In December of 1949, Keller wassigned by the Detroit Tigers for the sum of $20,000, mainly to serve as apinch hitter. The '51 Detroit Tigers, under manager Red Rolfe, went73-81 to finish in fifth place in the American League. In 1951, Kellerhit .258 with three homers and 21 RBIs in 62 official at bats. In 1952,he signed once again with the Yankees and played in two games inSeptember before being released. In his prime, Keller played in aniconic Yankee outfield that had Joe DiMaggio in center, Keller in left,and Tommy Heinrich in right. Keller was a 5-time World Champion on theYankees, and he was a 5-time All-Star. The wool jersey has thedistinctive Detroit Tigers Old English "D" in a navy blue, sewn onletter, on the left chest. Seven silver-colored buttons go down thefront. The lower left, outside tail shows a Wilson manufacturer's tag,and an adjacent size "40" tag. Another tag in that area gives washinginstructions. Under the above-mentioned tags is "1951," stitched in navyblue. The left sleeve has an "American League 1901-1951 GoldenAnniversary" patch, and the right sleeve "1701-1951 Detroit 250thBirthday Festival" patch. The back has "27" in sewn on navy bluenumerals. Despite being over seven decades old, the jersey is in amazingcondition and exhibits minimal wear. The jersey is exceedingly rare,and we have never seen another.
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