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1954 Boston Red Sox Flannel Jersey
Presented is a 1954 Red Sox flannel home jersey worn by Billy Consolo. Although the jersey is number "46", that number was later affixed to the jersey, and the jersey was worn in 1954, as number "8", by utility infielder Billy Consolo, who was only 19 years old. Consolo was from Los Angeles, and he attended Dorsey High School with Sparky Anderson, where they both played on the school baseball team. Consolo was signed as a "Bonus Baby", which meant that for what was considered a high bonus in those times that he had to be kept on the Major League roster for two years or risk being lost to another team. Consolo batted .227 in '54. Overall, he played 10 Major League seasons, most memorably for the Red Sox, hitting .221 lifetime, most likely partly a victim of being forced to spend the first two years of his professional career on the Major league bench. Consolo didn't have much power, hitting only nine lifetime home runs, but he did have a sense of humor. One time, as recounted by Dan Ewald, the long-time Public Relations Director for the Detroit Tigers, "Consolo hit a ball deep into the gap and legged it all the way around the bases. The umpire ruled him out for having missed second base. Consolo charged the ump from the dugout and said, "You're wrong. I touched second base. I missed third. ..." Later, Consolo became a long-time bench coach for the Detroit Tigers, helping his friend, manager Sparky Anderson, to win the 1984 World Series. The jersey shows "Red Sox" in red letters across the chest. On the lower outside front tail is a Tim McAuliffe manufacturer's tag. Below the manufacturer's tag is "1954" embroidered as the year, "42", possibly embroidered as the size. Also embroidered below the year are "Zen"[?] and "8", representing the original number "8". The tail is trimmed. There is a small tear in back of the right sleeve, and three brown spots, hardly worth mentioning. The 1954 Red Sox finished in 4th place, but they had fascinating players. Baseball's last .400 hitter, Ted Williams, was in the outfield along with Jim Piersall, a talented, but troubled center fielder, who was played by Tony Perkins in the film <em>Fear Strikes Out</em>. Here is a classic, remarkably looking old-time flannel Red Sox jersey worn by Billy Consolo, a baseball lifer who was right in the thick of it.
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