This is a real catch.
Yogi Berra’s game-worn, signed 1947 New York Yankees rookie jersey is on the auction block — and could fetch up to $1 million.
The sale of the one-of-a-kind pinstriped piece of baseball history — which was rescued from the Boys & Girls Club in East Harlem — ain’t over until Nov. 16 at Grey Flannel Auctions’ Holiday Auction.
“The interest in this piece has been extraordinary. Based on the level of enthusiasm we’ve seen from collectors, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it break records and sell somewhere in the neighborhood of $1 million,” Michael Russek, director at Grey Flannel Auctions, told The Post.
The record sale for a sports jersey is $24.12 million for a 1932 Babe Ruth World Series jersey.
Bronx native Ron Marino’s cousin, Sonny, who lived in the Italian section of East Harlem and went to the local Boys & Girls Club, was the first one to get his hands on the priceless sports memorabilia. He then generously gifted the flannel jersey to Ron in 1959.
“The Yankees were cleaning out a lot of the back storage rooms at Yankee Stadium and jerseys had very little value at that point in time. And what he told me was that there were big cardboard boxes full of jerseys. So he said, ‘I put my hand in, we were limited to one each, and I picked this one out, and I’ll give it to you,’” Ron, 77, who received the jersey at age 10, told The Post.
Berra’s last name is stitched in navy cursive below the Spalding manufacturer’s label, “but when I turned it around, it wasn’t number 8. It was number 35. So said, ‘Gee, this can’t be Yogi’s,’” Ron recalled.
Disappointed, he quipped to his cousin, “Did you see any DiMaggios, any Mantles, Babe Ruths, Gehrigs?”
Ron kept the jersey covered in plastic hanging in a closet in his childhood home for 40 years until 2000, when his dad passed away, and he brought it to his house in Brooklyn.
A few years later, Ron’s son Matt started researching online to uncover the mystery behind the No. 35 jersey — and learned that the famed Yankees catcher actually wore that number during his rookie year in 1947.
Hall of Famer Bill Dickey, who wore No. 8, was a catcher for the team from 1928 to 1946, and when he retired, his number was given to outfielder Frank Coleman, who played for the Yankees until August 1947, and then Berra.
“We then came to understand the uniqueness of the jersey because Yogi only wore it for one year,” Ron said.
“And it’s the earliest known jersey of his career,” added Matt.
The 1947 season was a significant one for the Yankees — as it was when they won their first World Series championship in 23 years.
It also marked the start of Berra’s history-making career, which included 18 All-Star selections and 10 World Series titles — more than any other player in MLB history.
In 2009, the father and son brought the jersey to a Long Island signing hosted by Steiner Sports — where Berra — who died in 2015 at 90 — was in attendance.
“And that was the first time Yogi had seen it, obviously,” said Matt.
“When we pulled it out, he was kind of in shock and awe cause he said, ‘Holy shit. Where did you guys pull this out of? I haven’t seen this in 60 years!’”
“Tears welled up in his eyes,” added Ron. “He was getting emotional.”
Matt got in touch with Berra’s granddaughter, Lindsay, who connected him to the Yogi Berra Museum in Little Falls, NJ — and the jersey was on display there this summer to commemorate what would have been the Hall of Famer’s 100th birthday.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
