Urban "Red" Faber 1919/20 Game Used Chicago Black Sox Jersey. This is a 1919 World Series and 1920 Urban "Red" Faber Game Worn Chicago White Sox Uniform. Photographic evidence has recently been unearthed to indicate that this uniform style debuted for the infamous 1919 World Series, and was then carried over for use in the subsequent 1920 regular season. Though Faber's illness restricted him from play in the 1919 World Series, he was on the roster and suited up for the games, establishing this as the only known uniform dating to this most historic Fall Classic. MEARS has assigned a grade of A8.5, with points lost only for age fading (-1) and a small tear on verso (-.5). Victimized by the Spanish Flu pandemic that took the lives of an estimated five percent of the global population in the months surrounding the close of the First World War, the Chicago White Sox' star pitcher Red Faber proved too ill to participate in a World Series which would live in infamy and doom eight of his teammates to banishment from organized ball. Years later, catcher Ray Schalk would theorize that the fix might never have happened had Faber not been incapacitated, believing that the future Hall of Famer would never have taken the poisoned bait and would have assumed a couple of the tainted starts from Cicotte and Williams. The gorgeous single-year style, featuring the classic "SOX" over the heart and the key double White Sox logo on the left sleeve, is identical to the last worn by Shoeless Joe, Lefty, Hap and the rest of the Eight Men Out before commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis imposed his death sentence on their Major League careers. Though the White Sox would take years to recover from the cruel blow, never again emerging from the lower half of the American League during Faber's ensuing thirteen seasons in Chicago, the resilient right-hander pitched past his forty-fifth birthday to earn a 1964 induction in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The jersey remains in astonishingly fine condition, with a couple pinpricks of moth damage to the logo "SOX" over the heart and a 1/2" unrepaired tear on the back the only notable detractions. The charming felt patch on the left sleeve remains untouched, and the Chicago-based "Thos. E. Wilson & Co." label at interior collar is still firmly affixed. At lower left front tail, the name "Faber" is embroidered directly into the jersey body. The cuffs feature buttonholes to accommodate sleeve extensions, which were rarely utilized and are not present here. The matching pants feature an identical "Wilson" label at interior waistband and "Faber" chain-stitched inside the fly. Like the jersey, the pants exhibit strong wear, most apparent in the team-instituted repair at the left knee and some tearing at the back right pocket. The ensemble is completed with the eponymous white socks, crafted from heavy wool and neatly darned in the stirrup areas. Straddling the line between the Dead and Live Ball eras, this uniform is one of the great survivors of baseball's most tumultuous age, commanding attention and respect from the educated baseball historian. LOA from MEARS, A8.5.
