-40%
Chicago White Sox game worn used jacket 1983 Al Mad Hungarian Hrabosky MLB XL
$ 105.07
- Description
- Size Guide
Description
For auction . . .One team-issued Sand Knit Chicago White Sox jacket. This is a jacket that was used by Al 'The Mad Hungarian' Hrabosky in his very brief stint with the White Sox in 1983.
I purchased this right here on eBay from a sports dealer in Florida some 10+ years ago but could never bring myself to actually wear it. This jacket is best for Spring / Fall weather and I just didn't like the possibility of it being rained on (or beer spilled), etc. So, it has sat preserved in storage since.
I never received a COA on it being Hrabosky's (just as most game-used items sold do not come with a COA). In truth, I didn't buy it because it was Hrabosky's but bought it because this is the jacket the White Sox wore when I started going to games as a child at Comiskey Park in the late 1970's. But, I became very interested in this none-the-less.
About the Mad Hungarian wearing it, you might be thinking as I did: "but Hrabosky never pitched for the White Sox". This is mostly true - Hrabosky never threw a regular season pitch for the White Sox but . . . after being released by Atlanta, Hrabosky was a 1983 Spring Training invitee by the White Sox, where Tony LaRussa in late March informed him he did not make the big league club due to some control issues. The White Sox did offer him a minor league contract to play in Denver which he must have declined as he retired shortly after. An archived story from the time:
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/03/27/The-Chicago-White-Sox-Sunday-told-reliever-Al-Hrabosky/5677417589200/
You might also reasonably think as I did, "That's good and well but this jacket was part of the 1976-1981 uniform, and in 1982 they transitioned to the red / white / blue unis that came with a new jacket". And, you would be correct but . . . I remember at the time, for the first few years after the uniform switch, seeing at the spring training and minor league levels a lot of mismatched things and remnants of the old unis surviving mixed with the new. I think back then they tended to get more use out of equipment and apparel. In fact, the only photo I could find of Hrabosky from that 1983 spring training shows him in the 1983 r/w/b unis but wearing this 1976-1981 jacket - THIS VERY JACKET. I have included it here.
Whether or not you believe this was the Mad Hungarian's jacket from that time, here are some particulars:
* The jacket is clearly a team-issued Sand Knit brand jacket
* Size: XL
* You'll note the very old marker writing with Hrabosky's name and the number 20
The jacket is in great shape. It may have only had several weeks of service from pitchers & catchers reporting to Hrabosky's late March release.
Feel free to let me know if you have Q's or would like any specific pics or measurements.
A very neat little piece of White Sox history involving a quirky player not generally associated with the White Sox.