1948 Zach Taylor St. Louis Browns Complete Flannel Home Uniform

Offered is a 1948 Zach Taylor St. Louis Browns Complete Flannel Home Uniform. This is a wonderful example of a COMPLETE Browns flannel uniform from the post-war period. After Zach Taylor's playing career--he played for 16 years from 1920 to 1935-- he had a coaching stint with the St. Louis Browns in the early 1940s, he got his first taste of managing a major-league team when he replaced Luke Sewell as Browns pilot late in the 1946 season and compiled a 13-17 record with a team that went 66-88 for the season. While he expected to get the manager’s reins for 1947, he didn’t, and so caught on with the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He lasted one season in Pittsburgh before returning as the Browns skipper for 1948 through 1951. (SABR)

The offered full uniform hails from 1948--Manager's name and that year are on the tail of the jersey: "Taylor 48." The Browns employed these jerseys with the two-color "3-D" brown and orange team name letters and back numbers from 1946-1951. The jersey has the "Rawlings St. Louis" label as well as the size "44" tagging in the colar. The pants offered here are size "40" and have the name and year "Ferrick 50" stitched in. Pitcher Tom Ferrick did stints with the Browns in 1946, 1949 and 1950--pants hail from the latter year and have the commensurate later "Rawlings St. Louis" tagging style. It was not uncommon in the era for a Manager, or player, to end up with a mismatched uniform. Ferrick's journeyman status would have made his pants and jersey susceptible to this.

The uniform stayed with Taylor's family for decades, and it presents in remarkable Excellent to Mint condition. It was very well-preserved, save for just a few small holes and expected wear from original use. The game cap that accompanied the uniform is offered as the next lot in this auction. The two offerings present one of those unique opportunities to acquire a full uniform and cap from the post-war period in a very tough style.