New York Yankees legend Don Larsen is willing to give up a piece of his history to help ensure his grandchildren's futures.
Larsen, who is the only pitcher in Major League Baseball history to toss a perfect game in the World Series, will auction off the jersey and pants he wore on that momentous October day in 1956.
His reasoning? To ensure his grandchildren can pay for college.
"I'm auctioning the uniform to provide my grandsons with enough money for a college education," the 82-year-old Larsen told The New York Times by phone Friday. "What the uniform actually sells for is not that important to me; whatever happens, happens. I'm just hoping for enough to help the grandkids."
According to The Times, the uniform of Yogi Berra, Larsen's perfect batterymate during that Game 5 against the Brooklyn Dodgers, sold for $565,000 in an auction.
"I really don't know what it is worth," Larsen told The Times. "But what I do know is that in terms of historic importance, my uniform is a part of one of the greatest moments in the history of sports. I have thought about that perfect game, more than once a day, every day of my life since the day I threw it."
"It was a moment in time that changed my life," said Larsen. "That one game has helped me tremendously over the years with paid appearances at card shows, conventions, all sorts of things."
Steiner Sports Marketing & Memorabilia will govern Larsen's auction, The Times reported. It will begin on Oct. 8, the 56th anniversary of the historic event, and run until Dec. 2 on www.steinersports.com.
