Kicking it old school with Yankee t-shirts

What's the oldest Yankee t-shirt in your closet? I have a grey "Property of the New York Yankees" t-shirt from 1983. And if I hadn't purged my dresser drawers a few years ago, I would have had some Yankee clothing from the 1970s!

I'm not the only one with old-school Yankee gear. My blogging colleague/friend Steve Lombardi of Was Watching wrote this weekend about how he's about to get rid of some old Yankee t-shirts that no longer fit, thanks to him losing 65 pounds. And what he said about disposing of those items rang true to me, and inspired today's squawk:

Is it just me, or, is it hard to throw out Yankees shirts - no matter how aged, ratty, faded or out-of-size they may be? There’s just something, at least me, about Yankee fan gear where it just doesn’t seem right to let it hit the trash. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that Yankees T-shirts are right up there with the American Flag or something. But, I dunno…I almost feel like me, we, us…you know, Yankees fans…should hang on to these puppies even if they no longer serve the attire purpose they were meant to fill.

No, Steve, it's not just you. I'm still kicking myself for getting rid of my Dave Righetti no-hitter shirt!

For me, getting rid of Yankee items is like getting rid of books - sometimes it must be done, but it still pains me to do so. And much like I have to find a good home for my unwanted books, and won't just throw them in the recycle bin, I have to find a home - even if it's just the Salvation Army - for my old Yankee t-shirts.

Yet even then, I still kind of wish I still had some of those old shirts, like my "Billy's Back" shirt which finally became too ratty to even give away, and my 1996 World Series sweatshirt which somehow disappeared over the years. (If somebody has started making retro versions of the 70s/80s/90s Yankee shirts, please let me know!)

The only Yankee clothing item I had no problem throwing out was my Andy Pettitte shirt. After he left the Yanks the first time and became dead to me, I easily threw out my No. 46 t-shirt. When he signed with the Bombers again and became un-dead to me, I had to go buy a new shirt. Now that blue Pettitte No. 46 shirt is waiting in the wings of my dresser drawer, not sure if it will be obsolete yet again. C'mon, Cashman, bring Andy back, and give my t-shirt a reprieve!

What is the oldest Yankee t-shirt you own? Tell us about it!