The Abbott & Costello "Who's on First" Baseball Jerseys Are the Perfect Gift for Fans

Timothy Sexton
Doesn’t matter whether you are a bigger fan of baseball or Abbott & Costello, have I got the perfect gift for your baseball fan. Baseball season is fast approaching, don’t you know, and while everyone else shows up at the ballpark wearing their boring old team jersey with the name and number of the same superstars, your number one baseball and classic movie fan can turn heads by wearing a black and white baseball jersey of exceptional quality and even more exceptional cleverness. My only question is why didn’t anyone have this idea thirty years ago?

Over the heart on the front of this 100% cotton baseball jersey is a stitched logo of Abbott & Costello and Who’s on First in the traditional old tyme baseball font. High on the left arm is a screen print of a crossed baseball bats with a derby in the V on top and an old time baseball cap and a handlebar mustache within the inverted V on the bottom. Way cool. But not nearly as cool as what’s on the back of the jersey.

Depending on which version of the baseball jersey you buy you get to be either number 1, number 2, or number 3. If you choose number 3, then stitched across your back is your player’s name: Who. Number 2 is named What. And, of course, number 3 is named I Don’t Know. If you’re reading this description and wondering just what in the heck I could possibly be talking about, then it’s probably best if you move along, little dogie.

Now, for those of you who do occasionally tune into Turner Classic Movies or bypass the Lord of the Rings memorabilia at collectible stores to check out the stuff related to good movies, you have figured out that this incredibly nifty gift for the baseball fan in your life is based on the Who’s on First routine by Abbott & Costello. You know:

Costello: Look, you gotta first baseman?


Abbott: Certainly.

Costello: Who's playing first?

Abbott: That's right.

Costello: When you pay off the first baseman every month, who gets the money?

Abbott: Every dollar of it.

Costello: All I'm trying to find out is the fellow's name on first base.

Abbott: Who.

Costello: The guy that gets...

Abbott: That's it.

Costello: Who gets the money...

Abbott: He does, every dollar. Sometimes his wife comes down and collects it.

Costello: Who's wife?

Abbott: Yes.

You can read the rest of the routine by searching for it on the internet; it's all the place in its entirety. Even better, YouTube has a video of Abbott & Costello performing it. Who’s on First is probably the funniest routine by a comedy duo of all time. It’s also probably the funniest baseball comedy routine of all time. Now are you asking yourself why in the name of God you didn’t think of coming up with the idea of these jerseys yourself? It’s such a perfectly brilliant fit. And even if you don’t necessarily enjoy Abbott & Costello, there are perfectly reasonable metaphysical reasons why you would want to own a baseball jersey that simply had the word “What”, “Who” or “I Don’t Know” emblazoned across it, right?

So, where can you get the Abbott and Costello “Who’s On First” baseball jerseys? Well, I found one on eBay recently that had three days left on it and was only at $9.99. But you can also find it the NBC store web site. And I first came across this classic example of Americana courtesy of the Wireless catalog, which also features an Abbott & Costello Who’s on First baseball cap.
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Timothy Sexton

Timothy Sexton is the inaugural recipient of Associated Content's "Content Producer of the Year" award, announced in January 2007. The editors of Associated Content chose him to receive this award from over 50,000 registered content providers, including some of the best political writers on the internet today. In addition to Associated Content, Timothy Sexton has been published on many other web sites on topics that include politics, movies, philosophy, music, health, cooking, academic criticism, television and Pensacola, Fl. His article on Dick Cheney's aborted attempt to dismantle the National Archives was chosen for inclusion in a Vanderbilt Univ. law school course packet. The author of VillageVoice.com's anti-Bush blog accused him of being too tough on Dick Cheney, so you know Sexton is doing something right. In addition, he has written to order for a variety of clients, ranging from a complete web site content to all the questions and answers on the 2006 edition of Disney's Scene-It Trivia Game.

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