A 1955 Chrysler C-300 gifted to the Yankees is heading to auction with wild memorabilia

Decades before endorsement deals became routine, Chrysler aligned the 1955 Chrysler C-300 with the New York Yankees to generate buzz the old-fashioned way.

At the height of their dominance, the Yankees were the most visible team in American sports, making them a perfect rolling billboard.

Chrysler capitalized on that fame by gifting one of its hottest new performance cars to the team.

Seven decades later, that very car has resurfaced.

SBX CARS – View live supercar auctions powered by Supercar Blondie

The most powerful American production car of its time

The 1955 Chrysler C-300 holds a special place in automotive history as what many consider America’s first true muscle car, although this is quite a contentious topic.

At its heart was Chrysler’s FirePower 331-cubic-inch Hemi V8, an engine that rewrote the rulebook for production performance.

The Hemi produced 300 horsepower, which doesn’t seem like much these days with four-digit-horsepower monsters running around, but it was unheard of at the time.

That figure made the C-300 the most powerful American production car of its time, paired here with a dash-shifted PowerFlite automatic transmission.

Only 1,725 examples of the letter-series Chrysler were built for 1955, and this one came with a unique assignment.

Rather than being handed to manager Casey Stengel or stars like Mickey Mantle or Yogi Berra, the car went to Hall of Famer Enos ‘Country’ Slaughter.

The Platinum White coupe was used as an incentive to convince the veteran outfielder, who was nearly 40 years old at the time, to play a season with the Kansas City Athletics before returning to the New York Yankees in 1956.

Slaughter kept the car for eight years, before selling it to Mopar collector Leonard Shultis in 1963.

This 1955 Chrysler C-300 is a near museum-quality example

Exterior color choices in 1955 were limited to Black, Tango Red, or Platinum White, and this example wears its finish beautifully.

The tan leather interior, accented with black trim on the dash and carpeting, appears largely original, showing age but retaining its character.

Enos Slaughter badging on the instrument panel, and a collection of his personal baseball memorabilia further elevate its historical significance.

Automakers have long gifted vehicles to athletes and celebrities.

For example, Justin Bieber was gifted a forgotten $100,000 electric vehicle for his 18th birthday, and King Charles was given a $460,000 Rolls-Royce Cullinan Series II to mark his coronation.

Yet few of those cars come with a story as layered as this one.

Scheduled to cross the block at Mecum Auctions in Kissimmee on January 15, this 1955 Chrysler C-300 is a unique piece of automotive history that will likely fetch a hefty price.

DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie