In response to a question about a mid 1970s Wilson jersey of a Hall of Famer that featured what appeared to be a trimmed tag under the manufacturer’s label, I thought this would be a great opportunity to put my digital microscope to work.
The collector was concerned that this fabric under the Wilson tag might be signs of either a tag being replaced or some other nefarious deed. While I can’t offer an opinion on the jersey that was the basis of the question, I can say that the presence of this fabric is in and of itself not an automatic disqualifier in my book.
I have provided images of some the common Wilson jerseys in my on hand exemplar library. They are of:
1971 White Sox
1974 Braves
1975 Cubs
1976 Reds
Since these jerseys were purchased by me for research and reference, I am free to do with them what I like. I know this will shock some of you, but I actually peeled back the tag on the Cubs jersey a bit since the stitching was already loose in and around the fabric area just to see what I could see.
The material is definitely not a fold of the manufacturer’s tag as the fabric is not the same nor is it connected. The jersey in question, if all other aspects of it were correct, went below what I would have expected for the player, team and time frame. The collector who sent me the question stated that the he got no response from the auction house on this item. It could be the auction house’s failure to provide an answer or show why the presence of this material was not uncommon could have affected the price. MEARS did not look at this jersey so it’s not an issue for us, but I figured if one collector took the time to ask me the question, others might benefit from the response as well.
As always collect what you enjoy and enjoy what you collect.
MEARS Auth, LLC
For questions or comments on this article, please feel free to drop me a line at DaveGrob1@aol.com