UNIQUE/RECYCLED SPRING TRAINING JERSEYS

Teams have, on rare occasions, worn game jerseys in preseason exhibition play than those worn during the regular season. Five examples follow, following from most recent to oldest.

1990’s Expos: During the first several years of the pinstriped home jerseys made by Russell, the Expos wore a game jersey similar to their April-to-September threads, but the spring versions carried a larger number and no name on back. The 1995 Topps card #622 of Pedro Martinez shows an example of this.

1977 Mariners: The team ordered home unies from Wilson, and road powder blues from Goodman. Two different styles were used in their inaugural year…NNOB jerseys for spring training, and jerseys with NOBs for the regular season. An example of the 1977 spring homes with NNOB can be seen on John Montague’s 1979 Topps card (#337).

1969 Pilots: While Wilson shared regular season sourcing with Spalding for the Pilots’ only year of existence, Wilson covered both the home whites and road greys in their first spring training. The spring style was basic, a blue upper case PILOTS across the front, a blue number on the back, and a Wilson tag with no accompanying year or set tagging in the tail. EBay has an example of the road genre worn by coach Eddie O’Brien up for bids currently, but the “added” 100th Anniversary patch on the eBay jersey was never used on either spring style.

1960s Kansas City/Oakland A’s: As has been mentioned here in the past, the Athletics wore jerseys from BEFORE the previous season often in their Arizona activities every March. Slugger Jim Gentile is shown in a 1964 spring training photo on his 1965 Topps card (#365).

Also, the 1968 Oakland A’s vests with the fancy OAKLAND front saw action as late as 1971 spring camp. Topps’ 1972 card of Bob Locker, #537, shows Locker in a spring shot that can be no earlier than 1971, as he joined the A’s mid-season in 1970, going to spring camp that March with the Pilots/Brewers.

1961 Senators: The previous offseason found the original Washington Senators relocating to Minneapolis-St. Paul and beginning their new life as the Twins. While the expansion Senators were a new team, they began their existence wearing the OLD Senators uniforms! The Unies with the Mr. Senator patch on the left sleeve from 1960 were their March attire, as shown on the 1961 Topps Harry Bright card (#447).

ANOTHER HIGH SET NUMBER

Majestic has been known to issue close to or over a dozen sets of jerseys for some players, and another one is up for auction. Game Used Forum has up for bidding a perfectly authentic Alfonso Soriano Cubs gamer in their current auction, strip tagged as a set 10. Set numbers as high as set 20 (Vernon Wells, Blue Jays) have been legitimately issued by Majestic in the past.

MORE ON UPSHAW MEMORIAM

While the GU63 Gene Upshaw memoriam patches were removed from NFL jerseys after the first week of the season (except for Upshaw’s former team, the Raiders), Upshaw’s memory lives on across the NFL in the form of a helmet decal with the same design as the memoriam patch.

NHL PRESEASON PATCHES

The four NHL squads that visited Europe for a round of exhibition games wore NHL Premiere patches on their game sweaters. The patches include the NHL premiere logo, the dates of the exhibitions (October 4-5, 2008), the host city (either Stockholm or Prague) and modified designs of the host nations’ flags (Sweden and the Czech Republic). I’ll be surprised if MeiGray doesn’t end up with these sweet sweaters for distribution via sale to collectors and fans.

THIS JAY IS NOT OK

A recently offered 1980 Toronto Blue Jays Bob Bailor home jersey drew only a $135 high bid…incredibly low, until you consider the myriad of problems the jersey possesses. A Rawlings manufacture (when Wilson made homes and Rawlings only produced roads), a variant Blue Jays front font not consistent with known authentic gamers, a NOB font not consistent with known exemplars, and improper location of the Rawlings and strip tags held the bidding down.

I will stress, however, that the seller is a card dealer of the highest integrity and standards…my strong belief is that he himself got burned when acquiring the jersey, and, not being a game-used aficionado, assumed it was as presented to him, and offered it accordingly.

OBITUARY

George Kissell, longtime employee of the St. Louis Cardinals organization, died earlier this week in a car crash. He was 88. Kissell’s coaching career in the majors began in 1969.

LET’S GO ALL THE WAY, RAYS!!!

UNIQUE/RECYCLED SPRING TRAINING JERSEYS

Teams have, on rare occasions, worn game jerseys in preseason exhibition play than those worn during the regular season. Five examples follow, following from most recent to oldest.

1990’s Expos: During the first several years of the pinstriped home jerseys made by Russell, the Expos wore a game jersey similar to their April-to-September threads, but the spring versions carried a larger number and no name on back. The 1995 Topps card #622 of Pedro Martinez shows an example of this.

1977 Mariners: The team ordered home unies from Wilson, and road powder blues from Goodman. Two different styles were used in their inaugural year…NNOB jerseys for spring training, and jerseys with NOBs for the regular season. An example of the 1977 spring homes with NNOB can be seen on John Montague’s 1979 Topps card (#337).

1969 Pilots: While Wilson shared regular season sourcing with Spalding for the Pilots’ only year of existence, Wilson covered both the home whites and road greys in their first spring training. The spring style was basic, a blue upper case PILOTS across the front, a blue number on the back, and a Wilson tag with no accompanying year or set tagging in the tail. EBay has an example of the road genre worn by coach Eddie O’Brien up for bids currently, but the “added” 100th Anniversary patch on the eBay jersey was never used on either spring style.

1960s Kansas City/Oakland A’s: As has been mentioned here in the past, the Athletics wore jerseys from BEFORE the previous season often in their Arizona activities every March. Slugger Jim Gentile is shown in a 1964 spring training photo on his 1965 Topps card (#365).

Also, the 1968 Oakland A’s vests with the fancy OAKLAND front saw action as late as 1971 spring camp. Topps’ 1972 card of Bob Locker, #537, shows Locker in a spring shot that can be no earlier than 1971, as he joined the A’s mid-season in 1970, going to spring camp that March with the Pilots/Brewers.

1961 Senators: The previous offseason found the original Washington Senators relocating to Minneapolis-St. Paul and beginning their new life as the Twins. While the expansion Senators were a new team, they began their existence wearing the OLD Senators uniforms! The Unies with the Mr. Senator patch on the left sleeve from 1960 were their March attire, as shown on the 1961 Topps Harry Bright card (#447).

ANOTHER HIGH SET NUMBER

Majestic has been known to issue close to or over a dozen sets of jerseys for some players, and another one is up for auction. Game Used Forum has up for bidding a perfectly authentic Alfonso Soriano Cubs gamer in their current auction, strip tagged as a set 10. Set numbers as high as set 20 (Vernon Wells, Blue Jays) have been legitimately issued by Majestic in the past.

MORE ON UPSHAW MEMORIAM

While the GU63 Gene Upshaw memoriam patches were removed from NFL jerseys after the first week of the season (except for Upshaw’s former team, the Raiders), Upshaw’s memory lives on across the NFL in the form of a helmet decal with the same design as the memoriam patch.

NHL PRESEASON PATCHES

The four NHL squads that visited Europe for a round of exhibition games wore NHL Premiere patches on their game sweaters. The patches include the NHL premiere logo, the dates of the exhibitions (October 4-5, 2008), the host city (either Stockholm or Prague) and modified designs of the host nations’ flags (Sweden and the Czech Republic). I’ll be surprised if MeiGray doesn’t end up with these sweet sweaters for distribution via sale to collectors and fans.

THIS JAY IS NOT OK

A recently offered 1980 Toronto Blue Jays Bob Bailor home jersey drew only a $135 high bid…incredibly low, until you consider the myriad of problems the jersey possesses. A Rawlings manufacture (when Wilson made homes and Rawlings only produced roads), a variant Blue Jays front font not consistent with known authentic gamers, a NOB font not consistent with known exemplars, and improper location of the Rawlings and strip tags held the bidding down.

I will stress, however, that the seller is a card dealer of the highest integrity and standards…my strong belief is that he himself got burned when acquiring the jersey, and, not being a game-used aficionado, assumed it was as presented to him, and offered it accordingly.

OBITUARY

George Kissell, longtime employee of the St. Louis Cardinals organization, died earlier this week in a car crash. He was 88. Kissell’s coaching career in the majors began in 1969.

LET’S GO ALL THE WAY, RAYS!!!

MLB JERSEYS, MILB LOCALES

These days, minor league teams issue their own ballclub’s jerseys to rehabbing major leaguers, often getting decent dollars for them upon their sale. There were some times in the not too distant past, however, when such was not the case.

In the early 1990s, my first trip to see the Modesto A’s play (during a visit with the in-laws) found the A’s hosting the San Jose Giants in California League ball. Because of the close geographies, San Francisco starter Luis Aquino took the mound for a rehab start for S Jose. The A-ball Giants, however, did not provide him with San Jose road grey shirt…he brought his major league Giants gamer with him.

Also, while I was not actually at this game, photographic evidence exists of Cubs hurler Rick Sutcliffe, circa 1990, in the bullpen of the Peoria Chiefs of the Midwest League (A-ball again) with his Cubs road grey jersey on.

I’m certain more examples exist…anyone who has such a story can e-mail me at sox83cubs84@hotmail.com to share it.

ONE AND DONE

As it turns out, the Gene Upshaw GU 63 memoriam patch worn in week 1 by all 32 NFL teams is ONLY being worn in week 1…this past Sunday’s games found the patch no longer on the jerseys.

SO THEN, WHAT, PRAY TELL, IS THIS?

An auction closed a couple of days ago on eBay that, while a team-issued jersey, became a thicket of questions otherwise. A seller had a 2008 Colts road jersey of Koyle Whiteside. Since Whiteside’s last year playing for the Colts was in 2004, I can only assume he attempted a comeback in camp…one that failed, as he is not on the regular season roster. This preseason jersey had the Upshaw patch on it…problematic for at least two reasons. First, the Upshaw patch was only worn for Week 1 of the regular season…not preseason, and not Week 2. On top of that, in Week 1, the Colts were home hosting the Bears, meaning that the patch appeared on their home blue shirts…not their road whites. Sadly, someone not privy to this information paid $154.50 for this totally convoluted piece.

IF NOT THEN, WHEN?

While the White Sox players and coaches did wear the green-themed home unies last Friday as part of their Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day, the unies would qualify, at most, as “bench worn”. The team did dress up for a game, but never got the contest started, as a torrential rain that started before the schedule 7:11 PM first pitch cancelled the game. Whether or not these will get worn in one of the Pale Hose’s three remaining home games (four if the cancelled game not played on Sunday with Detroit has playoff implications for the White Sox), only time will tell.

ONE TEAM STILL WEARING PATCH

As it turns out, Gene Upshaw’s former team, the Oakland Raiders, are still wearing the memoriam patch for the late Hall of Famer.

AND, SPEAKING OF THE RAIDERS…

While the football world is abuzz with the news that Chad Ocho Cinco (nee Johnson) is getting a $4 million dollar bill from the No Fun League on behalf of Reebok for merchandise rendered useless by his name change, it almost happened before, albeit at a less costly rate.

After the 2006 season, Raiders WR Jerry Porter wanted to change
his number from 84 to 81…until the NFL told him, in writing that he would be billed $210,000 for unsold #84 Porter jerseys and the like made by Reebok.

Apparently, this is NFL/Reebok policy, as explained by league spokesman Greg Aiello: “The more popular the player, the more expensive the switch”. (Originally reported by AP).

NFL UNIFORM CHANGES

The Lions and Steelers have something in common for their 2008 uniform choices. Both will be using Throwback unie as their alternate styles. The Steelers will wear the retro design they used in 2007 as a third jersey, to be worn twice during 2008. The Lions are also going to wear their 1950s-style throwbacks as a third style, also to be worn twice, one occasion being Thanksgiving Day. To accommodate the new alternate threads, the Lions will retire their black alternate uniforms.

A REMINDER…

While the Baseball Almanac website is as good as it gets for baseball history and information, those who use the site to get past years’ uniform numbers need to remember two things: first, coaches are NOT listed; second: managers have their own specific link. If your jersey’s year/number/team combo doesn’t show up on the regular roster page, it could be due to one of these two factors.

WILL BIG Z TOSS ANOTHER NO-NO IN THE WORLD SERIES…?

TWO 2008 NHL NUMBER RETIREMENTS

Goalie Patrick Roy, whose #33 sweater has already been retired by the Colorado Avalanche, will have a ceremony in which the Montreal Canadiens will do likewise. The ceremony will be at the November 22 game.

Then, on December 28, the Washington Capitals will give a slightly belated Christmas gift to Mike Gartner by taking his #11 jersey out of team circulation. These are two great NHL names getting deserved kudos for their excellent careers.

MAYBE GAME WORN>>>BUT WHEN?

A current eBay lot features a jersey with many questions, some possible answers, but not the slam-dunk certainty that would be likely to bring the seller big bucks.

Listed is a “game-worn” California Angels home jersey of Reggie Jackson, bearing what appears to be a genuine Jackson autograph and inscription. The provenance makes sense, as the seller’s brother got it from Reggie after selling the Hall of Fame slugger a classic car he owned. The jersey, though, if worn, would have been a post-career event, such as an Old-Timers Game, and very well could be. The tag are not evident in eBay photos, and the biggest factor in determining that it was not an active player jersey is the button-down front. During Reggie’s five years with the Halos (1982-86), all game shirts were v-neck pullovers, not button-fronts.

.

The seller looks to not be a game-used collector, and his lack of specific knowledge is the cause of the confusion, not any clandestine motives on his part. Still, if the game it was worn in could be pinned down (and, as I somewhat suspect, was an item from an Old-Timers event), his hammer price would likely be higher than one for an authentic, signed Reggie jersey, which is all it can be classified as until more information is produced. Good luck to the seller..I hope he is able to pin down the date/game of usage and get a few more dollars for it.

AND, SPEAKING OF REGGIE…

Jerseys like the one above bear quality, legible Jackson autographs, his norm once he began doing the card show circuit. Longtime signature seekers can tell you, however, that, over 30 years ago, such was not the case. In the 1970s, until he joined he Yankees, Reggie was an excellent autograph signer for both hotel and ballpark based collectors. Unfortunately, Reggie’s idea of an autograph was not one most of today’s picky collectors would approve of. His autograph tended to take on one of the following scribblings: Reggie, Reggie J, Reggie Jax, or Jax. They were free autographs at least…not paid show appearances versions.

NOT LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

When Patrick Ewing Jr. takes to the hardwood in a few weeks with his New York Knicks teammates, he will NOT be wearing his legendary father’s #33. The young Ewing has instead opted for #6, for two reasons: it was his father’s Olympics number, and it was also personal hero Bill Russell’s number.

NOW…A POLE AND A PLAQUE

Longtime Red Sox player, manager and coach Johnny Pesky, after whom the Fenway Park right field foul pole (Pesky’s Pole) is named, will be adding a ballpark plaque to his honors, as well. Before Friday evening’s Red Sox game, a ceremony will be held to officially retire Pesky’s #6 jersey. He will be the first Bosox player not to be enshrined in Cooperstown to receive this honor.

OBITUARY

Wally Hilgenberg, a linebacker who became famous as part of the Minnesota Vikings vaunted 1970s defense after spending his first three NFL years with Detroit, died of ALS. He was 61.

Hilgy’s Vikings career included a spot on all four Vikings’ Super Bowl entries. Family survivors include younger brothers Jay and Joel Hilgenberg, both of whom were good players in their own right in the 1980s. Wally passed away at home, surrounded by family members.

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM…QUIT WHINING ABOUT PLAYING THE CUBS IN MILWAUKEE!

NHL NEWS FOR 2008-09

Over this past weekend, two NHL teams unveiled a new alternate jersey, ones that will surely find their way into the collections of game-used hockey enthusiasts within a year or two.

First, the Buffalo Sabres went retro with their third style, using design similar to the Gil Perreault era of Sabres hockey, with old-school tie-down necks. The two notable differences between the sweaters of then and now: The current version uses a slightly darker shade of blue than the originals, and has also added a small number on the right chest that didn’t appear back in the 1970s.

Then, the St. Louis Blues unveiled their own blue third jersey, also a tie-down neck, with a round crest in the front combining the team’s name, their well-known song note logo, and an image of the Gateway Arch behind the song note. From what I can see, they both appear to be winners.

Prior to this past weekend, the Carolina Hurricanes also introduced a black alternate sweater style to be worn 15 times this coming season. The jersey’s logo incorporates a hurricane warning flag waving from an inverted stick/flagpole, and a triangle behind this design.

TWO 2008 NHL NUMBER RETIREMENTS

Goalie Patrick Roy, whose #33 sweater has already been retired by the Colorado Avalanche, will have a ceremony in which the Montreal Canadiens will do likewise. The ceremony will be at the November 22 game.

Then, on December 28, the Washington Capitals will give a slightly belated Christmas gift to Mike Gartner by taking his #11 jersey out of team circulation. These are two great NHL names getting deserved kudos for their excellent careers.

MAYBE GAME WORN>>>BUT WHEN?

A current eBay lot features a jersey with many questions, some possible answers, but not the slam-dunk certainty that would be likely to bring the seller big bucks.

Listed is a “game-worn” California Angels home jersey of Reggie Jackson, bearing what appears to be a genuine Jackson autograph and inscription. The provenance makes sense, as the seller’s brother got it from Reggie after selling the Hall of Fame slugger a classic car he owned. The jersey, though, if worn, would have been a post-career event, such as an Old-Timers Game, and very well could be. The tag are not evident in eBay photos, and the biggest factor in determining that it was not an active player jersey is the button-down front. During Reggie’s five years with the Halos (1982-86), all game shirts were v-neck pullovers, not button-fronts.

.

The seller looks to not be a game-used collector, and his lack of specific knowledge is the cause of the confusion, not any clandestine motives on his part. Still, if the game it was worn in could be pinned down (and, as I somewhat suspect, was an item from an Old-Timers event), his hammer price would likely be higher than one for an authentic, signed Reggie jersey, which is all it can be classified as until more information is produced. Good luck to the seller..I hope he is able to pin down the date/game of usage and get a few more dollars for it.

AND, SPEAKING OF REGGIE…

Jerseys like the one above bear quality, legible Jackson autographs, his norm once he began doing the card show circuit. Longtime signature seekers can tell you, however, that, over 30 years ago, such was not the case. In the 1970s, until he joined he Yankees, Reggie was an excellent autograph signer for both hotel and ballpark based collectors. Unfortunately, Reggie’s idea of an autograph was not one most of today’s picky collectors would approve of. His autograph tended to take on one of the following scribblings: Reggie, Reggie J, Reggie Jax, or Jax. They were free autographs at least…not paid show appearances versions.

NOT LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

When Patrick Ewing Jr. takes to the hardwood in a few weeks with his New York Knicks teammates, he will NOT be wearing his legendary father’s #33. The young Ewing has instead opted for #6, for two reasons: it was his father’s Olympics number, and it was also personal hero Bill Russell’s number.

NOW…A POLE AND A PLAQUE

Longtime Red Sox player, manager and coach Johnny Pesky, after whom the Fenway Park right field foul pole (Pesky’s Pole) is named, will be adding a ballpark plaque to his honors, as well. Before Friday evening’s Red Sox game, a ceremony will be held to officially retire Pesky’s #6 jersey. He will be the first Bosox player not to be enshrined in Cooperstown to receive this honor.

OBITUARY

Wally Hilgenberg, a linebacker who became famous as part of the Minnesota Vikings vaunted 1970s defense after spending his first three NFL years with Detroit, died of ALS. He was 61.

Hilgy’s Vikings career included a spot on all four Vikings’ Super Bowl entries. Family survivors include younger brothers Jay and Joel Hilgenberg, both of whom were good players in their own right in the 1980s. Wally passed away at home, surrounded by family members.

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM…QUIT WHINING ABOUT PLAYING THE CUBS IN MILWAUKEE!