November 22, 2006
On 9/12/06 MEARS was asked to evaluate a jersey being offered as a 2006 Ryan Howard Phillies Road jersey. We assigned the hologram number 304061 and recorded all of the measurements, numbering, lettering, and tagging in both our permanent Jersey Letter of Opinion file and listed the jersey in our jersey trade index with the designation, unable to authenticate. It is our current policy to list all items we evaluate, even those found “unable to authenticate” in several areas of the WWW.MEARSONLINE.COM website. This is done with the intention of warning potential buyers what to look for while listing the exact reasons for the opinion, which did not allow us to issue a favorable opinion.
The jersey shell was manufactured as the grey road button down made of knit material. The jersey was manufactured by Majestic and tagged as such. The tagged size was 54 and the chest measurements supported the stated size. The embroidered “Phillies” team name was found on the front of the jersey. The player’s name “HOWARD” was sewn directly on the jersey in correct sized lettering.
The back sported double tackle twill 6 also of correct size. Howard’s uniform number 6 was also found on both sleeves. Our initial examination of the manufacturing characteristics of the jersey supported the possibility of this being a game issued/worn jersey.
The major concerns were discovered while conducting the internal evaluation of the jersey. Per the comment section found on our final letter of opinion:
“Upon inspection, when examining the inside factory hem where the 0062 tag is attached, it can be seen that the bottom stitch line of the hem is broken. When looking at both sides of the tag as it is attached, if you look at a one-inch area to both the left and the right of the tag you can see that the original factory stitching has been busted and resewn. The best way to determine this is to examine the top portion of the factory stitching which appears above the 0062 tag. This stitch line is 100% original and has no breaks. The breaking of the thread and resewing of the thread indicates the 0062 tag was replaced, most likely to replace a 6200 retail tag which originally appeared. With the replacement of the tag, there is no way to conclude this is a game issued Ryan Howard 2006 Phillies road jersey.”
Therefore, MEARS was unable to authenticate this jersey and issue proper attribution to Ryan Howard as a 2006 Philadelphia Phillies jersey. This item along with the rest of the items MEARS has deemed “unable to authenticate” can be found in the jersey trade index found at www.mearsonline.com.
Sincerely,
Troy R. Kinunen