Steelers Mark Malone Jersey - eBay

[beantown]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=260327762111&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=016 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=260327762111&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=016)


I first saw this jersey and I thought, wow! I bid immediately without doing my homework, after all it comes from Mark Malone’s daughter!

Since I bid, here are the issues I have found with this jersey and emailed the seller sharing my thoughts.

1.) The design of this jersey was worn by the Steelers until the mid-1970's (the shoulder seams go into the neck).

2.) If you look carefully, the jersey was long sleeved and made into a short sleeve (elbow pad remnants can be seen into the sleeve striping)...

3.) The tail tags are from the early to mid 1970's...

Is it possibly that Mark Malone was playing for the Steelers in the early 1980's and was wearing a jersey that was manufactured 5+ years before he began playing and was initially a long sleeved jersey and was NOT the current style/design the Steelers were wearing in the early 1980's?

Is it possible; yes....is it probable; no….

[bubbrubb25]

If he gave it to her and she is his daughter why would he autograph it?

[cohibasmoker]

Beantown: I have personally owned several jerseys from other NFL teams that used re-issued jerseys. The teams that come to mind are the Eagles, Colts and Browns. My most recent jersey was a Browns jersey. It had Sand-knit tags dating the jersey from 1970-73. It was re-issued to a player who played from 1983-85.

I saw the jersey on eBay and it certainly DID NOT last long. There are several Steelers collectors on this forum and I am sure one of them have actually owned a few and will be able provide some information.

Jim

[beantown]

Beantown: I have personally owned several jerseys from other NFL teams that used re-issued jerseys. The teams that come to mind are the Eagles, Colts and Browns. My most recent jersey was a Browns jersey. It had Sand-knit tags dating the jersey from 1970-73. It was re-issued to a player who played from 1983-85.

I saw the jersey on eBay and it certainly DID NOT last long. There are several Steelers collectors on this forum and I am sure one of them have actually owned a few and will be able provide some information.

Jim

Jim...hello...I can understand teams carrying ove jerseys from years past, but even when there was a design/style change? Again, the Steelers haven't worn the jerseys with the shoulder seam going in the neck since the mid-1970's.

Pure speculation, but here's how I see it...Malone asks the equipment manager for his game jersey and he's provided with this jersey, which was made up from old stock...I've heard some interesting stories about the way the Steelers equipment manager ran things back then...

When I emailed the seller, she stated that she was offered $3500 for the jersey...I personally would not be comfortable with it as a real Malone gamer..

[cohibasmoker]

Jim...hello...I can understand teams carrying ove jerseys from years past, but even when there was a design/style change? Again, the Steelers haven't worn the jerseys with the shoulder seam going in the neck since the mid-1970's.

Pure speculation, but here's how I see it...Malone asks the equipment manager for his game jersey and he's provided with this jersey, which was made up from old stock...I've heard some interesting stories about the way the Steelers equipment manager ran things back then...

When I emailed the seller, she stated that she was offered $3500 for the jersey...I personally would not be comfortable with it as a real Malone gamer..

Your scenario makes a lot of sense - equipment managers are often times very creative individuals. Another scenario may have been Mr. Malone was comfortible with the cut of the jersey. None of us were actually in the clubhouse or making equiptment decisions for the team, so as you stated, it's just speculation on our part.

Two things we do know is, she did end the auction. And, Steelers collectors are extremely passionate about their team and vintage collectibles so $3500.00 does not seem that far out of wack.

Jim

[beantown]

Your scenario makes a lot of sense - equipment managers are often times very creative individuals. Another scenario may have been Mr. Malone was comfortible with the cut of the jersey. None of us were actually in the clubhouse or making equiptment decisions for the team, so as you stated, it's just speculation on our part.

Two things we do know is, she did end the auction. And, Steelers collectors are extremely passionate about their team and vintage collectibles so $3500.00 does not seem that far out of wack.

Jim

Hello...I agree that $3500 is a good price for a DEFINITIVE Malone gamer, but with the issues, I believe that price is way too high. If someone thinks they're getting a real Malone gamer, they may be in for a big disappointment...what's even sadder, is that Malone and or his daughter may have thought they had his own gamer for all these years, when in fact it may be just a made up jersey...

[cohibasmoker]

This jersey brings up an issue for me. That issue is, who makes the decision on whether or not an item is authentic or not?

A year or so ago, I had a vintage suspension helmet. The helmet in question just happened to be a Pittsburgh Steelers helmet. Some collectors said they weren’t comfortable with it while others thought it was fine. I wound-up sending the helmet to a third party (NOT Robert) who was kind enough to forward the helmet to a member of the Steelers equipment staff.

When I got the helmet back, it was deemed 100% authentic. When I tried to dig into why they deemed the helmet authentic, I was told that there are just some things and/or information that isn’t divulged to the general public.

So my question is, just who deems an item authentic? Is it a player? Is it an equipment guy? Is it a person who may have owned or examined a handful of jerseys from 30 years ago, looked at some pictures and then deemed themselves an expert? Is it a combination of factors? I don’t know that answer but I will say that everyone has an opinion on an item and I have always tried to keep an open mind when looking at game worn items.

Back to the Malone issue, I can say that the only person whose opinion matters in this matter is the person that paid the $3500.00 for the jersey – all we can do is sit on the sidelines and speculate.

Jim

[commando]

Malone's first year in the NFL with the Steelers was 1980, and he was only on the roster for one game that year (it appears that he did not actually play in the game). I'm not sure which game he was active for, whether it was home or away. It seems likely to me that if this jersey is indeed worn by Malone, it would probably be from that brief 1980 campaign. I have several 1980 Steelers games in my DVD library, but it's unlikely the camera would focus much on Malone on the sidelines (if I even knew which game to watch).

[both-teams-played-hard]

If he gave it to her and she is his daughter why would he autograph it?

Non-collectors mistakenly think that an autograph adds value or is the ultimate justification of provenance.

[hrvatwill]

One thing that I found odd about the description is the statement that the jersey was worn in the game in which Malone caught a 90 yd TD pass from Bradshaw. I remember that game and it was an away game in Seattle in 1981 in which the Steelers wore their white jerseys. I wrote to the seller explaining this but did not receive a reply.

[sacker12]

Off topic, but I still miss him on ESPN.