Grey Flannel/Hunt's 2001 Randy Johnson jersey

[hblakewolf]

Current offering in hunt's live auction, "2001 Randy Johnson jersey":

http://www.huntauctions.com/online/imageviewer.cfm?auction_num=37&lot_num=556&lot_qual=&url_referer=search.cfm

19198

Although the shirt is offered as a 2001, and the Grey Flannel LOA notes it is from 2001, the MLB logo patch is not present on the back of the exterior collar. This logo patch was first used by all MLB teams on their jerseys in 2000, and is still used to this day.

After extensive searching for photos of Randy Johnson in 2001, and also any other Arizona player in 2001, no photo evidence has been located of jerseys being worn during the season void of the patch that supports Grey Flannels LOA noting this is from 2001.

Emails were sent to both Hunt's and also Ritchie Russok at Grey Flannel asking them for any insight and to also confirm that the Grey Flannel letter notes it as a 2001. I was contacted within minutes from the folks at Hunt's, noting that the Grey Flannel LOA states 2001. Based upon the facts, Hunt's will ammend their listing to note this "issue" and allow all prospective bidders to be aware of this. This is not the first time I've contacted Hunt's about a potetntial probelm, however, it's my experience that they have ALWAYS amended their listings or removed the item from their auction, unlike other auction houses that are completely non responsive to autneticity issues. Should a reply be received from Grey Flannel, I will update this thread.

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@comcast.net

[hblakewolf]

For those of you asking, below is the copy from the original listing, before it was changed:

Description: 2001 Randy Johnson Arizona Diamondbacks professional model road jersey w/ undershirt. Road grey knit pinstriped shirt features Arizona lettering on front with player #51 on left breast and on back. Embroidered Diamondbacks logo patch appears on left sleeve. Schilling's name is stitched on back. Russell Athletic tagging appears on the front tail noting size "50" with adjacent flag tags noting "100% polyester" and "4' extra length". Black cotton undershirt remains inside jersey. Jersey exhibits light to moderate usage wear and retains superb display quality. Completely original and unaltered. Includes LOAs from Grey Flannel and Hunt Auctions: EX-MT Estimated Price: ($1,500.00-$2,000.00)


Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@comcast.net

[kingjammy24]

the missing MLB logo is almost the least of it. how about the idea that the diamondbacks wore this style from 1998-2000? of course, the russell tag isn't from 2000+ either. seems to be a 1996-1999 tag which would jive with the style of the jersey and account for the missing MLB logo. to pinpoint it further, the jersey could only be from 1998 or 1999. since johnson began playing for arizona for the first time in 1999, the jersey can only be from 1999. nice work grey flannel. absolutely nothing about the jersey says 2001..where did they get that number from?

rudy.

[MikeM]

Yes, starting in 2001, the Diamondbacks used a road vest and not that jersey.

On top of that, the numbers "51" on the back look seriously wrong. They first look way too small, and even then the spacing is too far apart. Something really looks off with those numbers on the back.

That is likely a 1999 jersey. In 2001 they used the vest, in 2000, the manufacturer of Diamondbacks jerseys was RAWLINGS, not Russell. The photo clearly shows a Russell jersey, which was the team manufacturer for jerseys in 1999.

[cjw]

"Schilling's name is stitched on back" ???

[lon lewis]

In addition to the previously mentioned crudely placed letters and numbers, whoever did this managed to get the "H" and "S" in Johnson upside down.

[kingjammy24]

In addition to the previously mentioned crudely placed letters and numbers, whoever did this managed to get the "H" and "S" in Johnson upside down.

lon, good eye. that said, i wonder how often that happens legitimately.
here's my 1989 mookie wilson with an upside down "S", acquired from the team. the upside down "S" actually helped me photomatch it!

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/2500/sillyi.jpg

rudy.

[hblakewolf]

As an update to my original post, and to answer those who have contacted me, no repsonse has been received from Grey Flannel.

If a reply is received, this post will be updated accordingly.

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@comcast.net

[kylehess10]

After checking all the photos and baseball cards I could find of Johnson in 1999, I could not find 1 single pic that matched the pinstripes on the jersey in the auction.