Isaac Curtis sleeve numbers

[Tapes]

Did Isaac Curtis ever wear numbers on his sleeve before the 1980 season?

[Dewey2007]

From a quick check of pics of Curtis on Getty, Wireimage and Checkoutmycards.com it appears that the Bengals didn't wear sleeve numbers before 1980.

Hopefully others on the forum can confirm this as well since I don't think all of the pics covered every year between 1973-79. Good luck!

[Eric]

Are you referring to this jersey?

http://www.mearsonline.com/forsale/item/?id=2782

[Dewey2007]

If that is the jersey he is referring to here go pics from 1973-75

[Tapes]

Are you referring to this jersey?

http://www.mearsonline.com/forsale/item/?id=2782

Yep that's the one. Ive seen some pics on getty with Bengals numbers on the sleeves but none on Curtis. I'm assuming the jersey is no good then.

[Tapes]

Is there any other NFL jerseys that are fake/questionable from Mears?

[Eric]

Here's an undated 70s Bengals pic with sleeve numbers

19601

[Eric]

does this 1981 card suggest the bengals wore sleeve numbers in 1980?
19602

[Eric]

Here's the team photo from 1980

19603

[John in KY]

I grew up watching the Bengals in the 1970s - they were essentially the local team for us in KY at the time (before the Colts and Oilers/Titans moved).

The only year they ever wore sleeve numbers with the original uniform style was 1980. It was tough to tell with TV and photo technology of the day but the sleeve numbers appeared to be tackle-twill while the front/back numbers were screened on (or heat press or whatever Sand-Knit was using on mesh jerseys in 1978-1980).

When the first version of the tiger stripe uniforms came out in 1981 they had sleeve numbers, which moved to the shoulders when that style was updated in 1997.

[mears]

We have reviewed an item which is currently listed in our auction which ends March 26th. The item can be found at:

http://www.mearsonlineauctions.com/LotDetail.aspx?lotid=1678

We have made an amendment to the LOA and lot description, and wanted this post to serve as public announcement to the change. This post will also be made available at www.mearsonline.com (http://www.mearsonline.com) bulletin board.

Our staff originally dated the jersey to the 1973-75 era based on the design of the tag which was documented as being used during the 1973-75 era. With respects to the sleeve numbering, our original images used were listed as 1970s (no specific year date was listed), which have been found to have been incorrectly identified. At the time of our original review, it was the combination of the design of the tag and the available misidentified photo which allowed for our original dating.

It has been brought to our attention that the sleeve numbers were introduced in 1980. When questioned, MEARS began a review of the opinion rendered. Our additional research verified that the 1981 Topps Bengals football cards, (1980 images) support the sleeve numbering as being worn during 1980. We have amended the listing to correctly date the jersey to 1980.

I want to thank the GUF members that have brought this to my attention. I am never happy when MEARS makes a dating error, (or any error for that matter) , but this lot illustrates the benefit of the sharing of information. If the current bidders would like, I will be more than happy to retract your bids.

Regards,

Troy Kinunen/MEARS Auctions

[John in KY]

Troy,

Very nice write-up and update.

I should point out that as notoriously cheap as the Bengals were back then (and still are today) the Curtis jersey was likely used for several seasons and may well have been in the team's store-room years before it was used. It always appeared to me that the 1980 sleeve numbers were added to existing jerseys, not ordered that way from Sand-Knit.