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Made in Motown
09-04-2009, 10:08 AM
There is a '95 Moore jersey on ebay that as far as I can tell looks perfectly legit. Right style, correct tagging, numbers wrinkled like they should be, evidence of game use, correct name "H. Moore" for '95, but I have a couple of questions. I cannot find any pics of Moore wearing a pouch in '95 - does anyone have one? The seller also insists that there is no evidence that a '94 NFL anny patch was removed from this jersey. Is there any rational explenation for this? Was this maybe a backup in '94 and they never bothered to sew on the patch?

http://cgi.ebay.com/1995-DETROIT-LIONS-Game-Worn-HERMAN-MOORE-Jersey_W0QQitemZ270451276683QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_ DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3ef826fb8b&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Made in Motown
09-04-2009, 10:09 AM
I can't believe I misspelled Herman.

5kRunner
09-04-2009, 10:51 AM
The only thing I can come up with is that the jersey was prepared for a possible January (1996) playoff game at Dallas.

Maybe someone else has a better idea.

reed1216
09-06-2009, 11:46 PM
Hard to tell if the jersey Moore's wearing has handwarmers. But, according to Getty, this photo was taken during a game at RFK Stadium in October of 1995...


22 OCT 1995: WIDE RECEIVER HERMAN MOORE RUNS A PATTERN DURING THE LIONS 36-30 LOSS TO THE WASHINGTON REDSKINS AT RFK STADIUM IN WASHINGTON, D.C. Mandatory Credit: Doug Pensinger/Allsport

G1X
09-07-2009, 02:35 AM
Back in 1999, I made a bulk purchase from the Detroit Lions of approximately 800 jerseys. Included in the batch were jerseys from 1994 and 1995. The particular Herman Moore jersey in the ebay auction was not in the batch I purchased, but perhaps the following information will be useful to you and others looking at Lions jerseys from that period as it was a strange two years.

The Lions were contracted to use Apex in 1994. The jerseys were not ready when the season started, so the Lions continued to use the Wilson jerseys from previous seasons until the Apex jerseys arrived. The team "hid" the Wilson "W" logo on the sleeve by either removing it or else being sure it was tucked underneath on the jerseys that had shortened sleeves.

The Apex jerseys were first put into use in late October. These jerseys were a change as the numbers were sewn-on except for a few of the defensive linemen (90s numbers) that were screened-on. (All of the older Wilson jerseys had screened-on numbers.) Another change was the shade of blue which was slightly different than the Wilson jerseys. This was especially obvious when looking at the numbers on the white jerseys. Also, after years of having the lettering on the nameplate of the white jerseys in a noticeably darker shade of blue than the numbers, the lettering on the white Apex jerseys was a true Honolulu blue that matched the color of the numbers.

Things got really crazy in 1995. Apex had gone out of business, so Reebok became the supplier for the Lions. Instead of dumping the Apex jerseys which had seen approximately a half season's use, the Lions "recycled" the Apex jerseys and transformed them into Reebok jerseys by removing the Apex tail tag and replacing it with a Reebok tag, and doing the same with the sleeve logos. These "recycled" jerseys are easy to spot as the outline (stitching) of the triangular Apex sleeve logo is usually easy to spot.

I never like to comment on a jersey until I have seen it in person and held it in my hands, but several things ring true with this jersey. The repair appears to be consistent with the ones I saw on the various Lions jerseys I had from that time period. It's rare to find the handwarmer still intact on Lions jerseys from that era, but this one matches perfectly to an Anthony Carter with a handwarmer that was in my bulk buy. The reason it's tough to find a handwarmer intact is that - according to the equipment manager in 1999 - the Lions would usually remove them in order to reuse them if needed in the future. Finally, the "bubbling" or crinkled numbers is consistent with the wash wear on most of the Lions jerseys I had from that era.

As for Derrick Moore, the ebay listing is not accurate as he played with Detroit in 1993 and 1994. He was released in the off-season and ended up with Carolina in 1995 where he was a starter for 10 games and led the Panthers in rushing. He was on the Lions preseason roster in 1996, but did not make the regular season roster.

As for the handwarmer pouch on a blue jersey, the Lions played at Philadelphia in a Wildcard Playoff game on December 30, 1995. The Lions wore blue in the that game, and some of the players can be seen in photos wearing handwarmers. There is not a definitive photo of Herman Moore, but if anyone has the video of that game, take a look to see if Moore was was wearing an "H. Moore" jersey in that game. Even if he wasn't wearing the "H. Moore" jersey in that particular game, it could have been brought along as a "backup".

Personally, if I were interested in this jersey, I would have no problem placing a bid, but that's just my humble opinion based on what I see in the photos and from past experiences. I am guessing that there is an outline of the Apex sleeve logo on this jersey, and I would not be surprised if the outline of the NFL Anniversary patch from 1994 can be seen on the shoulder after careful examination.

I hope that this information has been helpful to all.

Mark Hayne
Gridiron Exchange
gixc@verizon.net

Always looking for Atlanta Falcons and World Football League jerseys

nyjetsfan14
09-07-2009, 10:34 AM
Greetings Mark. Thanks for yet another great post. I was wondering if you had any idea why Apex screened on identifiers for some of the defensive lineman jerseys while sewing on identifiers for all other Lions jerseys supplied? That seems like a very odd practice and I wonder if there was a method to their madness, if it was in error, if it was just happnestance, etc...? Things were so much more unique and varied back then, todays NFL cookie cutter collecting has become a bore in my opinion. Anyhow, enjoy the 09 season and best of luck to your Falcons!

Made in Motown
09-08-2009, 09:44 AM
Greetings Mark. Thanks for yet another great post. I was wondering if you had any idea why Apex screened on identifiers for some of the defensive lineman jerseys while sewing on identifiers for all other Lions jerseys supplied? That seems like a very odd practice and I wonder if there was a method to their madness, if it was in error, if it was just happnestance, etc...? Things were so much more unique and varied back then, todays NFL cookie cutter collecting has become a bore in my opinion. Anyhow, enjoy the 09 season and best of luck to your Falcons!

Certain lineman on the Lions believed that the screened numbers were harder to grab onto & specifically requested them. I believe Porcher had the jersey numbers screened on until '96 or '97.

G1X
09-10-2009, 12:14 AM
Hi Matthew,

Hope all is well and that your Jets do well this season - except when they play the Falcons in the Meadowlands on December 20!!!

Made in Mexico's explanation is the same one that was given to me by the Lions equipment manager - that some of the defensive lineman felt that the slicker screened-on numbers were much more difficult to grab.

Note that while the numbers were screened-on, the lettering on the name plates were sewn on which was a practice they had incorporated even before the Apex/Reebok era in the mid-1990s. The first two photos are examples of the screened-on numbers with the sewn-on lettering from the Apex/Reebok era. The last photo shows the sleeve of a "recycled" 1994 jersey where the Apex logo was removed (refer to my previous post #5 in this thread regarding that issue).

Mark Hayne
Gridiron Exchange
gixc@verizon.net

Always looking for Atlanta Falcons and WFL Jerseys