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I just got off the phone with Richard Russek, the president of Grey Flannel. Actually, I should say he just got off the phone with me because he hung up on me. I was calling him to express my concerns about the Cardinals jerseys in his current auction. If you look at the eight "gamers," they all have too much material on the name plates the the left and right of the NOB lettering. This is a common trait of bad Cardinals jerseys after the mid 1990s. The memorial patches on the 2002 jerseys also are not consistent with those made by Liebe for the team. And the 1931-32 jersey has a felt logo, not embroidered, so it can't be "issued."
I started the conversation by explaining that I had concerns about the excess material on the name plates. Rich's reply was, "What about the McGwire?" I said I thought it also had too much material compared to photos that are readily available from 1998. He then cut me off by saying the consignor has a photo of himself and Mac in the dugout and that Mac gave him the shirt right there. When I tried to ask if he had any photos of Mac wearing the jersey in a game, he cut me off again to tell me I had no credibility with him, and basically nothing else I had to say mattered. He was quite loud and agitated while I remained calm and tried to get a word in edgewise. I was not able to before he hung up on me.
I'm going to tell everyone here what I wanted to tell Mr. Russek. Get as many photos as you can of players from those seasons wearing similar jerseys. Compare the name plates in the photos with those on GF's jerseys and decide if anything looks amiss to you. Draw your own conclusions. I was prepared to share my research on 2002 jerseys and the memorial patches, but we never got that far.
If the Mac consignor's story is true and he did get the jersey from Mac, then all that proves is that Mac gave a mocked-up jersey to a friend. Doesn't mean he wore it -- and it certainly doesn't mean the other Cardinals jerseys being offered by GF are legit, either.
Mr. Russek, if you're reading this, I encourage you to call Mr. DeWitt. Maybe after you've spoken to the people on the team with whom I've already discussed these jerseys, you might not be so quick to dismiss my credibility. I'm confident they will tell you exactly what I wanted to tell you before you hung up on me -- the name plates and memorial patches on your jerseys are suspect and demand more research on your part.
I started the conversation by explaining that I had concerns about the excess material on the name plates. Rich's reply was, "What about the McGwire?" I said I thought it also had too much material compared to photos that are readily available from 1998. He then cut me off by saying the consignor has a photo of himself and Mac in the dugout and that Mac gave him the shirt right there. When I tried to ask if he had any photos of Mac wearing the jersey in a game, he cut me off again to tell me I had no credibility with him, and basically nothing else I had to say mattered. He was quite loud and agitated while I remained calm and tried to get a word in edgewise. I was not able to before he hung up on me.
I'm going to tell everyone here what I wanted to tell Mr. Russek. Get as many photos as you can of players from those seasons wearing similar jerseys. Compare the name plates in the photos with those on GF's jerseys and decide if anything looks amiss to you. Draw your own conclusions. I was prepared to share my research on 2002 jerseys and the memorial patches, but we never got that far.
If the Mac consignor's story is true and he did get the jersey from Mac, then all that proves is that Mac gave a mocked-up jersey to a friend. Doesn't mean he wore it -- and it certainly doesn't mean the other Cardinals jerseys being offered by GF are legit, either.
Mr. Russek, if you're reading this, I encourage you to call Mr. DeWitt. Maybe after you've spoken to the people on the team with whom I've already discussed these jerseys, you might not be so quick to dismiss my credibility. I'm confident they will tell you exactly what I wanted to tell you before you hung up on me -- the name plates and memorial patches on your jerseys are suspect and demand more research on your part.
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