are items worn for events only considered as "game worn"

[yankees24]

If a player wears a jersey or holds an equipment for an event such as a photo shoot or a pre-game ring ceremony that does not directly involve a game itself, should the item be deemed game issued or game worn?

[neverfinished94]

there is no way it should be considered game worn

[yankees24]

okay thanks so these should be labeled as "event worn" items?

[David]

Event worn, yes.

On the back of some of the game used swatch cards, they are often labeled as event worn.

[TNTtoys]

However you decide to classify it -- ceremony worn, event worn, game worn, etc. -- it should never have the term "issued" in the description.

What often happens at these affairs is the player / former player is given multiple uniforms. He wears one in the event which is then collected and auctioned, and he is also given one to take home as a souvenir. The "take home" uniform is always considered the issued one whereas the other is considered "used."

Similarly to "game used", if I am in the market to buy a uniform worn in a special ceremony or event, I want it to be that uniform!

[WadeInBmore]

TNT...

Nice Avatar?! :D

wade

[TNTtoys]

TNT...

Nice Avatar?! :D

wade

Pun intended :p

Now back to event worn items...

[skyking26]

I know Dave Kingman's "Last Game at Shea" went for about $2K. No..........I did not buy it nor would I pay that amount for a jersey worn a few hours at best during an event. However, I know who has it...

[Mulligans]

I do not subscribe to the philosophy that "these are not Game Worn Items."

I have many items that I have purchased through Meigray that are part of the NBA/NHL "Game Worn" Tagging.

Many of them are from photo shoots, competitions, practices etc. and they are described as Game worn in the description, the COA and on the labeling. If I go to resell it, I call it "Game Worn".

I know its semantics, and I know this topic has been discussed over and over on the forum with unending opinions, but that will always be my take on the topic.

[legaleagle92481]

there is no way it should be considered game worn

agreed.

[David]

I stick to what I said (not game used), but if the coa states it was used at photo shoot, practice shoot or whatever, it's not a big deal. No harm no foul rule.

[NEFAN]

Look at it literally, if someone advertises an item and "Game Worn", then I expect it to have been worn in a game, not practice, not a photo shoot, not a ceremony. Anybody selling these as game used or worn is being deceptive.

[gingi79]

If MeiGray sells an item that was worn in a photoshoot, it is listed as a Photoshoot Jersey.

Recently, there was a John Tavares Islanders jersey for sale on eBay. The seller listed it as the first Islanders jersey ever worn by John. He said it was a game worn jersey. He mentioned the MeiGray tagging to offer authenticty. By all accounts, he didn't LIE. He just fibbed, didn't do research, left out certain facts and shaded over aspects of the jerseys usage to get a maximum profit. He also neglected to show the MeiGray letter which correctly listed the jersey as the one John wore to the press conference the Islanders held for him. It was a photoshoot jersey. MeiGray's letter said exactly what it was and Barry has confirmed it will be listed as such in the Population Report.

Because our hobby cannot seem to streamline a dictionary of terms to describe items, people will use descriptive words to maximize sales prices. The fact that some people MIGHT lump together all shirts that have ever been so much as tried on by a player, with jerseys worn for 82 games and have tremendous use and multiple photomatches under the banner of "Game Used Memorabilia" is unfortunate. The fact Tavares' actual "first jersey" had his name and 09 as his number and was worn at the Draft means the eBay seller above didn't research his item enough and find out his #91 was at minimum the second Islanders jersey John ever wore.

I'm not going to jump onto my soapbox again and preach to the choir about the necessity of ONE list of specific classifications for game used, issued, worn items. I will however say that we are assisting shysters by enabling gray areas due to lexicon issues. I would love to see the heads of the major auction houses, Barry, Milt, Larry P, some seasoned collectors with years of experience and amazing collections and a handful of lucky stiffs who have brought something to the "collectors" table through their passion more than their bankbooks, get together and hammer out definitions that the entire game worn collectible community could agree on AND ADOPT AS "THE" TITLE FOR A SPECIFIC ITEM. That way when an item is called:

"Game Worn" it means the jersey was on the players back while they participated in a sporting event. No questions, no "maybe", no "well he sat in the dugout and scratched his crotch", no "he put it on and took a pee, then took it off" etc.

"Game Issued" could mean "Only jerseys made up by the team for specific use by the player ONLY. Jersey was part of a group made up for use, kept with the jerseys for use and for whatever reason, not used."

"Authentic" could mean, jerseys customized to team and player specs for retail use and sale.

"Replica" could be all the fan made shirts and any jersey NOT made by the team for use by the player or to team specs by the team.

"Retail" could be the screen printed, the Chinese knockoffs etc.

Therefore when jerseys worn in movies/tv, for ceremonies, photo ops, reunions, pick up games, alumni relations etc become available, they would have to be labeled as such. No longer would these jerseys be allowed to be labeled as "Game worn" because they don't meet the criteria.

Now if we could just get that meeting together and finalize terminology and meanings......

[yankees24]

are items labeled as "team issued" the same as "game issued", or can a team issued jersey still be considered as game worn?

[JasonBanz]

In my opinion an event worn or photo shoot worn jersey should not be considered issued, because issued implies the player did not wear the jersey. It should be called event worn. It atleast shows the player did indeed wear the jersey. Just not in a game.

[David]

Team issued in general means the same as game issued. With the obvious exceptions of stuff like team issued shower slip flops and practice jereys.

[JasonBanz]

I agree but almost every item I see that says either "team issued" or "game issued", the description normally reads unworn. Regardless of the sport, all jerseys are issued to the team, but not all are worn.