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perlman9
10-31-2011, 06:34 AM
I was looking at this to add to my MSU collection, but never have seen tagging like this. Also, Rob played in 1998 for the Lions and know they resused some but didn't know who common it was to recycle years back in the 1990s. Any help would be great! Thanks!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330634434958

G1X
10-31-2011, 09:10 AM
Hi Jason,

In 1999, I made a bulk buy of approximately 800 jerseys from the Lions. Jerseys from the 1995 season were included in the buy. The jersey in the ebay auction was not part of my bulk buy, but nothing looks amiss from the ebay photos. However, I will take some photos of the tagging and post photos later today to confirm.

Pro-Bowl center Kevin Glover wore #53 from 1985 through 1997 prior to Fredrickson's arival in 1998. The Lions, like many NFL teams, recycled jerseys, and could have well recycled this one for Fredrickson since he was the first in the door to wear #53 after Glover. Although you generally do not see Lions jerseys recycled for use 3 years later, it certainly would not be out of the question.

A couple of things to note about mid-1990s Lions jerseys. In 1994, the Lions were supposed to switch from Wilson to Apex. However, the Apex jerseys were not ready, so they used the Wilson jerseys until the Apex jerseys became available in late October. In order to use the Wilson jerseys while under contract with Apex, the "W" Wilson logo on the sleeve was removed or else hemmed underneath the sleeve for those players who liked their sleeves shortened.

The Wilson jerseys had screened-on numbers with sewn-on lettering on the name-plate. Except for a few defensive linemen who had screened-on numbers, the Apex jerseys had sewn-on numbers and lettering. The shade of blue on the white Apex jerseys was slightly different than the blue on the white Wilson jerseys. This was most noticeable on the lettering on the nameplate as the Wilson jerseys tended to be a darker shade of blue.

By 1995, Apex was out of business, so the Lions contracted with Reebok. The Lions were sitting on a supply of Apex jerseys that had only about a half of a season's worth of wear, so they decided to put them to use in 1995. In order to do so, they removed the Apex sleeve logos and replaced them with Reebok logos. They also did something I had never seen - they removed the Apex tail tagging and replaced it with Reebok tags! The 1994 (94) year tag was left intact. Reebok also provided a new supply of jerseys for the Lions in 1995 and they carry a 95 year tag.

Mark Hayne
Gridiron Exchange
gixc@verizon.net

perlman9
10-31-2011, 10:22 AM
Thanks Mark! I am hoping it shows some use as he played in all 16 games! Did the players basically wear one jersey all year or did they have several so they may not show much wear? Thanks!

G1X
10-31-2011, 08:59 PM
Jason,

I can't speak for 1998 as the jerseys I purchased ranged from 1996 back to the late 1960s/early '70s. Of the items I obtained and the jerseys I observed in their equipment room, I never saw more than 2 jerseys from the same season of any player other than Barry Sanders. (I did not purchase any Sanders jerseys in the deal).

The Lions were very big on recycling jerseys during that period, and the second jersey was often a recycled jersey from the previous season. I have no idea if the players were allowed to keep a set, and the Lions had a sale at one or two Draft Day events in the mid-1990s, so I don't know how much stuff was sold at those events.

Below are photos of various Lions tagging from 1994 through 1996. Hope this information is helpful.

Mark Hayne
Gridiron Exchange
gixc@verizon.net

The first photo is a 1995 jersey which seems to match the tagging on the Fredrickson jersey.
49406


This is a 1994 Apex jersey that was "converted" to a Reebok jersey for use in 1995. The Apex tail tag was removed and replaced with the Reebok tag, and the sleeve logos were also swapped out (can't get a clear photo to show the removed Apex sleeve logo). The '94 year tag remained intact.
49407

The third photo is a Wilson from 1994.
49410

Check out the last two photos. Two entirely different 1996 tail/year tagging!
49409

perlman9
11-02-2011, 09:19 AM
You tha man! Thanks!!! And hope to get a few of those MSU LEgacy jerseys in a month or two!!