What's with the NOB on this Reggie jersey?

[sox83cubs84]

http://mearsonlineauctions.com/ItemImages/000062/62210c_lg.jpeg

[sox83cubs84]

The jersey in the previous post is in the current MEARS auction. Stated as submitted by Reggie himself, the jersey being auctioned has a block letter NOB. The norm for Goodman Angels jerseys of this era is a vertically arched NOB. Even the photo of Jackson used in the lot visuals shows a different style NOB.

I'm not automatically calling the jersey out, but I'd sure feel better about it if I could see a photo of Reggie from the back with enough of the NOB visible to unequivocally verify the block-lettered NOB.

Anyone out there have a photo that provides the evidence?

Dave Miedema

[commando]

It may be from 1985 Spring Training.... Here is a jersey that I believe was worn by Wally Joyner during 1985 ST, a full year before he officially played in "the show." Other photos from this period would be helpful, to see how many other players may have had this type of NOB. I can imagine the equipment manager hastily throwing together a Jackson jersey for whatever reason (a change in size, jersey was stolen, etc.) and using the font in question.

On an interesting side note, Wally Joyner never wore that style of sleeve patch in an official MLB game, as the team changed patches for 1986.

Dave, you da man.

[sox83cubs84]

Anthony:

I follow your line of reasoning, and I concede it COULD be possible...if Reggie had a jersey stolen at some point. On the other hand, Reggie was a veteran with several years on the team and a future HoFer...Joyner had yet to play in the majors. A minor league hopeful isn't going to get the same treatment as a 500HR Club slugger.

Given the player involved, I would personally hold off unless I saw a photo of Jackson himself wearing one of these.

Dave Miedema

[commando]

I agree with you 100% Dave. My point is simply if someone wants to find Jackson wearing the jersey in question, a good place to start would be photos from 1985 spring training. Not sure if too many photos are out there, so good luck to anyone who may give it a try!

[RJB44]

That is certialy an odd Jackson jersey. I collect Angels jerseys from the 80s era and have a number of Goodman, Wilson and Rawlings. I have seen block lettering on on several Goodman Jerseys; however, these have been on jerseys that were issued to either non-roster invitees or players who were acquired in the off season. In preparation for ST, the Angels probably just did quick, local sewing for the NOBs. Generally, the club would use the previous season's jerseys for ST. Roster players or those called up late in the previous season would have these jerseys available. If you come across photos of '86 ST, you will see players wearing jerseys with the flag patch, which as mentioned in previous post, was used through '85. Considering Jackson's player status and the fact he had been with the club for several years, he most likely had a number of his game jerseys at his disposal. These would have all had the vertical arch NOB.

Pitcher Gary Lucas was traded to the Angels in December of 1985 and he wore previous season jerseys (w/State flag) in '86 ST. I know his road had block letters ( I have it). This would be an example of how the club prepared a ST jersey for an off season acquisition.

I also have an '85 Al Holland Home (Wilson) and an '85 John Candelaria road (Goodman) jersey. Both these players, along with George Hendrick were acquired on August 28 of 1985. The Holland jersey has block letters, which is odd, because the club was certainly using the vertical arch NOBs. The Candelaria road jersey does has vertical arch NOB. Granted, one is Wilson and the other is Goodman, but in '85 and even '86, the club had vertical arch for both. Interestingly enough, I found a auction photo for Hendrick's '85 road jersey and it too had the vertical arch. I have also seen a '85 photo of Candelaria with his NOB in vertical arch on the home jersey. The Holland is an odd one, considering he wasn't with the club after the '85 season. Have not come across any game photos for him.

Another odd ball is the '86 Don Sutton home Wilson jersey that has block letters. I would be interested to see a game photo from '85 to see if his jersey had block letters. I believe he was acquired in September '85 and he made game appearances several times that month.

[commando]

Nice collection, RJB....

I think these photos look promising on the Sutton.

[RJB44]

Dave....is this Reggie jersey in MEARS? I just looked and couldn't find it. Did they pull it?

[commando]

I couldn't help myself. I finally picked up that Wally Joyner pre-rookie 1985 spring training jersey from Ballpark Heroes. Ironically, it appears that the original number on the jersey was #21, which Joyner would later wear with the Angels from 1986 spring training on. In addition, you can see the prior name on the jersey was J. Moreno, who wore the number 21 for the Angels in 1982 (the team used Jose's first initial on the back, because Angel Moreno was also on the Angels in '82). The original name was in the conventional arched-letter style.

I have not received the jersey yet, but it seems to be a solid one.

[Rob L]

Here's a Jackson with the correct arch, I believe!

[RJB44]

I thought about picking up that '85 Joyner, but was a hesitant based on the jersey being a size 40. Joyner was listed at 6'2 185 lbs, which I thought was a little large to be wearing a size 40. Although that ST photo appears to show him wearing a white jersey, it seems to be a little less snug then what I would think size 40 would be on his frame. The white jersey could also be a different size ?? I have a number of these mid 80s angels jerseys that were recycled for ST. All of them are road jerseys used for ST non-roster and off season acquisition players. The NOBs applied were the block style, but you can still see the vertical arch style of the previous names. In some cases, there was evidence a nameplate was sewn over the original NOB.

[RJB44]

I thought about picking up that '85 Joyner, but was a hesitant based on the jersey being a size 40. Joyner was listed at 6'2 185 lbs, which I thought was a little large to be wearing a size 40. Although that ST photo appears to show him wearing a white jersey, it seems to be a little less snug then what I would think size 40 would be on his frame. The white jersey could also be a different size ?? I have a number of these mid 80s angels jerseys that were recycled for ST. All of them are road jerseys used for ST non-roster and off season acquisition players. The NOBs applied were the block style, but you can still see the vertical arch style of the previous names. In some cases, there was evidence a nameplate was sewn over the original NOB.

[esquiresports]

This may sound a little off-topic, I but did a lot of research into a 1986 jersey of Bo Jackson. I scoured the internet and news sources for photos of his jersey NOB and spoke with people familiar with his jersey. What I discovered (best I could tell) was that he had at least one home jersey with arched letters on back and at least one home jersey with block letters on back. On top of that, they had different sleeve characteristics (one had wider white striped on the ends than the other). Granted he was a September call-up, but it may be that teams generally weren't as focused on uniformity 27 years ago.

Typing "27 years ago" really hits home with me that time is flying by!

[commando]

This may sound a little off-topic, I but did a lot of research into a 1986 jersey of Bo Jackson. I scoured the internet and news sources for photos of his jersey NOB and spoke with people familiar with his jersey. What I discovered (best I could tell) was that he had at least one home jersey with arched letters on back and at least one home jersey with block letters on back. On top of that, they had different sleeve characteristics (one had wider white striped on the ends than the other). Granted he was a September call-up, but it may be that teams generally weren't as focused on uniformity 27 years ago.

Typing "27 years ago" really hits home with me that time is flying by!

This knowledge goes hand in hand with RJB's recent post regarding whether jerseys from the 1980s could be considered vintage. It was just a different era, period. Could you imagine a player like Bryce Harper or Mike Trout being issued a jersey that was worn by another guy three seasons ago? That would be cra-cra.

[commando]

Well I received the Joyner jersey today, and as usual, this 1980s knit looks incredible in person. Upon closer examination, I can easily see the player name and number change on the jersey. As the photos above show, the current name and number is Joyner and 65. The prior name was "J. Moreno" (for second baseman Jose Moreno), and the old number was 31 (I thought earlier that the old number would be 21, but baseball-almanac.com lists the number 21 incorrectly, while baseball-reference.com apparently lists the number 31 correctly).

Regarding the jersey size, Moreno played at 6 feet tall and 175 pounds, while Joyner played at 6'2" and 185 pounds. The jersey has plenty of length for Joyner's extra two inches in height, and Joyner's extra ten pounds over Moreno were probably absorbed by the two-inch height difference, giving them similar chest sizes.

I'm seriously thinking about framing this one... Which means another 80s knit jersey would have to come down off the wall. Oh, what to do????

[RJB44]

This is maybe a cross between the vertical arch and the block style. it's appears more along the lines of the vertical arch. Looks like a '83 signature.

[RJB44]

I think that '85 ST photo of Joyner is pretty cool and goes quite well with the jersey you have. If you can get the photo, you should consider having it framed together with the jersey, so it's one display. I'm always looking for Angels 80s ST photos and never have seen that one before. It would great if that was in color. - RJB44

[RJB44]

Just wanted to let you know I added an interesting post about a team jersey given to former Angels owner Gene Autry back in October 1982. I posted it in the Vintage section.

http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?p=318824#post318824