Chicago White Sox 1976-1981 "collared" jersey question

[TNTtoys]

Does anyone out there know who manufactured these unusual style jerseys and what the tagging looked like?

If anyone should happen to have one of these in their collection, would it be any trouble to photograph the manufacturer tags??

Alternatively, if you should know of a site out there that would already have photos of a tagged jersey, could you point me in that direction???

Many thanks,
Nick

[Eric]

I have 3 1976 jerseys I can photograph tonight. The manufacturer is Rawlings.
Eric

[RobSteinmetz]

Capital Ace was also a manufacturer of the "softball style" White Sox jerseys worn during the Bill Veeck era.

[both-teams-played-hard]

"Capital Ace" example:
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/6892/whitesoxqk4.jpg

[ryan4fregosi]

1976-77 Rawlings
1978-81 Capital Ace

The Capital Ace jerseys came with year tags, but the printed info tended to wash off. Doh.

[TNTtoys]

I have 3 1976 jerseys I can photograph tonight. The manufacturer is Rawlings.
Eric

Eric,

I recently picked one up, and I wanted to determine
1. is it a legitimate game jersey (hoping that I didn't get stuck with a retail dud) -- then again, I paid what a retail would be worth, so I took very little risk.
2. It is a Rawlings Blue Road jersey -- so I suppose by the others' posts, I have either a 1976 or 1977. If any of your 76's are blue, can you photo that one? No need to photo all of them.

Thank you
Nick

[TNTtoys]

Thank you to everyone who replied -- lots of helpful info... and 1 beautiful Bannister jersey!!!

[Eric]

Here's a 1977 Oscar Gamble which just closed on Mastro


http://images.mastronet.com/images/Auction38/photographs/54324a.jpg

http://images.mastronet.com/images/Auction38/photographs/54324b.jpg


http://www.mastronet.com/index.cfm?action=DisplayContent&ContentName=Lot%20Information&LotIndex=63930&CurrentRow=21&Category=Game%20Used%20Uniforms%20%26%20Equipment

[Eric]

Here is a white Bucky Dent which is in my collection
http://images.mastronet.com/images/Auction34/photographs/45438a.jpg
http://images.mastronet.com/images/Auction34/photographs/45438b.jpg

http://www.mastronet.com/index.cfm?action=DisplayContent&ContentName=Lot%20Information&LotIndex=55962&CurrentRow=1

[Eric]

Here's a Jorge Orta from American Memorabilia

http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/pics/31629_dt.jpg

[TNTtoys]

Eric,

Thanks for the photos... but there is one thing I see in them that I am a little confused by -- they both look like they are made of a mesh. I have seen the mesh jerseys as well as the solid polyester. Mine is in fact a very heavy weight solid polyester.
With the understanding that Rawlings did only the 1976s and the 1977s, did Rawlings make a solid polyester and a mesh for the blue road jersey in either of those 2 years? Everything on my jersey looks right except the material type. The lettering & tagging is identical.

Nick

[karamaxjoe]

Both Capital Ace and Rawlings made a mesh version for hot days and a solid polyester for colder days. Can you show us your jersey?

Mike

[TNTtoys]

Both Capital Ace and Rawlings made a mesh version for hot days and a solid polyester for colder days. Can you show us your jersey?

Mike

Mike,

Here are photos of the front & back of the blue road jersey (the player was pitcher Wilbur Wood). It's either a '76 or a '77.

Below the two blue jersey photos is a shot of the front of a white home jersey I picked up years ago. Its back is blank -- all along, I figured that it was a retaial authentic... but in comparison to the blue jersey, the similarities are uncanny. Not sure what I got here.

Nick

[karamaxjoe]

It's most likely from 1976 since the Sox had year and set flag tags on the 1977 Rawlings jerseys. Of course it's hare to give a good analysis of the jersey without seeing it in person. The size of your jersey should be either 46 or 48. I've also heard two different stories over the years about who exactly supplied jerseys in 1978. Some say Capital Ace and some say Rawlings. It would sure help if someone had a jersey from 1978 for a player that appeared only in that year. There is also the chance your jersey is a salesman sample of Wood. A few years back I saw a home Wood Rawlings jersey that was considered a salesman sample. Is your Wood jersey the same one I saw on ebay a week ago that was ended early?

Mike

[TNTtoys]

Mike,

The size of the blue jersey is a 46, so it appears to be the right size for a Wood (then again I did buy it thinking that it was a retail authentic like my white one, so I was basically buying a jersey that was my size for wearing on special occasion).

I started the thread here because I wanted to rule out beyond any shadow of a doubt that my jersey was game worn. I didn't at all believe that it was game worn from the start. It was too clean for a vintage, and had identical tagging to the white jersey that had been in my collection for many years... hence, I assumed all along that both were retail authentic. (My white jersey did not have any set tagging, year tagging, and was blank on back. There is also no outline of any number or name being removed.)

I have since taken a closer look at both together, and although the similarities are remarkable, the blue jersey is most definitely a different grade material than the Wood jersey. The blue jersey is heavier and thicker. I think you are on to something with your thought that it is a salesman's sample. It has virtually no game use on it whatsoever, although the lettering appears to show a little wear -- but the type of wear it would get through normal washing... not through game play. There is not a single fabric defect on the jersey otherwise. I can't imagine finding '76 or '77 game issued jerseys is a common thing, so I think at this point you are correct.

This is in fact the same jersey that was on ebay about a week ago. I normally don't make offers to other sellers to purchase outside ebay, but when I do, I try to be fair. I offered the seller double his reserve price to end the auction, and he was more than happy to do so. That said, I did offer less money than what a gamer would go for, because it was more than likely that the jersey was not game worn at all (which is the most likely case now)... worst case scenario was that I slightly overpaid for a jersey style that I was was looking to add to my collection. It wouldn't be the first time...

On another note, there is a current auction out there for a White Sox jersey from the same era. This one is a Capitol Ace manufactured jersey with apparent set tagging. The seller dates the jersey to 1979, and the player on back is Jim Morrison. It is the "light weight" version of the jersey that looks like a mesh material - like the others that Eric displayed in this thread. I am puzzling over this one, because the player number does not match the records as per baseball almanac. Morrison is listed as having ONLY worn #12 in his entire tenure with the White Sox, however, this jersey is a #43. Could it be possible that baseball almanac has reported this in error, and Morrison in fact switched numbers early on? Could it also be possible that it is a spring training jersey?

Nick

[Eric]

According to "Now Batting Number..." by Jack Looney, Jim Morrison only wore #12 with the White Sox (i believe this book is talking about regular season games, not spring training)

[karamaxjoe]

Nick,
I have the book "Baseball by the Numbers" and it has Morrison wearing number 12 also. The Morrison jersey on ebay was probably worn by Morrison at triple A since Eric Soderholm wore number 12 until he was traded in August of 79. Morrison was traded to the Sox in April of 79 and didn't appear on the roster until Soderholm was traded.

Mike

[TNTtoys]

Mike/Eric,

This is consistent with my findings as well. I cannot seem to find any correlation between Jim Morrison and the number 43 (only 12). I suppose that's why this particular jersey is only going for $17.00 6+ days into a 7 day auction.

Nick

[TNTtoys]

Hey guys... while we're on the topic of vintage White Sox jerseys, have you come across this one in your ebay searches? It's a tbc version of the road blue 1902-1918 White Sox jerseys that these 70s classics were loosely based on...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=019&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=290049186165&rd=1&rd=1

By the way, whatever happened to Jim Parque? He wasn't a guy I particularly followed, but I do recall he was a risingh star and then stopped hearing about him altogether.

[Eric]

1976- white sox had no 43
1977- 43 worn by bruce dal canton
1978- 43 worn by bruce dal canton
1979- no 43
1980- no 43

[Eric]

As promised, here are pics of my gossage

2272

2273

2274

[Eric]

Here's a Bucky Dent

2275

Not sure why the numbers look so shiny in the pic. It's not at all like that in reality
2276

2277

[Eric]

Other Dent

2278

2279

2280

[cjw]

I have another "vsersion" of the white mesh 1976? Sox jersey. It has a block numbering on the back. It came in an Ebay auction a few years ago with the Ralph Garr autographed photo. I was told that it was a 1977 spring training jersey...but I am not sure.

Any thoughts?

[bluejay4eva34]

I have another "vsersion" of the white mesh 1976? Sox jersey. It has a block numbering on the back. It came in an Ebay auction a few years ago with the Ralph Garr autographed photo. I was told that it was a 1977 spring training jersey...but I am not sure.

Any thoughts?

These are really great. I would love to get my hands on my father's jersey like this style...Jesse Jefferson #25. I haven't had much luck finding it even in his collection yet. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[sox83cubs84]

I have another "vsersion" of the white mesh 1976? Sox jersey. It has a block numbering on the back. It came in an Ebay auction a few years ago with the Ralph Garr autographed photo. I was told that it was a 1977 spring training jersey...but I am not sure.

Any thoughts?

Sadly, it's not a gamer. The team used the fancier numbers for the entirety of this style's run, and used NOBs. It's not a spring training jersey.

Dave Miedema