Tony Gwynn Jersey Legendary Auctions

[Nnunnari]

Need some help from the jersey guys on here.

This '87 Gwynn jersey being offered through Legendary has the Rawlings logo stitched directly on the right sleeve.

http://legendaryauctions.com/LotDetail.aspx?inventoryid=158834&searchby=0&searchvalue=None&page=0&sortby=0&displayby=2&lotsperpage=100&category=1&seo=1987-Tony-Gwynn-Louisville-Slugger-%22Silver-Slugger%22-Batting-Champion-Silver-Bat-Award-and-San-Diego-

All images I find show the Rawlings logo stitched onto a small name plate, not directly onto the jersey. I have seen the Rawlings logo stitched directly onto the jersey for salesman samples in the past.
Thoughts?

[Phil316]

Re: Tony Gwynn Jersey Legendary Auctions

I can only see one picture on the legendary auctions page. Are there more pics? You would think they would show more than just one picture considering the bid amount.

[Nnunnari]

Re: Tony Gwynn Jersey Legendary Auctions

On my phone I can only see one pic but the destop version has multiple pics.

[Phil316]

Re: Tony Gwynn Jersey Legendary Auctions

A lot of the 87 Padres have the white flag tag and not an actual strip like the Gwynn. See examples below. also notice on the Mack jersey the Rawlings tag on the shoulder like you mentioned. The Gwynn strip tag looks doctored to heck. The thread does not look original compared to the Mack either.

http://www.imperialsportsauctions.com/LotDetail.aspx?lotid=278

http://catalog.greyflannelauctions.com/LotDetail.aspx?lotid=18127

[TwinLakesPark]

Re: Tony Gwynn Jersey Legendary Auctions

A couple of thoughts on the jersey: on the "Rawlings" sleeve, the Padres switched from Wilson jerseys in 1986 to Rawlings in 1987. Jersey carryover was certainly normal in this time period, so I could easily see them using the Wilson jerseys from 1986 in later seasons, and simply applying the "Rawlings" to the sleeve with a small nameplate. They were using Rawlings (road jersey) from 87 to 91, so I would think at some point new ones were ordered, and those would have "Rawlings" stitched directly on the sleeve.

I would certainly want to know more from the auction house, such as who the consignor is and the ownership history. I am having a hard time getting past the strip tag, it looks like the 1991 jersey strip tag (still with incorrect font, font color and numerical order). The thread on the Rawlings tag appears to have been pulled and then the strip tag sewn on, whereas the top thread of the strip tag reapplied the Railings logo to the jersey. Also a thought on the wear, the auction states that the strip tag shows "the edges are well-frayed", whereas they also state the jersey shows "Light wear". I would think the the logo, number and name would show equal amount of wear as the strip tag. That inconsistency in the description decreases my confidence as well.

If this were my jersey that I was selling, and it really was an authentic exemplar of a rare Gwynn jersey, I would want it to stand on its own and get as much attention as possible. Why it is paired with a non-Gwynn presentation SS award decreases my confidence even more, as it detracts attention from the jersey.

Just my 2 cents.

[Nnunnari]

Re: Tony Gwynn Jersey Legendary Auctions

Thanks for the input guys and good observations.
The size 48 is a big red flag in my eyes.
Just to clarify Wes, I believe that is a legit Gwynn SS Award from '87. It seems as though they have included a questionable jersey with a quality award.

[TwinLakesPark]

Re: Tony Gwynn Jersey Legendary Auctions

I don't think the SS is fake, I am just not sold that it was his actual SS award. It states very clearly that the bat "bears no markings", which is not how SS awards are, even on the presentation plaques. They are engraved, just like the other Gwynn lot with his SS from 1997.

1997 Silver Slugger Lot

My wording was bad in my other post, "non-Gwynn presentation SS award", so I retract that. It is a beautiful trophy, I just don't think it is "THE" trophy he received in 1987.

Maybe someone else knows some history of of Silver Slugger awards and how they are presented?

[Nnunnari]

Re: Tony Gwynn Jersey Legendary Auctions

Gotcha. I believe the older SS awards did not bear any markings. Check out the Santiago from the same year.

http://catalog.scpauctions.com/BENITO-SANTIAGOS-1987-NATIONAL-LEAGUE-SILVER-SLUG-LOT24392.aspx

They started engraving the bats sometime during the '90's?

I also believe that Tony did not order duplicates of the SS awards which were accompanied with a stand, he only ordered duplicates of the individual bats. I could be wrong here, but that is the impression I have.

[Nnunnari]

Re: Tony Gwynn Jersey Legendary Auctions

I believe these were the duplicates, not positive though.

[TwinLakesPark]

Re: Tony Gwynn Jersey Legendary Auctions

Nick, sorry this thread is steering in another direction, but I just figured it out. We are actually talking about 2 different awards: Silver Bat Award and Silver Slugger Team Award.

Silver Bat Award
"The Silver Bat Award is presented annually to the batting champions of the American and National Leagues. The award was first given to the Major League batting champs in 1949 - George Kell of the Detroit Tigers and Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Before that, the trophy was awarded to the Minor League batting champions from 1934 to 1948. At one time it was called the “Louisville Slugger Trophy”." -courtesy of Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory

Silver Slugger Team Award
"As a natural extension of the Silver Bat Award, Louisville Slugger created the Silver Slugger Team in 1980.
These special trophies go to the top offensive performer at each position in both leagues. The Silver Slugger Team "lineup" is decided by coaches and managers who vote for the players they'd most like to have on their team—based solely on their performance at the plate.The coaches and managers consider a combination of offensive stats for the season along with their personal impressions of a player's overall effectiveness wielding a bat. They vote for nine players within their own league and cannot vote for one of their own team members.
The sterling plated trophy is three feet tall and features the engraved names and positions of the eight other players on the team." -courtesy of Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory

So the Legendary Auction contains the Silver Slugger Team Award, which are the non-engraved silver bats on the plaque, and the pictures that you posted have the 8 engraved Silver Bat Awards which came from winning the batting title.


FEBRUARY: Tony Gwynn #19 of the San Diego Padres poses for a portrait in February, 1987 with his Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards following his 1986 season. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

[Nnunnari]

Re: Tony Gwynn Jersey Legendary Auctions

Thanks for clarifying the difference Wes. I always thought they were both called a Silver Slugger award for some reason. The Silver Bat Award is obviously the more desirable collectible.
I'm not sure if there is a way to differentiate an original from a duplicate however.

[TwinLakesPark]

Re: Tony Gwynn Jersey Legendary Auctions

Nick - I found this tagging on a 1987 Bruce Bochy home jersey.

[Nnunnari]

Re: Tony Gwynn Jersey Legendary Auctions

Thanks Wes, looks the same right?

[TwinLakesPark]

Re: Tony Gwynn Jersey Legendary Auctions

Not to beat a dead horse, but I found this thread that talks about the Gywnn Silver Slugger copies. It looks like he was maybe one of the first ones to figure this hobby out.

Gwynn 87 Silver Slugger

I also found another photo of Gwynn from 87 (all star game) where the Rawlings logo is not directly sewn onto the sleeve, but on the swatch.

[Nnunnari]

Re: Tony Gwynn Jersey Legendary Auctions

Tony was definitely a pioneer in marketing his own game used memorabilia and awards. Numbering his hit bats, gloves, hats, uniforms etc. to raise money for his charity foundation was a great idea. I'm sure he talked Rickey into numbering his bats as well when they were teammates in '01.

Legendary worded the description of the SS award very carefully. You have to wonder if the winning bidder understood that was a duplicate, especially considering these were selling for $3,500 a few years back.