Atlanta Falcons game used jersey purchase concern

[boxman]

I recently picked up a Falcons game worn Jeff Van Note jersey. It looked good in the pictures I saw but when I examined it today I noticed something I have never seen before of this style of jersey. There were many holes under the the arm pit area. I thought the were breathing holes but have never seen that many before ooh a jersey. I turned the jersey inside out to examine it better and looks like it may have been attached to something. I took several pictures and will post them. I really wanted this jersey for my collection but fearing it might not be the real thing. The fabric tag above the the Russell tag is completely faded and has fallen off. Not sure if that hurts the jersey or should re-sewn on. Any help or comments would be helpful. Thank

[boxman]

More photos

[boxman]

Another picture

[boxman]

More pictures

[boxman]

Inside of jersey

[chargeralaska]

Howdy--Those are holes for laces to attach to the shoulder pads underneath the jersey. There is nothing wrong with your jersey :)

[Phil316]

Howdy--Those are holes for laces to attach to the shoulder pads underneath the jersey. There is nothing wrong with your jersey :)

true story

[boxman]

Thanks for the info. Still wondering what I should do with the washed up tag. It was hanging by a thread and came off during examinination. Does it lower the value of the jersey or take away from any authenticity. You can see the outline very well. Most of the Falcons jerseys I see from this period all have the same washed out tag.

[sox83cubs84]

The fabric tag is the one sticking out from underneath the Russell tag. The washed out tag above it is either a Reeder & McConeghy local supplier tag or a year tag.

Dave Miedema

[boxman]

Thanks for the info Dave. The tag is unreadable. Just thought that if it were missing it might make it harder to authenticate. Is was thinking about trying to sew it back on but will just keep it with the shirt.

[G1X]

Boxman,

As a long-time Falcons collector and fan, I have some good news and some bad news. First for the good news. It appears from your photos that this is a team-issued jersey, or at least a jersey manufactured by Russell intended for the Falcons that never made it to the team for various reasons such as being a factory reject. (Factory rejects could be purchased at the Russell outlet in Alexander City, Alabama back in that era). The tagging is correct, the holes running up the sides were seen on Falcons jerseys in that era (mainly on some of the offensive linemen jerseys), and the washed-out tag on top is as Dave stated - either the year tag or Reeder-McGaughey Sporting Goods tag (local supplier). A year tag and/or the Reeder-McGaughey tag can be found on some of the Falcons jerseys from the 1970s and 1980s. Some have one or both tags, some do not.

Now for the bad news. The Falcons had the bird logo above the sleeve stripes from 1978 through the 1986 season (Falcons website is incorrect stating that the bird logo was first used in 1979). In 1987, they moved the bird logo into the stripes as seen on your jersey. They wore the "bird logo-in-stripes" style through 1989 before making a radical switch in uniforms in 1990 (black jerseys and helmets).

Jeff Van Note announced his retirement near the end of the 1986 season, and the Falcons paid honor to him in the last home game of that season. So, this indicates that he never played when they started wearing the "bird logo-in-stripes" style. It would seem a bit strange that the Falcons would order a jersey for him for the 1987 season, but perhaps since they were making a style change they had already placed the order in late 1986 prior to his announcement. (No one wore #57 again in the regular season until Clay Matthews from 1994 through 1996, long after they had switched uniform styles.)

The mystery with your jersey is how the upper tail tag (year tag or Reeder-McGaughey tag) became so washed out. This is typical of a jersey that has been worn and washed a number of times. Since Van Note was retired and did wear it in game action, and assuming that #57 was not assigned to a no-name player in the preseason between 1987 and 1989 when this style was still being worn, my guess is that whoever owned this jersey liked it a lot and wore it and washed it over the years. Or, maybe someone laundered it a bunch of times to wash out that tags and make the jersey look worn, but that is merely something that crossed my mind and in no way is accusing anyone who has ever owned this jersey of any wrong doing.

For what it's worth, I have seen this jersey pop up once or twice over the years, and at least one collector has asked my opinion about it in the past. I never pursued the jersey for my collection based on the information I have provided in this post.

Mark Hayne
Gridiron Exchange
gixc@verizon.net

Always looking to buy 1974 and '75 World Football League (WFL) uniforms.

[G1X]

A major typo in my previous post. :eek:

In the next-to-last paragraph, I omitted the word "not". The sentence should have read as follows: "Since Van Note was retired and did not wear it in game action, and assuming that #57 was not assigned to a no-name player in the preseason between 1987 and 1989 when this style was still being worn, my guess is that whoever owned this jersey liked it a lot and wore it and washed it over the years."

Sorry for the confusion.

Mark Hayne
Gridiron Exchange
gixc@verizon.net

Always looking to buy 1974 and '75 World Football League (WFL) uniforms.