1989 Ken Griffey Jr. Lot #219 Grey Flannel

[skyliner59]

1989 Griffey Mariners game used jersey currently up for auction with Grey Flannel. The year tag on the jersey reads 1989 whereas the Rawlings tag is for a 1990-1991 jersey. Is this a common error? Shouldn't Grey Flannel disclose in the description the discrepency?

[kingjammy24]

"Is this a common error?"

on legit gamers, it is not a common error. i've seen it occur a couple of times but again, it's very rare. on the other hand, it is very common on scoreboard jerseys. i believe scoreboard once offered griffey jerseys. the scoreboard griffeys were always home jerseys and i believe the nobs read "griffey jr"; an easy way to tell they weren't gamers. however, seeing as how these jerseys use nameplates it wouldn't be difficult at all to replace them with a proper "griffey" nob. all of the 1989 mariners common players jerseys i have seen have had the 1988-1989 style rawlings tag. to see this tagging anomaly show up on a superstar, first-ballot HOF'er jersey whose jersey was also put out by scoreboard doesn't inspire confidence.

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/4039/89marinersuj0.jpg

"Shouldn't Grey Flannel disclose in the description the discrepency?"

they're likely not aware of it. it is my personal opinion that GFC is relatively poor at authenticating.

rudy.

[lon lewis]

Rudi, isn't it amazing how the Rawlings tags are "one off" on the stars/superstars in these auctions? My personal favorite in this particular auction is the Giants Jack Sanford "old timers" jersey from 1974, that is in reality a Fresno Giants (class A) jersey. In 1983-4 Dick Dobbins had a large supply of these uniforms sent to him by the Giants as they cleared out their minor and major league backlog of jerseys. He was seling them for around $ 25-30.00 ea. with pants.

[hblakewolf]

Lon-
Great observation about the A Giants jersey. Can you shed additional light on this-how specifically can a collector determine that it's not a S.F. MLB jersey? What are the differences between the A affiliate and those worn in S.F.? Likewise, have you informed the auction house of this issue?

When it comes to Giants, you are the man!

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

[skyliner59]

it is my personal opinion that GFC is relatively poor at authenticating.

Rudy, Thanks for the insight into the tagging of this jersey. I personally feel that some of these, "auction houses", should be held to some type of accountability. I would be very carful purchasing anything from the above mentioned house for sure.

[lon lewis]

Howard, the Giants jersey in question wasn't particularly difficult as I've seen them before, when Dobbins had them and over the years as they have been passed off as being either spring training jerseys,"old timers" jerseys, or hand me downs.The fact that this jersey is made by Rawlings who didn't supply the home jerseys until 1987 and is a flannel when the Giants were wearing knits would probably be the first tip off. As far as what Giants collectors should know I don't think there's time or space here for that. Anyone with a question is welcome to email me and I'll pass along whatever info I have. I believe your last question was did I notify the auction house? no I didn't. I'm not the auction police. Auction houses and authenticators get paid a good deal to get it right if they don't it's not my job to follow them around cleaning up after them. This forum does a good enough job of that. As I stated earlier I am happy to answer questions directed to me or post my observations here but that's as far as I'm willing to go..