Toronto Blue Jays -white mesh BP? jerseys, by WILSON

[cjw]

Hi..this is a question for Blue Jays collectors (kingjammy are you out there tonight?). I have reviewed the Jays jersey information guide that Rudy has put together (awesome by the way!), but I wonder if there has been a team-issued white, mesh BP jersey? I purchased a pro-weight, Wilson tagged, size 44 white, BP? jersey with heavy duty sleeve cuffs and collar material, on Ebay last week. I have had a few half zip Jays warm ups and lots of Jays game jerseys but haven't seen this style before. It's not a cheap Raven's Knit mesh jersey from the "80's or '90's or a repro by majestic. It has thick screened on jays chest logo and numbering (43 -Cito?). I can't add a pic unfortunately, as my camera is shot.

Can anyone confrim if they have seen one of these before?

Thanks!

[kingjammy24]

chris,

i have never seen a Jays white mesh BP jersey.

can you date the wilson tag? and/or the style of "blue jays" script? does the front team script have square edges or round edges on the letters "U", "E", and "J" ? (see my jays guide for an explanation of those square vs round edges).

determining the style/age of the tagging and script may help narrow some things down.

salesman's sample/prototype maybe?

rudy.

[cjw]

Thanks Rudy,

I did snap one pic from my camera....the rest were corrupted. The size on the Wilson collar taging (44) is black...denoting 1990 from your research. The flag in the collar reads "DZ"...1991..correct? The lettering is squared off. chris

[kingjammy24]

chris,

here are my thoughts:

- if the date tag reads "DZ" then it was manufactured in may 1991. i don't know if Wilson put date tags on retail jerseys. i'm also not sure what Wilson's retail offerings were in 1991.

- your jersey has the "square edge" Jays font. Wilson stopped using that font on their Jays BP gamers in 1990. (1989 was the last year that Wilson used that font). in 1990, both the Jays game jerseys and their BP jerseys began using the "smooth edge" font. these font changes only pertain to their major league jerseys though. i've noticed that these font timelines didn't apply to minor league or retail shirts. that is, i've seen Jays minor league shirts and retail shirts that used the "square edge" font after the Jays (parent club) had long made the permanent switch to the "smooth edge". this also tells me that although their minor league clubs wore seemingly identical BP shirts as the major league club, the minor league teams received their own exclusive stock (ie: jerseys were not recycled from the major league parent club). you can tell the 2 styles apart from these font changes. the Jays made a permanent switch to the "smooth edge" font in 1990 and yet some of their minor league teams kept the "square edge" font for years after. i remember once seeing a BP jersey that looked like a perfect Jays BP gamer. it had the square-edge font so i simply thought it was pre-1990. the only thing that gave away the fact that it wasn't a major league shirt was the date tag. it was from 1991. long after the major league club had made the font switch. it was a Jays minor league shirt.

- i think the most interesting thing to note is the jays logo on the front. it appears to be screened/pressed on. it doesn't seem to be a patch that was sewn on. i've never seen a picture of a jays game jersey or BP jersey that had a screened/pressed logo. since their inception in 1977, they've always used sewn-on logos on their game jerseys. since they first began using them in 1982, their BP shirts also used sewn logos.

given that the font is one that the Jays abandoned in 1990 (yet the jersey was made in 1991) and the front logo is screened on, i'm inclined to say it's a minor league shirt. the Jays minor league teams at the time wore jerseys that, from a glance, looked identical to the parent club's BP jerseys. it's either that or a high-quality retail shirt. is the number on the back screened/pressed or is it a cloth number that was sewn-on?

rudy.

[kingjammy24]

woops.. i just read your post a little more and see that the "blue jays" script and back numbers are also screened. i've never seen any jays gamer with screened team script, logo, or numbers. everything was always sewn on. i think it's a minor league shirt. in 1991, the jays had several minor league teams that shared the "blue jays" name.

Knoxville Blue Jays, Southern League (AA)
Dunedin Blue Jays, Florida State League (A-Advanced)
Myrtle Beach Blue Jays, South Atlantic League (A)
St. Catharines Blue Jays, New York-Penn League (A Short-Season)
Medicine Hat Blue Jays, Pioneer League (Rookie-Advanced)

i don't think it's from knoxville, or dunedin but it's possible that it's from myrtle beach, st.catharines, or medicine hat.

rudy.

[kingjammy24]

gar..those minor league teams i listed are from 1990. in 1991, here are the minor league teams that shared the "blue jays" name:

Knoxville Blue Jays, Southern League (AA)
Dunedin Blue Jays, Florida State League (A-Advanced)
St. Catharines Blue Jays, New York-Penn League (A Short-Season)
Medicine Hat Blue Jays, Pioneer League (Rookie-Advanced)
GCL Blue Jays, Gulf Coast League (Rookie)

again, i don't think your jersey is from knoxville or dunedin. it's possible it's from st.catharines, medicine hat, or the GCL jays.

rudy.

[cjw]

Rudy...thanks! What can I say....when I am in need of a Jays answer, you are the guy to lean on. Too bad it wasn't a Cito BP...chris