Chicago Bears jersey question

[lund6771]

did the Bears start wearing the GSH on the sleeves in the 84-85 season?...also, what year did they go from the "older" Wilson tag to the Wilson Prestige tag...Thanks!!!!

[kingjammy24]

i don't know anything about bears jerseys but i just wanted to add a point about wilson tagging.

in my opinion, the "prestige teams" label came out in 1986. whether it came out earlier for baseball or football or whether it came out the same time for both sports, i'm not sure. i've yet to see a jersey earlier than '86 with the "prestige teams" label.

in terms of mid-80s bears jerseys, i'd also keep the cloth vs. plastic tag issue in mind. in my opinion, wilson came out with their plastic tag in 1988. previous to '88, they used cloth tags. the thing is, i've seen payton jerseys with the plastic tags.

when you say "older" wilson tag, i'm not sure if you're referring to the cloth tags or the plastic tags.

based solely on the wilson tagging timeline, if i had to make a gamble on an '84-85 bears jersey, i'd want to see a cloth, non "prestige teams" tag.

rudy.

[lund6771]

hey Rudy...

Thanks for the post...I read your post about Wilson tagging in another thread and wasn't sure if it was meant for baseball only...I'm in the process of picking up an incredible Bears jersey and wasn't quite sure how to pinpoint a date for video matching...by narrowing it down to a couple a of seasons will help me save some $ for videos...it definitely does not have the plastic "old" Wilson tag, which is correct for this particular jersey....

Thanks again!!!!!

[34swtns]

The Bears debuted the "GSH" sleeve decoration in 1984.

I've own 1987 Wilsons with the plastic tag and the '87 plastic tag debut was confirmed to me by the Bears' then-equipment manager's assistant.
After one season of plastic tags, in 1988 they went to the flag tag date code system. The "Prestige Teams" larger Wilson tag didn't appear on Bears jerseys until 1992-1993 when Wilson moved away from the scratchy nylon jersey material and went with the newer, silkier nylon that's still being used today. Jerseys with the "Prestige Teams" label will almost always contain the NFL shield neck tag, also.

So, which Bears jersey are you looking to get?

[34swtns]

Alrighty then.

Glad to be of help......

[lund6771]

34 swtness...am out of town right now, but just borrowed a comp at the front desk...thanks for your posts!!!

I don't have the jersey in hand yet, it will be next weekend...I've seen pictures and its awesome...I will post them when I get it in hand...

the jersey is your user name...i've seen lots of bad ones sell over the last few years, and this one isn't one of them

[lund6771]

just so i understand correctly, it could be only from the 84, 85, or 86 seasons then?...thanks in advance guys!!!!

[34swtns]

Awesome, lund!
Can't wait to see it.

Rick

[34swtns]

Ooops, forgot to answer your question.

Yes, you are correct. It would have to be pre-1987 if it has the cloth tag.

[kingjammy24]

I've own 1987 Wilsons with the plastic tag and the '87 plastic tag debut was confirmed to me by the Bears' then-equipment manager's assistant.

me earlier: "..wilson came out with their plastic tag in 1988. previous to '88, they used cloth tags."

so i was wondering why there was a 1 yr discrepancy between the time that i believe wilson came out with the plastic tag and the time 34swtns believes. long story short, the different timelines of the baseball vs football seasons. my wilson tag info is entirely based on mlb baseball, where the jerseys are made in early spring of that year. conversely, football jerseys are likely made in late summer. assuming that wilson came out with their plastic tag in summer 1987, the first jerseys to see it would be football jerseys. most baseball jerseys would already be too late to the party by then. the following spring 1988 would've been the first time the plastic tag would've appeared on baseball jerseys. it's interesting because i think it narrows down the actual time that wilson came out with the plastic tag to mid-summer '87.

so the next time you're at a fancy cocktail party, there's some info that's sure to impress everyone.

rudy.