Need opinions on this Chiefs jersey (Derrick Thomas)

[aeneas01]

The pics you are showing to me (in my opinion) very obviously demonstrate that like I said there is no elastic present.

fair enough as far as i'm concerned - as i mentioned, i'm not a jersey guy so i was just going by what it looked like to me. as far as you stating that it's a "rookie era" jersey is concerned, frankly i don't know what "rookie era" means. i've never heard of an item that was from a player's second or third season referred to as a "rookie era" item. early career item, yes, "rookie era" no.

whatever the case, given that your jersey has an nfl shield at the collar it simply couldn't be from his record sack game against seattle (1990) that you mention in your listing nor could it be from his rookie season (1989) given that the shield wasn't introduced until 1991. as such, i think that claiming it's a "rookie era" gamer or that it "very well" may have been the jersey worn in 1990 reflects very poorly. jmho.

[G1X]

I have no opinion about the particular jersey in question, but I would like to make a couple of general statements with regards to several issues raised in this thread.

1. Robert is correct in stating that the NFL neck shields were first added in 1991. However, keep in mind that it was common for NFL teams to "recycle" jerseys in that era (and some still do). For example, a jersey from 1989 or 1990 could have been "recycled" for the 1991 season. Teams simply added the shield to the "recycled" jerseys. Very few teams were using year tags at the time, so if there was no distinctive uniform design change made by the team and/or changes in a particular manufacturer's style over the course of several years, (such as placement of the manufacturer's logo, tagging, etc.), trying to figure out which year a jersey was actually used can be problematic unless solid photo evidence or other conclusive documentation can be found. In collecting NFL jerseys, something as simple as trying to determine the year(s) a jersey was worn can get quite complicated!

2. A general misunderstanding about older football jerseys is the belief that they generally should show great game use, especially since teams tended to not have as many jerseys available for players as they do in the current era, and the fact that jerseys were often "recycled" for use in more than one season. These jerseys were designed and cut much differently than the current-era jerseys and were generally not worn near as tight, so they tended to be more durable and have a longer lifespan. Naturally, many older jerseys will show great game use, but at the same time, it is not uncommon to find older jerseys that were worn for an entire season that show only minor signs of use and sometimes nothing more than repeated wash wear.

I hope that this information is useful.

Mark Hayne
Gridiron Exchange
gixc@verizon.net

[aeneas01]

I have no opinion about the particular jersey in question, but I would like to make a couple of general statements with regards to several issues raised in this thread.

nice post mark and i agree that, like football helmets, it's often not cut and dry given the re-use of items and the varying degrees wear. but even with jerseys i believe that it's possible to rule out certain claims based on esoteric details. with football helmets the disqualification factor could be the helmet's manufacturing date for example.

in this case it's clear that teams did not begin sporting nfl shield patches on their jersey collars and pants until 1991. nothing ambiguous about this and the seller is fully aware that this is the case. yet in his ad the seller clearly implies that his jersey is from thomas's rookie season (1989) and could have very well been the jersey thomas was wearing in 1990 when he broke the sack record.

so sleeve issues and game wear aside issues, i believe the item description to be highly misleading and, even worse, intentionally misleading...



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[Jags Fan Dan]

Robert,

I think what Mark was trying to say is that there is the possibility that the NFL shield was added to the jersey, making it impossible to tell when the jersey was first put into use.

[aeneas01]

Robert,

I think what Mark was trying to say is that there is the possibility that the NFL shield was added to the jersey, making it impossible to tell when the jersey was first put into use.

gotcha - i didn't realize players wore the same jersey for 3+ years...

[Blitzmaster]

2004 jersey with a 2007 Captain's patch...

[nyjetsfan14]

2004 jersey with a 2007 Captain's patch...

Great example Blitzmaster. However, just for clarification, sometimes these jerseys are not actually used the entire duration but rather go unused laying around (or more likely organized/shelved/boxed) until put into action when required. So you could quite possibly have an 04 tagged jersey being used in 07 as you have shown with 07 actually being the first season it was used. Of course you have other instances in which a jersey is actually used repeatedly/recycled. Great info guys!

[G1X]

Robert,

A player normally would not wear the same jersey exclusively for three years. "Recycling" a jersey does not mean that it was worn year after year, it simply means that the jersey was available for use beyond the original year that it was issued. When a jersey is "recycled", it can sometimes be very difficult to tie down the exact year(s) it was worn.

As an example, I will use a team and jersey that I am familiar with - a Detroit Lions jersey of Patrick Swilling. He was a Lion only in 1993 and 1994. The Lions used Wilson in 1993 and once again for the early part of 1994 before switching to APEX. For those early 1994 games, the Lions used the Wilson jerseys they already had on hand in the equipment room from previous years and simply added the NFL 75th Anniversary patch and removed/hid the Wilson "W" sleeve logo since the team was under contract with APEX.

The Swilling jersey is made by Wilson, shows game wear, and contains the NFL 75th Anniversary patch. There is also evidence that the Lions 60th Anniversary patch from 1993 had been removed. How will I ever know for certain which year it was worn if I am unable to find definite photo evidence or other documentation? Was it worn both years by Swilling? Was it worn only in one of those years by Swilling? Or, worse case scenario, was it worn by another player in 1992 and used simply as a backup jersey for Swilling in 1993 and 1994?

This example is not an anomaly, especially with regards to older NFL jerseys. As can be seen, trying to pin things down - even when it appears to be the obvious - can be quite elusive.

Mark Hayne
Gridiron Exchange
gixc@verizon.net

[nyjetsfan14]

The Swilling jersey is made by Wilson, shows game wear, and contains the NFL 75th Anniversary patch. There is also evidence that the Lions 60th Anniversary patch from 1993 had been removed. How will I ever know for certain which year it was worn if I am unable to find definite photo evidence or other documentation? Was it worn both years by Swilling? Was it worn only in one of those years by Swilling? Or, worse case scenario, was it worn by another player in 1992 and used simply as a backup jersey for Swilling in 1993 and 1994?

As usual Mark, awesome info, you are the football jersey man. My opinion on that is that, for a player like Swilling, wear/use exhibited would really assist in determining how long the jersey was worn. If it shows minimal to moderate use that would to me indicate just partial season use, as you explained before the full switch over to APEX. If it was hammered with use and numerous team repairs than I would suspect it was a carryover from the previous season. But either way I think we have clearly pointed out that a recycyled jersey does not necessarily mean one that is used/worn continually each season from its tagged year. Good stuff guys, happy Memorial Day and God Bless America!