GFC: 1984 Michael Jordan's "first" jersey

[kingjammy24]

currently up for auction at grey flannel:

http://www.greyflannelauctions.com/LotDetail.aspx?lotid=21481

"It is hard to imagine, but one day, long ago, Babe Ruth was handed his first bat and put on his first flannel jersey. At that time, who could have imagined the history that was about to be written; the monumental legend and greatness....The same is true for Michael Jeffrey Jordan. There was a point when he gripped his first basketball and took his first jump shot from the top of the key, having no idea of the greatness and dominance that would follow; and so, too, would he be issued his very first NBA jersey as a member of the Chicago Bulls…and the rest, as they say, is history...This jersey offered is one-of-a-kind and special, indeed and could be compared to the first jersey ever issued to Babe Ruth; this red mesh road jersey could quite possibly have been the very first jersey issued to Michael Jordan as a member of the Chicago Bulls.."

from the description, this isn't simply a 1984 jordan gamer. this is jordan's very first NBA jersey. pretty spectacular. the GFC jersey has a very atypical number font. it's hard to find any photos of any of the 1984/85 bulls wearing that number font but GFC has managed to dig up a photo of jordan wearing a jersey with the atypical font so the font doesn't seem to be an issue. it does however make the jersey very unique and identifiable. below, on the left, are some images of the typical 1984/85 bulls number font. anyway, as i said earlier, this isn't simply being billed as a 1984 jordan gamer. a couple of those have already been auctioned off before. this is, in GFC's words, jordan's "very first jersey". as such, it would command a good premium over any other 1984 jordan gamer. i imagine the very first jersey that jordan ever put on would be considerably more desireable. jordan's first NBA game was actually at home vs washington so his "very first jersey" would've been a home jersey, not a road jersey. hence, the GFC road shirt cannot possibly be jordan's very first NBA shirt. could it be jordan's very first road shirt though? below are some images of jordan's first few road games, including his very first against milwaukee on sept 27, 1984. none of the photos show the atypical number fonts as seen on GFC's jersey. a 1984 jordan gamer? possibly. jordan's "very first jersey"? probably not.







rudy.

[Sonny25]

Re: GFC: 1984 Michael Jordan's "first" jersey

His first regular season game was against the Bullets.
I have that DVD somewhere (2nd half only), I could always dig it up if somebody wanted me too.

[Sonny25]

Re: GFC: 1984 Michael Jordan's "first" jersey

Whoops.

Meant to add his first game that his actual first game was a home game.
I got that entire Milwaukee game on DVD too though.

[both-teams-played-hard]

Re: GFC: 1984 Michael Jordan's "first" jersey

Something from the item description that I do not understand:

"To add to this pristine provenance, we have detailed notes from our consignor who had many conversations with Tim Hallum of the Chicago Bulls who recalled “if that jersey has a number and name change, sounds like you have the very first jersey this organization issued Michael Jordan.” This treasure of basketball history is also accompanied by a photo of Michael wearing this very jersey early in his 1984-85 rookie year."

[both-teams-played-hard]

Re: GFC: 1984 Michael Jordan's "first" jersey

Preseason? The game photo looks convincing.

[kingjammy24]

Re: GFC: 1984 Michael Jordan's "first" jersey

Preseason? The game photo looks convincing.

warren, wouldn't it be interesting if the jersey had been used solely during preseason games and not at all during the regular season? if that's the case, then it may have been the first jersey issued to jordan but i'd think the value would take a substantial hit if it had never been worn during the regular season. at a minimum, i think it's evident that it's not the first road jersey jordan was issued for the regular season.

here's the other odd thing about the GFC jersey. the previous number on the jersey seems to have been #35. i can't make out the previous name but it seems to have started with a "W". in 1984/85, there was no #35 on the bulls nor was there a #35 on the 1983/84 bulls.

rudy.

[kingjammy24]

Re: GFC: 1984 Michael Jordan's "first" jersey

the other thing that perplexes me about the current GFC jersey is the tagging. all of the other 1984 jordan jerseys i've seen had rawlings tags on the outside tail and no tagging in the collar. the GFC jersey has collar tagging and no tail tagging. can any nba collectors offer insight into this variation?



as a buyer i'd want to know if the GFC jersey was used solely in the preseason and also when and where the GFC photo was taken.

rudy.

[both-teams-played-hard]

Re: GFC: 1984 Michael Jordan's "first" jersey

I think if this can be proven to be Jordan's first pre-season jersey ever worn with the Bulls, it will be the most valuable basketball jersey in history. Can it be proven?
Pre-season or regular season doesn't matter, if it is Jordan's first Bulls jersey.

Could #35 be a pre-season player who never made the final roster? It would be nice to know that Jordan's first professional jersey is still in existence.

The abundance of phony Jordans on the market cause concern for the true legitimate relics. Whether or not this Grey Flannel Jordan is what it is claimed to be.

[kingjammy24]

Re: GFC: 1984 Michael Jordan's "first" jersey

i suppose each collector is different. personally, i place far less value on preseason/training camp/spring training jerseys than regular season. of course in this case i understand that if it were preseason only it would still technically be the first jersey he was issued even if it never saw regular season action. i suppose any potential bidders could decide the value for themselves. i do think they ought to know though whether it ever saw regular season action. i think most would interpret the GFC ad to imply that it's jordan's first regular-season gamer. (of course, that would be impossible given that his first ever regular season game was at home). my point was that it's likely not even his first ever regular season road shirt.

anyway, this french guy has this shirt and he calls it a procut:

http://23raisons.free.fr/jersey.html

re: the name/number change
perhaps the bulls kept a separate stash for their preseason games and these shirts routinely had name/number changes?

rudy.

[nickacs]

Re: GFC: 1984 Michael Jordan's "first" jersey

His first regular season game was against the Bullets.
I have that DVD somewhere (2nd half only), I could always dig it up if somebody wanted me too.

Yup, Oct 24, 1984.
If anyone is interested, all this Thursday/Friday NBA channel is replaying a bunch of NBA superstars' first NBA game, and of course including Michael Jordan:
7pmEST Thurs 8/26/09 (Replay Fri 1pmEST 8/27/09)

FYI, the other's include a bunch like: Hakeen, Ralph Sampson, Barkley, Karl Malone, Ewing, Reggie Miller, Shaq, Lebron, Garnett, etc etc

Maybe this might help to try and see/photomatch if this is really the first NBA regular season jersey Jordan wore?!

[nickacs]

Re: GFC: 1984 Michael Jordan's "first" jersey

Grr, I hate that we can't edit out posts!!!

Anyways, my mistake, the Oct game is his first game, but it's a home one as you guys said. So, really this jersey would be his "first" road jersey, meaning 2nd regular season game. Unless preseason like some have eluded too.
Either way, I'm just very leary of it... More supporting doc(s) and photomatching to me would make it worth the current bid of $30k...But thats just me

[kingjammy24]

Re: GFC: 1984 Michael Jordan's "first" jersey

warren and other nba collectors.. so this "first jersey" issue has got me thinking about what qualifies as a player's first jersey and which of his "firsts" would be most desireable.
warren, you believe that even if the GFC jersey was used solely during the preseason then it would still qualify as jordan's first bulls jersey. if you've eliminated the requirement of regular season action to qualify as part of the definition, then technically wouldn't jordan's first bulls jersey most likely be a practice/scrimmage jersey? (those reversible mesh ones). afterall, he probably played in a practice game before any preseason games and i'd think that practice games are just as meaningless as preseason games. would his first bulls practice jersey therefore be more valuable than his first preseason jersey?

in the area of 'first jerseys', i'd think it'd go practice, preseason, regular season and if both you and GFC have eliminated the requirement of a "first jersey" to necessarily including regular season play, then the real "first jersey he was issued by the bulls" would be his practice jersey.

for me, a player's first jersey would require regular season action; the jersey that the player wore in his first regular season game (which in this case would be the home jersey jordan wore on oct 26, 1984 vs washington). practices and preseasons don't count.

if you use your definition, then i'd think his first jersey would be a practice shirt. if you use my definition then it'd be his home shirt from oct 26, 1984. i don't see how the GFC shirt qualifies as any sort of a "first jersey" for jordan. maybe first preseason? anyway you slice it, i fail to see how it can be the "first jersey jordan was issued by the bulls".

rudy.

[otismalibu]

Re: GFC: 1984 Michael Jordan's "first" jersey

anyway you slice it, i fail to see how it can be the "first jersey jordan was issued by the bulls".

If it was used in pre-season, it could be the first Bulls game jersey that Jordan was issued and wore in a game (exhibition).

It would still have some appeal to collectors, simply because it's Jordan. Sure, none of the stats from pre-season count, but no one has ever recorded a point, assist, rebound, etc. wearing warm-ups, yet folks collect them.

I'd take a Dr. J. Rucker league shirt.


Would the Bulls give their #1 pick a recycled jersey?

[sportscentury]

Re: GFC: 1984 Michael Jordan's "first" jersey

If it is his first pre-season Bulls jersey, it is worth a ton, but not as much as his first regular season Bulls jersey (i.e., the jersey that he wore in his first official NBA game with the Bulls), the latter of which would be worth far more to most collectors. A pre-season jersey, even if used in exhibitions, is really a glorified practice jersey, as this is what the teams are doing in exhibition games - practicing for the real thing. With this said, if you win this and photomatch it with MeiGray, please email me at rgf2@hotmail.com, as I would love to own it (but only with a true photomatch). Interesting piece, and an absolute killer if real.

[kingjammy24]

Re: GFC: 1984 Michael Jordan's "first" jersey

If it was used in pre-season, it could be the first Bulls game jersey that Jordan was issued and wore in a game (exhibition).

assuming he didn't play in a preseason game wearing the home white first. what a mess. it's not the first jersey, it's not the first regular season jersey, and it's not the first regular season road jersey. clearly the jersey needs to be qualified in terms of exactly what "first" it is. GFC makes no mention whatsoever of preseason vs regular season and in fact the preseason idea is simply one that warren offered as a possibility. i'm not even sure if it's known that jordan's first preseason game was played in a road shirt.

from GFC's description, i think most would believe the jersey is jordan's first regular season gamer. although GFC makes no mention of preseason vs regular season, typically, i think when an item is called "game used" the implicit understanding is that it was used in the regular season and that if the use was limited strictly to the preseason, then such a fact would be made known. steiner offers jerseys that they clearly label as "spring training" because they know there's a big difference between a derek jeter "ST" worn shirt and a jeter regular season gamer in both price and desireability.

i would've thought GFC would've done a little more research and disclosed a little more so that any bidders would know exactly what they're blowing $50k on. at this point, i wonder if the jersey was ever worn during the regular season at all or if it was strictly a pre-season shirt. i think a bidder ought to know if jordan never scored a single official point wearing the $50k jordan gamer he just bought.

rudy.