Heritage: "We're Comfortable Running The Butkus Helmet...."

[aeneas01]

when i saw the bunk (imo) dick butkus helmet recently listed at heritage i was quite surprised and immediately thought a) heritage had managed to independently uncover reasonable evidence that finally supported the helmet's authenticity or b) heritage was simply listing the helmet based on the loa that came with it, a letter that had been written many years earlier.

because the helmet is so riddled with problems (so much so that imo there's simply no way it's a butkus gamer), and because i received so many emails asking about it, i emailed heritage to get the scoop - and to point out the many issues with the helmet. in fact i challenged heritage to find just one game photo or film frame (of the multitude available) of butkus wearing a helmet that matched - heritage responded: "We are comfortable running the helmet based on the information that we have as well as (the authenticator's) assessment." frankly guys, i took this to mean "we can't find a photo and we really don't have to because we're covered by a letter that came with the helmet."

so here's the deal on the helmet, the lid someone got stuck with. first, the lost description has morphed every time the helmet has made it to auction, embellishments added and untrue statements left uncorrected. this is how mastro presented the helmet in 2007 - among other things mastro told the bidding public that this helmet was the very same helmet shown in the 1971 iconic game photo included in the lot description, per mastro: "butkus is depicted here wearing the offered helmet" - the helmet sold for $12k.





needless to say, despite mastro's unbelievable claim, the offered helmet is clearly not the one butkus is wearing in the iconic game photo - all one needs to do is compare how the facemask clip screws line up with the helmet's center rivet. the top two photos on the left are of the offered helmet, the top photo on the right (in the red box) is the lot game photo. the bottom three photos are additional game photos of the same helmet:




here's another look at what i'm talking about - the facemasks clip screws and the helmet's center rivet line up differently when comparing the offered helmet to the game photos:




mastro did not include a side view comparison to a game photo in their lot description, just a front view comparison. if mastro had included a side view comparison it would have been equally problematic and provided further proof that the offered helmet was not the one shown in the game photo they provided. compare the two chinstap snap positions of the offered helmet (left photo) to a 1971 side view game photo of butkus - the chinstrap setup butkus actually wore was mounted much further back. the red "x" shows where the back snap should be on the offered helmet:




given that the offered helmet is date-stamped 1971, it could have only been used during the 1971 or 1972 seasons if it belonged to butkus. 1973, butkus's last year, is out because he switched to a different type of riddell helmet and the bears switched to different helmet logo decals. another thing to keep in mind is that butkus went to the pro bowl after both the 1971 and 1972 seasons which means he would have most likely taken his game helmet with him, the typical procedure, and had it painted nfc white.

looking at the multitude of game photos and film footage available of dick butkus during the 1971 and 1972 seasons, it's apparent that he wore two different helmets during this time period - however neither of these two helmets match the offered helmet. the chinstrap setup doesn't match nor does the facemask mounting position (top/side combination). incredibly, heritage told me that many of the game photos they looked at didn't clearly show the chinstrap setup or side facemask mount and therefore were inconclusive. apparently heritage chose to simply ignore the many, many other game photos that do provide a clear and conclusive view of butkus's chinstrap setup and facemask mount.

so we have a helmet that, when first offered at mastro, was said to match an iconic 1971 game photo of butkus - obviously this photo was intended as an important part of the lot description and proof of the helmet's authenticity. yet the helmet clearly didn't match the photo. yet it continues to be offered by auction houses, as authentic, again and again.

as i mentioned earlier, the helmet lot description has morphed over the years. heritage claims the helmet retains it's original facemask clips, a tidbit that has been added since the helmet first appeared at mastro. i told heritage the facemask clips are not what butkus wore and that they are not original to a butkus gamer. heritage agreed and said they would make the correction: "...agree that the clips are not correct based on reviewing images. We are going to edit the description to note that the clips are not originals..." however heritage never did bother to make the change in the lot description despite their promise. here's a facemask clip comparison, flat vs extruded:



heritage also claimed in their lot description that the facemask was "...low-positioned". mastro took it a step further by stating: "This Sunday apparel also bears a number of interesting style features, the combination of which are unique to Butkus including.... placement of the face mask (as low as possible)." yes, like many other players during the era, butkus did at times during his career sport a facemask that was mounted very low - the thing is, the offered helmet is not fitted with a low-mounted mask, it's fitted with a typically mounted mask. compare to the game photo below of butkus sporting a low-mounted mask.:




so we have an iconic photo included in the lot description (mastro) that doesn't match the helmet, clips that are claimed to be what butkus wore and original which aren't (mastro/heritage) and a mask that's claimed to be mounted low as butkus wore but isn't (mastro/heritage). great. and no one can find a game photo of butkus sporting a helmet during the 1971 or 1972 seasons that matches the offered helmet's chinstrap setup and facemask mount position.

another tidbit found in the heritage lot description that was not mentioned when the helmet was listed at mastro is this: "As typical for Bears' gamers from this era, Butkus' number "51" has been markered on the interior rear Riddell sticker." there is nothing typical about the bears writing a player's number on the helmet manufacturer's interior decal, for several reasons. in fact dick butkus will tell you the same.

so in the end what makes heritage believe this helmet was ever worn by butkus? if you ask me, it appears heritage simply banked on the letter that came with the helmet, a letter that was written many years ago. should such a letter that accompanies a lot give heritage or any other auction immunity, should such a letter release them from any obligations in terms of doing their own fact checking? i wouldn't think so. but sadly, it appears to be the case....

....

[tom1315]

Robert, simply amazing they would continue to push forward based upon the several points outlined and the hard data/facts articulated in your review. Thank you for your efforts to educate all of us and great to see you posting again!

Best regards, Tom

[legaleagle92481]

It is simple. They are looking to make their 20% from both buyer and seller and there are alot of Butkus/Bears fans so some guy will pay alot for it. Every auction has at least several bad items and the companies know it but most simply do not care and if they excluded all the questionable/clearly bad stuff it would erode their profits because there would be alot fewer items in the auction. Collector's are to blame also because "wishful thinking" and wanting items to be "real" leads people to bid on this junk and unless that stops the auction companies will never change let them have to pay for advertising for items that do not meet the minimum bid because they are not legit enough times and they will change their ways.

[BULBUS]

Its just amazing that these people continue to get away with this crap!

Comparing the chinstrap comparison photos, the "C" is also positioned different.

[Fnazxc0114]

aenas thanks for pointing this out. I dont collect helmets, but your help is greatly appreciated on these types of issues.

[aeneas01]

...the "C" is also positioned different.

decal and striping positioning is usually not a red flag because teams replace these items often throughout the course of a season (due to damage, shifting, etc.) - in other words it can be extremely difficult to match decal positioning when researching a specific helmet. the best chance to match decal positioning is to locate a photo of the player towards the end of the season, or the last game of the season. it's not impossible granted, just not easy to do - nor a deal breaker if you can't imo...

Robert, simply amazing they would continue to push forward based upon the several points outlined and the hard data/facts articulated in your review....

i think auction houses are often faced with lots that compare so favorably to photo/film evidence that it's just impossible to stamp them as not authentic despite esoteric issues put forth by knowledgeable collectors. but that's not the case with the butkus helmet given it doesn't even pass casual scrutiny. and if an auction house isn't willing to scrutinize game used lots claimed to have been worn by the world's most famous and photographed athletes, potential five-figure lots, then one has to wonder what it spends it time doing.

to be clear, i don't subscribe to the notion that sports memorabilia auction houses are built on business models that depend on parading crap in front of unsuspecting bidders. for example grey flannel recently asked me to look at a jerry rice "gamer" that came with team paperwork - however the helmet was simply a "presentation" helmet and gfc didn't run with it. guu turned away lots in their last auction as well and quickly removed listed lots when solid concerns were provided. hunt and others do the same. in short, i believe auction houses do strive to bring quality items to collectors - and do.

but in this case heritage seems to feel they weren't obligated to perform their own due diligence on the butkus helmet because it was accompanied with a letter of authenticity when they received it - as if the letter represented a get out jail free card. and this is bothersome.

...

[nickacs]

but in this case heritage seems to feel they weren't obligated to perform their own due diligence on the butkus helmet because it was accompanied with a letter of authenticity when they received it - as if the letter represented a get out jail free card. and this is bothersome.

Robert-
Awesome writeup sir! Bravo This is exactly why I love posts like this. To inform others so they don't have a/the same mistake as someone else.

About Heritage, yes, they emailed the exact same sentiments as you stated above when I emailed them a month or so ago about the Michael Jordan '96 home "game worn" jersey in their 4/23 auction as well. I even sent the pics/links to Gettys with write-ups on each "mistake" about the jersey disproving it's "game worn authenticity."

I was emailed back the following:

"Thanks for all the info, as before we really appreciate it. We discussed this with our authenticator and he has confirmed that the sizes and tagging are correct, so we have decided to move forward with the jersey in auction. As you know we take issues like this very seriously and no amount of money is worth sullying our reputation by selling unauthentic material. But, in this instance with the information we have received from authenticators and the LOAs that confirm this information we feel that this jersey is 100% authentic and we will keep it in the auction. Thanks again for the information, we always welcome any feedback from customers, especially ones with your expertise and attention to detail."

BS... The two LOA's they have is 1) Grey Flannel and 2) Lou Lampson. Like you said, just because a piece of memorabilia comes with an LOA, that means SQUAT. I will only trust (for Bulls stuff) CharitaBulls only and anything else possibly MEARS and definitely MLB auth and Meigray (who is #1 in my book).
Anyone else, I could give a rats ass about. I will do my homework and photomatch as best I can. I give that 100% better odds than an LOA could ever do besides the ones mentioned above.

It's really a shame that auction houses just accept anything with an LOA and pass it onto it's customers, "robbing" them of their hard earned money to get maybe a couple hundred bucks worth of something they paid thousands for

[slats7]

Update: The Butkus photo I posted was taken on October 29, 1972.

[TriplexXxSports]

Update: The Butkus photo I posted was taken on October 29, 1972.

That is quite interesting. I noticed that Robert highlighted the rivet location between the face mask and lower chinstrap button.

In your photo, that rivet and the lower chin strap button are located right where it is on the offered helmet.

Very interesting indeed!

[slats7]

That is quite interesting. I noticed that Robert highlighted the rivet location between the face mask and lower chinstrap button.

In your photo, that rivet and the lower chin strap button are located right where it is on the offered helmet.

Very interesting indeed!

Here's a few examples from 1970 (allegedly), although the seller could be wrong about the date. Again, low center rivet.