Notre Dame Jersey Discussion Thread

[beavisrules]

Like many of you, I have learned so much from GUU over the years about game used jerseys. However, I haven't felt like I have contributed much back to the community. Well, I hope to rectify that with a Notre Dame jersey thread. I am by no means an "expert", but I have learned quite a bit over the years from research and interacting with numerous collectors. So I thought I would try to intermittently post information about Notre Dame jerseys to help out those interested in learning more.

For the first post, I am going to address one of the most repetitive errors I have seen with ND jerseys, which occurs on ebay about once every 3 to 4 months (at least). And that is the auction for a "Game Worn #3 Notre Dame jersey" made by champion. If you have ever watched for game worn Notre Dame jerseys, you no doubt have seen the following item for sale:




On first look, it may appear to be a legit 1994 Gamer worn by Ron Powlus. But it is not. The majority of the specs for this jersey are correct: solid cuffed sleeves, screened numbers (sewn numbers did NOT appear on game worn ND jerseys in the 1990s), dome on the neck line, spandex sides, and year sewn in the tagging (which did occur for 1994 jerseys, if the tags were not removed from jersey modification by the equipment manager). However, this is actually an authentic jersey that was sold to the public - interestingly, the retail authentics sold at stores did NOT include the 1994 year sewn in the tags; I suspect the jerseys sold directly by the school did include the year stitched, but I have never been able to formally confirm this. Anyway, here's the quick and easy reason that you can tell this is not a gamer - the front #3 is wrong. Powlus wore a jersey with a much wider #3, as opposed to the authentic jerseys that feature the skinny #3. Here's an example of the the wide #3:

So, the next time a "game worn #3 Notre Dame jersey" pops up on ebay, check out the width of the front #3 - chances are, it is an authentic.

[sox83cubs84]

Worth mentioning, for sure...sometimes these Powlus non-gamers seem almost as common as the 1989-90 ScoreBoard jerseys that confuse some baseball collectors. Thanks for the education.

Dave M.
Chicago area

[beavisrules]

One more thing to note about the "Authentic" Champion Notre Dame home blue jerseys from the 1994-1997 era - the #3 was not the only number made into an authentic jersey that is very similar to a gamer - the #1 jersey was also made available for public purchase given Derrick Mayes popularity at the time. I have seen a few of these Mayes authentics listed as gamers on ebay, but none have been game worn - they were actually authentics. Also note that many of them had a Mayes signature on the front number 1 - again, not a gamer, but a retail authentic - they were sold by a now-defunct company right after Mayes graduated from ND. Here's an example of an authentic non-gamer #1 jersey:


One last note before I leave the 1994 - 1997 era home blue authentics - I was asked once about the #44 jersey (worn by Marc Edwards at the time), and whether this was also a jersey made into a retail authentic. This is not clear to me - I have seen only 2 of these authentic #44 home (blue) jerseys ever listed for sale. I have never seen them available for retail purchase in any of the old catalogs or sale listings I have access to. It is possible that the athletic department had a few extras of the #44 jersey made up to give to VIPs (aka significant donors). But, alas, the #44 jersey history from this era is not completely clear to me - perhaps they truly were gamers (or at least team issued) after all, because I have been unable to prove otherwise thus far.

[beavisrules]

The only other jersey made into a retail authentic from the 1994 - 1997 era was, yet again, the #3 jersey - but this time it was the green version of the jersey. Interestingly, champion and/or Notre Dame opted to use the correct, widened-style #3 on this retail sold jersey, which has prompted numerous people to again list this as "game worn" on ebay in the past. Sorry, not game worn. How can I be so sure? From 1994 to 1997, the green jersey was used only once, and this was in the 1995 Fiesta Bowl. The green jersey was not used again until 1999, and the style had changed by then (which we'll touch on in a subsequent post). And I bet Powlus still has his gamer from the bowl. But, any green jersey (as shown below) without the bowl game patch is a retail authentic, no questions asked. Also, the retail authentic green #3 jersey was used by upper deck for a signature jersey by Montana and Holtz - you'll see these hologramed jerseys pop up on ebay once in a while.

Here's an example of the retail authentic:

Here's what the actual gamers look like (note the bowl patch obviously):

[dcgreg25]

Cool thread Mike, this is helpful information for a lot of people. Thanks!

[genius]

Awesome Theismann jersey on AMI right now. Nice video shot from that Cotton Bowl clearly shows the NOB, www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPJHw4ubVk8

[sox83cubs84]

This Notre Dame thread is marvelous...keep adding to it! I knew of the blue #3s, but most of the rest was news to me...always willing to learn more.

Dave M.
Chicago area

[genius]

Highest bid for the Theismann was $11K with reserve NOT met!

[beavisrules]

genius, that Theismann jersey is outstanding. To be honest, I was hoping the University itself would bid and win it so it could be displayed on campus for all the enjoy. What do you bet the reserve is set at? I suspect it is at 25k.

Also, did you look closely at the pic of the two jerseys? I was struck by the significant difference in the sleeve length relative to the #7 on both jerseys; seems odd to me to have such a difference. Warm weather versus cold weather? Jerseys from different years? Thoughts?

[genius]

I wonder if they even knew about it? That would be where it belongs. Reserve could have been $50K, not sure why Theismann would part with those other than major-cash. I have one of the same set of navy short-sleeve versions, couldn't believe how flimsy it was when I received. Cotton Bowl shirt just might have been designed for more of a winter's day. Maybe he'll donate it to the alma-mater, I would rather have a slice of immortality at ND than sell for a measly $25K (if I'm Theismann, of course!).