Differences of a Salesman's Sample Jersey

[prichmond]

Several questions

how do you tell the difference between game used and a salesman jersey.

When did salesman jersey's begin to be used

what were they used for?

thanks

pete

[jppopma]

Depending on the jersey, the differences can be very minor to completely different (style, font, etc.). Some of these jerseys will be true to spec right down to patches and tagging.

They have had salesmen samples dating back into the 50's, most likely even longer ago than that.

The purpose of the salesmen jerseys is to for representatives from the jersey manufacturers to show off ideas or different styles of jerseys to the teams. They would make up prototype jerseys or sample jerseys to show the teams what they would look like before going into full production. I'm not sure, but I think that salesmen would also use these jerseys to "show off" to other clients (ie; minor league teams, schools, etc.).

[prichmond]

thanks much

pete