Hi, folks!

A new Eric Davis rookie-era jersey hit eBay yesterday, and while it looks and sounds good, I'd like to make an inquiry on its appearance from anyone who might be familiar with Cincinnati jerseys from then.

The new jersey: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ht_2088wt_1137

There has been a long-standing 1984 jersey with some significant documentation that I'm comparing to: http://cgi.ebay.com/1984-ERIC-DAVIS-Rookie-Game-Used-44-CIN-REDS-JERSEY-/250686572525?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a5e15 87ed#ht_4634wt_911 .

The stitching, from what I can tell, looks consistent. The Wilson tag looks consistent, but they're in vastly different places. I could see this happening between years I guess, but I'm wondering if anyone else out there is more knowledgeable?

The big question for me is Davis's name on the back. On the 1984, the characters are closer together than the 1985. They're centered, and thus both the left and right edges of the name are closer to the vertical middle of the jersey than the left and right edges of the number. On the 1985, the characters are spaced out more, and while centered, this results in the left and right edges of the name being about on the same vertical line as the left and right edges of his number. My question is, is this consistent with other 1984/1985 jerseys? Is it something that may vary on a case-by-case basis? Is it a red flag?

Thanks for any opinions, and for reading.

Larry LaHaie