primer on Wilson tagging - 60s to 90s

[kingjammy24]

for some reason, it seems my Wilson tagging primer has disappeared.
for those who've asked, here it is again. it only applies to MLB game jerseys tagged in the tail.



rudy.

[34swtns]

Re: primer on Wilson tagging - 60s to 90s

Thanks Rudy. Your primer has been invaluable to me at times. Just in case anybody was wondering, here's the original link:

http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=1592&highlight=wilson+primer

[2dales1number3]

Re: primer on Wilson tagging - 60s to 90s

So is this tagging only on game jerseys or are they the same tags on a store model? Whats the odds of a store model being made for semistars from the 80s? Is there any way to tell which players had store models made of them? Sorry if this has come up before but I am new. I am trying to figure out the odds of my favorite players jerseys being fake. They are Dale Murphy, Jim Rice, Carlton Fisk, Bob Horner, George Foster, Al OLiver, etc.

[kingjammy24]

Re: primer on Wilson tagging - 60s to 90s

this primer only applies to MLB game jerseys tagged in the body, (not bp jerseys, not minor league jerseys, not retail jerseys, nor jerseys tagged in the collar). the reason it doesn't apply to those jerseys is simply because i never considered or looked at them when i made the primer. it might be accurate for those jerseys but i have no way of knowing. if i had to guess, i'd say there should be some correlation between the tagging on wilson pro jerseys and wilson retail jerseys. (both earlier rawlings and russell pro tags bore a correlation with their retail tags. the main difference between the two is simply in the way they were sewn and, sometimes, the location).

i'm unsure of what wilson was doing in terms of star player, retail jerseys in the 80s. however, i think the odds of finding wilson, store model, star player jerseys from the 80s aren't great.

in terms of the specific players you mentioned as your favorites; here's a short breakdown:
fisk played for the whitesox during the 80s. during this time period they were supplied by sandknit and rawlings.
jim rice played for the redsox during the 80s. during this time period they were supplied by wilson.
horner and murphy played for the braves in 80s and during that time they were supplied by wilson.

the odds of those players being faked is more likely to come from a doctored pro jersey than a retail jersey. retail jerseys aren't overly difficult to differentiate from pro gamers. they'll often be of a different material, have different buttons, lack any sort of team/player tagging and customizations, etc. if someone's going to fake an early fisk, rice, or murphy they'll most likely do it using a pro jersey.

rudy.

[stkmtimo]

Re: primer on Wilson tagging - 60s to 90s

Hi Rudy,
I have a Bob Tewksbury game worn Yankees home jersey from 1987 made by Wilson. The tagging for the jersey is just like the tagging shown in your picture (size on the bottom, registered sign right next to the "N" in Wilson). I see that on eBay Grey Flannel is offering a Willie Randolph game worn Yankees jersey from 1987 as well:

http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/245-1987-Randolph-Yankees-Game-Used-Signed-Jersey_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ28270QQhashZitem130021898367QQihZ003QQitemZ130021898367QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

On this jersey the tagging features the size of the jersey on the bottom of the Wilson tag. Was this common with Wilson jerseys then?

Thanks,
Tim

[kingjammy24]

Re: primer on Wilson tagging - 60s to 90s

tim,

to be honest that's the first time i've ever seen that style of wilson tag with the size on the bottom instead of on the right side. maybe it's possible to interpret my personal experience as evidence that the tag being on the bottom was not common.

is your tewksbury size tag on the bottom or on the right?

rudy.

[stkmtimo]

Re: primer on Wilson tagging - 60s to 90s

tim,

to be honest that's the first time i've ever seen that style of wilson tag with the size on the bottom instead of on the right side. maybe it's possible to interpret my personal experience as evidence that the tag being on the bottom was not common.

is your tewksbury size tag on the bottom or on the right?

rudy.

Rudy,
The Tewksbury size tag for me is on the right, just like the photos you provided. I wonder why the Randolph is that way in GFC auction? That's the first 1987 Wilson jersey with a size tag on the bottom I've ever seen, too.

Tim

[Samets]

Re: primer on Wilson tagging - 60s to 90s

I know Rudy wrote that this is only for MLB jerseys but is it pretty consistent for NFL jerseys as well? Is there an NFL Wilson primer out there?

[sox83cubs84]

Re: primer on Wilson tagging - 60s to 90s

Most (not all) I've seen on Wilson NFL jerseys is in line with the same era's MLB gamers. The one exception is the Prestige Tag that first saw use in MLB uniforms in 1986. I haven't seen that tag on any NFL gamers prior to 1990-91. A small paper tag slightly similar to the ones used in 1987-91 Blue Jays jersey was the norm for the late 1980s in the NFL.

Dave Miedema

[Samets]

Re: primer on Wilson tagging - 60s to 90s

OK. Thanks!

[BrianK]

Re: primer on Wilson tagging - 60s to 90s

Anyone encountered this tag (on an NFL jersey or otherwise)? I believe it's circa 1988.

[solarlottry]

Re: primer on Wilson tagging - 60s to 90s

BrianK

I have never seen that particular type of Wilson tag until one popped up on eBay and another in a recent MEARS Auction. There as another thread somewhere that may have addressed that specific tag but I cannot recall what the outcome was.

The issue with this tag is that the 49ers wore Russell through the 1989 season and switched to Wilson in 1990. One possibility would be that the team wanted to evaluate the Wilson jersey during the 1989 season and thus had a handful of the shirts for use. If you scroll back in this thread though, the 1988-89 Wilson tagging is not consistent with the image you provided.

I have seen a number of Russell 49er gamers that were worn during the late 80s that were used in the early 90s. This was common with DL and OL gamers as the players did not want to give up their Russell shirts. I have several examples of Russell 49er gamers with the NFL shield sewn on, which would indicate a 1988 or 1989 jersey being used in 1991.

As for theparticular Wilson tag you posted, if anyone else can chime in that would be great.

Always buying 49er game worn jerseys and paying a finders fee.
Paul
garciajones@yahoo.com

[commando]

Re: primer on Wilson tagging - 60s to 90s

This style of tag must be pretty scarce.... I also noticed the incorrect punctuation in the phrase: Brand of the Pro's

[both-teams-played-hard]

Re: primer on Wilson tagging - 60s to 90s

This style of tag must be pretty scarce.... I also noticed the incorrect punctuation in the phrase: Brand of the Pro's

Anthony,

Like you, I also thought this use of an apostrophe was incorrect. However, when "Pro" is used as an abbreviation for "Professional", a use of an apostrophe to show the plural version of "Pro's" is correct. Believe me, the butchering of the apostrophe by our fellow forum members has inspired hours of research.

[commando]

Re: primer on Wilson tagging - 60s to 90s

Anthony,

Like you, I also thought this use of an apostrophe was incorrect. However, when "Pro" is used as an abbreviation for "Professional", a use of an apostrophe to show the plural version of "Pro's" is correct. Believe me, the butchering of the apostrophe by our fellow forum members has inspired hours of research.

Gotcha. I was on the fence whether or not this may be correct... Thanks for the facts!