A Twins flannel recently sold for $832 in the latest VSA auction. It is a properly tagged 1969 shirt, with NIC and NIT (both say "Look", for Bruce Look, who was with the Twins in 1968.) However, it's described as an Al Worthington shirt.
In my humble opinion, this is what the jersey really is, and the scenario:
Bruce Look was a backup catcher for the Twins in 1968, wearing uniform number 25. When he reported the next spring, he was given a shirt with his name in the tail, collar, and number 25, as indicated by the tail stitching, which also indicates the year: 1969. There were other catchers in camp that spring, and Look didn't make the team, so his jersey was recycled to the minors where it underwent a number change, which is very typical of Twins flannels. I either own, or have owned, 13 Twins flannels and only two retain their original number. The rest all had the number changed for minor league use.
Bill Zepp did make the team in 1969, and he was issued #25, which he wore in 1969 and 1970. So, this is pretty straightforward I think.
But here's how this jersey was described:
"This lot features an Al Worthington 1969 Minnesota Twins #19 flannel jersey exhibiting excellent overall use. Worthington pitched for the Twins from 1964-1969. The jersey is a Spalding size 44 and has "Look 25 44 1969" sewn into the lower left front tail. After Worthington departed from the Twins after the 1969 season and Bruce Look came back to the Twins for spring training in 1970 but didn't end up making the team. Worthington recorded 88 saves for the Twins during his 6 year stint with the team. Nice, quality Al Worthington flannel."
So, I guess what we're supposed to believe is something like this: The shirt was made for Worthington in 1969 with #19 on back, but either had the wrong name in the tail, collar, and wrong number in the tail, or it just had Al's number 19 on the back and nothing in the collar and tail. After Al uses it in 1969, the used shirt is sent back to Spalding, where they now stitch Bruce Look's name into the collar and tail, along with the number 25, for 1970. However, the seamstress at Spalding goofs, and puts year 69 on the tail instead of 70.
If Worthington's name was in the collar and tail, and number 19 in the tail, as they should've been, they must've removed them first. But there is no indication of that.
What's interesting about this scenario, is that Bill Zepp wore #25 for the Twins in both 1969 and 1970, so one wonders why that number would be stitched into the tail, along with Look's name, after spring training of 1969, and of course, if the Look stitching is done prior to the 1970 spring training, why is the year in tail 1969.
Never mind the fact that Look didn't make the team in 1969; they apparently went to all this trouble thinking he would in the spring of 1970, and even gave him #25, as stitched into the tail, even though that is Bill Zepp's number.
Well, Look didn't make the team in 1970 either (in fact, his MLB career began and ended in 1968,) so at this point the jersey apparently goes to the minors, and the number on back is changed from 25 back to 19, which is quite a coincidence, since supposedly that's the number it started out as.
I understand auction houses don't always know what they have, but seriously, could the logic behind this description be any more convoluted? Or am I missing something?
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