Vintage Authentics/Lou Lampson Authenticate A Walter Payton Retail As A Gamer

[TriplexXxSports]

I found this listing on eBay - http://cgi.ebay.com/Walter-Payton-Ga...item27b1cbe3a9

I found it interesting that Vintage Authentics, with the help of Lou Lampson, authenticated this jersey as a game worn, c.1985-1986 with an A6 overall. First, I found a problem within the LOA itself. It reads "The tail contains the Wilson label with size 44 ID but measures to a 48 and was perhaps mislabeled by the factory."........What?! Is it possible? Sure, I guess anything is, but the likelihood of this being a mislabeled gamer are slim to non. The factories have a quality control standard that would never let this jersey out the door if it were mislabeled. So this fact alone is reason enough to question this jerseys authentication.

Seeing as though Walter was one of the most photographed RB's in NFL history, lets go to the photo's and compare the 2. Highlighted in the pictures below are some comparisons:

1) The distance between the numbers on the sleeve and shoulder seem, as well as the distance between the numbers and the striping. Clearly you can see that there is more spacing in the Getty pics between the two as opposed to the jersey in question.

2) The actual distance between the stripes themselves. You can see by the provided images that Walter's actual jersey has more white material between each stripe. The jersey in question has a uniform distance between all 3 stripes.

3) The spacing between the 3 & the 4 on the back of the jersey. Provided game pics show there is more distance between them.

4) Lastly, my own "unprofessional" opinion. Many know that Walter was an beast on the field. Any jersey that he would have had on his back would have most likely been worn for more than one game because the players back then were not issued the amount of jerseys they are today. At best Walter may have had 3-4 jerseys a season. With that being said, and his known style of play, his jersey were literally destroyed before they were discarded for a new jersey. Seeing as though this is a road white jersey one would think that there would be tons of use evident. The offered jersey shows a couple of small repairs and some light markings on the tail, hardly a ton of use in my opinion. I provided a pic of Walter below (Getty pic on the center, right side) in a white road jersey from the Super Bowl. Take a look at the comparison of wear.

In all, I am bothered by the fact that Vintage Authentics was willing to authenticate this jersey. There are many resources available to research and document the characteristics of jerseys. Especially one of the greatest RB of all time. There was an apparent lack of research done for this jersey. Just a quick flip through Getty and I found the sleeve striping was different, the spacing differences between numbers, both on the back of the jersey and the sleeves, and I would think common sense would tell you that a couple of small repairs and some marks are not enough to qualify this jersey as a true Walter Payton game worn jersey.

I am in no way accusing the seller of this jersey of any wrong doing. He is selling the jersey as he probably bought it from a supposed "trusted" leader in the auction house industry. It is just shameful that these so called experts are willing to authenticate even the most obvious (non gamer) jerseys as gamers, with absolutely no time and effort put forth for research. I wish there was some way to regulate this kind of nonsense, but unfortunately it is going to continue.

Always do your homework, folks!

.