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Re: Nolan Ryan Game Used Jersey MEARS Auction
I found this interesting post on NolanRyan.net regarding G&S. It is long.
QUESTION: Should I invest in Nolan Ryan game used equipment?
ANSWER: There is little question that Nolan Ryan is one of, if not the, greatest pitchers of all time. In 1999, he will surely be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame with one of the highest percentage of votes in history. Many collectors, and investors, are now considering investing in Nolan Ryan game used equipment with the idea that his memorabilia will increase with his induction to the HOF. The real questions are what is the potential profit and what is the potential risk? Both are tough questions that I will attempt to answer.
While Nolan was on the Angels, the team used Goodman & Sons to make their home jerseys one year and road jerseys the next. During this time, Nolan developed a strong preference for the 'feel' of G&S uniforms. From that time forward, he always purchased G&S jerseys for himself regardless of what his team issued to him. This is similar to what Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio do today with the Astros. The Astros issue them each two home and two road uniforms made by Russell but Jeff and Craig both purchase their uniforms from Victory. This is why you never see the "R" on the sleeve for these two Astros. The only time they use Russell is for the Sunday jersey. Ironically enough, Victory is a spin-off company from G&S. G&S went out of business after 1993 and spun off Victory and Keystone Sporting Goods.
The accepted belief is that Nolan only wore G&S uniforms when he was scheduled to pitch. On all other game days as well as for PR photos, he wore the team issued jersey. There has been some debate as to whether or not Nolan ever pitched in a non-G&S jersey. Although it would be rare, it is very possible that it occurred from time to time. For example, let's assume that Nolan was not scheduled to pitch until the next game so he wore his team issued jersey for today's game. Then, at the last minute, the scheduled pitcher was scratched and Nolan was called on to pitch. Under these conditions, he probably wore the team issued jersey as opposed to going and changing his entire uniform. Since this is the exception and not the rule, most non-G&S Nolan Ryan uniforms are considered game issued but not game used. Therefore, their value is usually substantially less that Nolan's G&S jerseys.
The real problem about considering investing in Nolan Ryan game used equipment is the fact that G&S did not put set tags in their jerseys until 1993. This single fact makes any G&S jersey, from any player, relatively easy to counterfeit. The set tag is what truly 'authenticates' most jerseys more than almost any other feature. Most manufacturers sew set tags in jerseys that say something like "SET 1 1991" for set #1 and "SET 2 1991" for set #2. Obviously finding a tag saying "SET 3 1991" would be suspicious unless you could verify that the player in question was actually issued three home (or road) jerseys that year. Nolan actually did have 34 jerseys made for his final year with the Rangers. The story is that he planned to start approximately 34 games during the year and he would use each jersey only once and then use them to raise money for charities (including the Nolan Ryan Foundation). For 1993, Nolan had 18 home and 16 road jerseys made. The home jerseys were tagged SET 1/18, SET 2/18, etc. The road jerseys were tagged SET A/16, B/16, etc.
Most players, including Nolan, were usually issued no more than four uniforms per year. Since Nolan played from 1968-1993 (26 years) there were approximately 134 (25 x 4 +34) jerseys issued to him over his career. Many of these have dissappeared over the years for various reasons. Some were sent down to the minor leagues for use until they were eventually thrown away. Many are now in the hands of collectors, investors, Ryan's friends and Ryan's family members. I actually own a pair of Nolan Ryan Astro Sand-Knit pants from 1983 with Ryan's name, size, etc sewn on a tag in the waist. These pants also have faded marker on them, inside on the pockets, with the name Hampton. It appears that Mike Hampton wore these same pants for a while in the minor leagues before making it to the majors. This is not uncommon as it saves the minor league teams lots of money by reusing uniforms from the major league teams.
Now, getting back to the set tag issue. Since Ryan's G&S jerseys (except for 1993) contain no set tags it is very difficult, and impossible in some cases, to determine the actual year of the jersey. Therefore, there is no way to track, for example, how many 1992 Ryan jerseys there are currently on the market. Without set tags, team personnel, and others with connections, could make easy money by getting blank G&S jerseys and have '34' and 'RYAN' sewn on them. Did this actually happen? There's no real way to tell. That's why it is extremely important to know the source and history of the jersey that you are considering purchasing. This is also why Nolan Ryan G&S jerseys from the Texas Rangers (except for 1993) are generally valued less than his jerseys from other years. Since Ryan's real fame didn't come until his Ranger years, it is more likely that someone would counterfeit those jerseys as opposed to Astros, Angels or Met jerseys.
So, to try to answer the original questions. Are Ryan game used jerseys a good investment? My opinion is a qualified 'yes'. If you are comfortable with the source, have done some research to verify the information as best you can and have obtained opinions from two or more objective uniform experts, I think the value of those items will appreciate greatly over the next five years and beyond. Are Ryan game used jerseys risky? My opinion is again 'yes' but this risk shouldn't deter the serious collector/investor from pursuing such opportunities if they just take the necessary precautions.
-Randall Swearingen, Houston, Texas
I found this interesting post on NolanRyan.net regarding G&S. It is long.
QUESTION: Should I invest in Nolan Ryan game used equipment?
ANSWER: There is little question that Nolan Ryan is one of, if not the, greatest pitchers of all time. In 1999, he will surely be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame with one of the highest percentage of votes in history. Many collectors, and investors, are now considering investing in Nolan Ryan game used equipment with the idea that his memorabilia will increase with his induction to the HOF. The real questions are what is the potential profit and what is the potential risk? Both are tough questions that I will attempt to answer.
While Nolan was on the Angels, the team used Goodman & Sons to make their home jerseys one year and road jerseys the next. During this time, Nolan developed a strong preference for the 'feel' of G&S uniforms. From that time forward, he always purchased G&S jerseys for himself regardless of what his team issued to him. This is similar to what Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio do today with the Astros. The Astros issue them each two home and two road uniforms made by Russell but Jeff and Craig both purchase their uniforms from Victory. This is why you never see the "R" on the sleeve for these two Astros. The only time they use Russell is for the Sunday jersey. Ironically enough, Victory is a spin-off company from G&S. G&S went out of business after 1993 and spun off Victory and Keystone Sporting Goods.
The accepted belief is that Nolan only wore G&S uniforms when he was scheduled to pitch. On all other game days as well as for PR photos, he wore the team issued jersey. There has been some debate as to whether or not Nolan ever pitched in a non-G&S jersey. Although it would be rare, it is very possible that it occurred from time to time. For example, let's assume that Nolan was not scheduled to pitch until the next game so he wore his team issued jersey for today's game. Then, at the last minute, the scheduled pitcher was scratched and Nolan was called on to pitch. Under these conditions, he probably wore the team issued jersey as opposed to going and changing his entire uniform. Since this is the exception and not the rule, most non-G&S Nolan Ryan uniforms are considered game issued but not game used. Therefore, their value is usually substantially less that Nolan's G&S jerseys.
The real problem about considering investing in Nolan Ryan game used equipment is the fact that G&S did not put set tags in their jerseys until 1993. This single fact makes any G&S jersey, from any player, relatively easy to counterfeit. The set tag is what truly 'authenticates' most jerseys more than almost any other feature. Most manufacturers sew set tags in jerseys that say something like "SET 1 1991" for set #1 and "SET 2 1991" for set #2. Obviously finding a tag saying "SET 3 1991" would be suspicious unless you could verify that the player in question was actually issued three home (or road) jerseys that year. Nolan actually did have 34 jerseys made for his final year with the Rangers. The story is that he planned to start approximately 34 games during the year and he would use each jersey only once and then use them to raise money for charities (including the Nolan Ryan Foundation). For 1993, Nolan had 18 home and 16 road jerseys made. The home jerseys were tagged SET 1/18, SET 2/18, etc. The road jerseys were tagged SET A/16, B/16, etc.
Most players, including Nolan, were usually issued no more than four uniforms per year. Since Nolan played from 1968-1993 (26 years) there were approximately 134 (25 x 4 +34) jerseys issued to him over his career. Many of these have dissappeared over the years for various reasons. Some were sent down to the minor leagues for use until they were eventually thrown away. Many are now in the hands of collectors, investors, Ryan's friends and Ryan's family members. I actually own a pair of Nolan Ryan Astro Sand-Knit pants from 1983 with Ryan's name, size, etc sewn on a tag in the waist. These pants also have faded marker on them, inside on the pockets, with the name Hampton. It appears that Mike Hampton wore these same pants for a while in the minor leagues before making it to the majors. This is not uncommon as it saves the minor league teams lots of money by reusing uniforms from the major league teams.
Now, getting back to the set tag issue. Since Ryan's G&S jerseys (except for 1993) contain no set tags it is very difficult, and impossible in some cases, to determine the actual year of the jersey. Therefore, there is no way to track, for example, how many 1992 Ryan jerseys there are currently on the market. Without set tags, team personnel, and others with connections, could make easy money by getting blank G&S jerseys and have '34' and 'RYAN' sewn on them. Did this actually happen? There's no real way to tell. That's why it is extremely important to know the source and history of the jersey that you are considering purchasing. This is also why Nolan Ryan G&S jerseys from the Texas Rangers (except for 1993) are generally valued less than his jerseys from other years. Since Ryan's real fame didn't come until his Ranger years, it is more likely that someone would counterfeit those jerseys as opposed to Astros, Angels or Met jerseys.
So, to try to answer the original questions. Are Ryan game used jerseys a good investment? My opinion is a qualified 'yes'. If you are comfortable with the source, have done some research to verify the information as best you can and have obtained opinions from two or more objective uniform experts, I think the value of those items will appreciate greatly over the next five years and beyond. Are Ryan game used jerseys risky? My opinion is again 'yes' but this risk shouldn't deter the serious collector/investor from pursuing such opportunities if they just take the necessary precautions.
-Randall Swearingen, Houston, Texas
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