Craig Biggio Photomatched Jersey? Opinions Please!

[AstrosCollector]

Hey Guys! I was hoping to get some opinions on this Craig Biggio gamer. I picked this jersey up shortly after Biggio logged his 3,000th hit. The jersey is from 2002 and shows amazing use! It is absolutely is pounded! The jersey has loose stitching everywhere, fraying, piling, puckering and stains! Signs of dirt stains all over the front and pinetar stains on the right shoulder.

The jersey was obtained from a former Astros bat boy who said he got the jersey directly from Craig following the 2002 season. I found a couple photos of Biggio during the '02 season and wanted to see what everyone thought of a photomatch:

The pinstripes seem to touch the lettering and numbering on the jersey in the same spots. The pinstripes on the shoulders seem to match up as well. Notice how there is a pinstripe that touches all of the buttons as well. There also seems to be a pinstripe "missing" where the jersey is buttoned up. The flap from one side of the jersey covers up the pinstripe that is directly under the "t".

You can also see the loose threads on the back of the neck in both pictures as well as the picture above.

I would appreciate everyone's thoughts! Thanks!

Andy

[eGameUsed]

Re: Craig Biggio Photomatched Jersey? Opinions Please!

Andy,

Looks dead on to me! I saw this one on eBay right after the hits. Nice pick-up!

Thanks,

[bigtruck260]

Re: Craig Biggio Photomatched Jersey? Opinions Please!

Incredible. Looks accurate to my eyes.

[dcrules01]

Re: Craig Biggio Photomatched Jersey? Opinions Please!

Wow look at his helmet....Awesome pickup he was a true gamer totally old school...

[gameused]

Re: Craig Biggio Photomatched Jersey? Opinions Please!

Andy,

Nice Biggio jersey photo match!

Now this is what I call game worn/used, loose stitches, fraying, piling, puckering and stains.

I see a lot of so called game worn jerseys on the market that look like they were never worn or just came pressed from the dry cleaners!

Think about it, if you were a MLB player and you had a home game and lets say you have 3 home jerseys in your locker to choose from, I would grab the same worn down comfortable jersey everytime and leave the other two on the rack.

Sorry I got off the subject........Congrats on a fine example of a game worn/used jersey, from one heck of a player that I will miss seeing on baseball diamond.

Bobby

[island_style]

Re: Craig Biggio Photomatched Jersey? Opinions Please!

Andy,

Congrats on a great addition! Nice photo-matched jersey of a certain Hall of Famer!

Instead of my usual "Kind Regards" closing, I'll sign off with...

Very jealous,

Ron.

Rsamiano@aol.com

[AstrosCollector]

Re: Craig Biggio Photomatched Jersey? Opinions Please!

Thank you to everyone who has shared their opinion!

I have always wanted a Biggio jersey, but as you know, you don't see that many on the market. When you do, they look as Bobby mentioned, like they just came back pressed from the dry cleaners! I decided that I would hold out until I could find one that I was able to photomatch so I knew it was 100% authentic.

When I received the jersey, I was absolutely amazed at the use. It's hard to try to capture it in the pictures, with the flash and everything, but it is hammered. I can try to capture more use, if anyone is interested. Biggio was a tough player and the jersey shows it! I wish I was able to find more photos from the 2002 season of Biggio, so I could try to see just how long he wore the jersey for. By the use alone, I am sure he wore it for a good amount of the season.

It will be very sad and weird on Opening Day when neither Bagwell or Biggio are on the field for the Astros. Both were true gamers and future Hall of Famers.

Thanks again Ron and Bobby!

Andy

[skinner16]

Re: Craig Biggio Photomatched Jersey? Opinions Please!

Andy, I know Craig and he says he has his jersey from that year. Don't want to rain on your parade but don't want you to get ripped off.

[hblakewolf]

Re: Craig Biggio Photomatched Jersey? Opinions Please!

[quote=skinner16;55397]Andy, I know Craig and he says he has his jersey from that year. Don't want to rain on your parade but don't want you to get ripped off.[/quote]

Skinner-
Quite possibly Biggio indeed does have one of his home jersey he wore from the 2002 season, however, he did wear more than one home jersey, correct? I doubt he has everyhome set worn during 2002. Furthermore, I highly doubt that two jerseys were made that match the photo EXACTLY. Possibly you can ask Biggio to email you a photo of his jersey, allowing us to compare it to the jersey in question and also try to photo match it.

Andy, based on the exact photo match, it appears you have one of the best Biggio's in the hobby.

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

[AstrosCollector]

Re: Craig Biggio Photomatched Jersey? Opinions Please!

Andy, based on the exact photo match, it appears you have one of the best Biggio's in the hobby.

Howard - Thank you very much for your opinion and the compliments on the jersey!

Andy, I know Craig and he says he has his jersey from that year. Don't want to rain on your parade but don't want you to get ripped off.

Skinner - Wow, very interesting information. Thank you for sharing. If you don't mind me asking, did you happen to talk to Craig after you saw this post or did you just remember this information from a previous conversation you had with him? Based on the photos, it seems to be the exact jersey and based on the wear, he seems to have worn it for a good amount of time.

I look forward to your response.
Thanks,
Andy

[eGameUsed]

Re: Craig Biggio Photomatched Jersey? Opinions Please!

Andy,

I agree with Howard. Even a player like Biggio that does utilize his equipment to their fullest (ie. helmet, repaired pants, etc.), will wear more than one per year. Again, nice find on the jersey and I am thrilled you found a match. I am searching and searching for matches to my 2001 and 2003 Home Pinstripes.

Thanks,

[skinner16]

Re: Craig Biggio Photomatched Jersey? Opinions Please!

I asked him after seeing this forum. He has also told me in the past that he does indeed wear 1 jersey the whole season.
I'm not going to ask him to take a pic of the jersey. I don't think he wants to get involved in this. My reason for commenting was to help someone not get ripped off.

[hblakewolf]

Re: Craig Biggio Photomatched Jersey? Opinions Please!

Skinner-
The proof, in this case, is in the photo match. Regardless of what Biggio may have told you, how can you explain the dead-on photo match?

Likewise, I've never heard of a player wearing one home or road shirt for the entire season. What did Biggio do doing travel days when the team had their dirty laundry in their wet-bags? Did he wear an unwashed shirt?

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

[eGameUsed]

Re: Craig Biggio Photomatched Jersey? Opinions Please!

Skinner16,

I too find that wearing only one jersey per season of any style is hard to believe. I have recent jerseys from 2001, 2003, and 2006 that show obvious signs of Biggio style wear that I have not been able to photo match. The 2006 is a road red style Cool Base that has pine tar on the sleeve. Can you ask Biggio if he still has his 2006 red alternate jersey? I purchased it direct from the Astros. The 2001 and 2003 also came from great sources.

I think one thing to note is that Craig has shows many signs of disdain for collectors of game used equipment. Everytime I show up to a signing with a game bat, he frowns as if you stole it. I would not be surprised if Craig tells you any item was not sued by him to avoid the obvious.

As Howard has mentioned, there is no denying a photo match.

Andy,

You have a jersey that is a PERFECT match. You already know I wish I had it and hope to entice you to sell it one day!

Skinner16,

What is your name? I am always looking for people to help with info on Craig since he is not as kind to collector's as other players.

Thanks,

[hblakewolf]

Re: Craig Biggio Photomatched Jersey? Opinions Please!

Skinner/Chris-
An easy method to either prove or disprove Biggio's story is as follows:

Can Rudy or someone familiar with searching photo sites post photos Biggio wearing his home jersey(s) in 2002? We already have a perfect photo match to the shirt in question, however, based on the possible photos that are located, it will allow us to determine the validity of this issue.

Again, I will be willing to bet that several different pinstripe patters can be produced, showing that indeed, Biggio wore several different home jerseys in 2002.

Any takers?

As a side note, if Biggio wore one home shirt for an entire season, it would look like rag-80+ washings for one shirt?

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net