The Avs Hockey Podcast

Two Fan's Perspectives on Colorado Avalanche Hockey...and jerseys too.

The Method Behind the Jersey Madness

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The little details.  That’s what jerseys are all about.  Having an eye for and caring about the little details separates the strong from the weak in the jersey collecting game.  This applies in life as well, but that’s for another post on another blog for a different time.  I appreciate small jersey details and those of you that know me know that I love my jerseys.  My collection somewhat speaks for itself, but I also thought I would share a little bit about the process that I go through to get my jerseys looking the way they do.  Sure, someone can always go to my friends at Meigray and buy game worn jersey after game worn jersey, but buying Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and Patrick Roy game worn jerseys can cost something well beyond a pretty penny.  Why not find blank jerseys and get them lettered?  They cost a fraction of the price and you can still, at least most of the time, get the quality of jersey the players wear/wore on the ice.  Do I have your attention?  Want to know more?  We’re going to get along just fine.  Thanks for being here.

Step one, find legitimate jerseys from legitimate sellers.  I hate to say what not to do so early in this post, but do NOT buy fake jerseys.  No one likes fake jerseys except your bank account.  In general, you will get what you pay for.  If a deal seems too good to be true, it is.  Do your homework and deal with sellers that have a good reputation.  eBay is my main source.  This is the toughest part of the process, especially with older styles or the style that’s worn on the ice right now.  They are pretty rare.  You will have to wade through a lot of fake jerseys.  Patience is definitely a key.  Good jerseys will show up eventually though.

Step two, do some serious research about your blank jersey.  Know of some reputable places where you can go to find pictures of players in the jersey you have.  Even better, find images of a game worn jersey that has been up for auction at one point in time.  Getty Images (searching by a particular year and/or particular player helps narrow the field quickly), gamewornauctions.net, and Classic Auctions are the big three that I use, but there are many smaller other options out there.  Google images helps as well.  Make something like this to send along with your jersey to the place that customizes your jerseys.

Again, the details.  Nameplate or not?  What material is the nameplate?  Does your customizer carry the material needed for the nameplate?  Buy a blank replica or a hopeless old authentic made with the same material if needed.  Sometimes something like this has to happen to make a new jersey look the way it should and that’s okay.  How are the numbers cut?  Did the player wear an alternate captain’s “A” or a captain’s “C” in this style jersey?  Adding a patch or two?  Do the research and find legitimate patches from legitimate sellers as well.  This is the same challenge as the jersey situation above.

The images in the example above are pictures of game worn Rob Blake jerseys that were auctioned off at one time or another.  Sometimes I simply include images of jerseys already in my collection like here:

With a sickness passion like mine having different versions of the same jersey in the collection with only the patch being different on each jersey is a fairly common thing.  The 2000-2001 Colorado Avalanche season was fun in the fact there were two versions of every jersey worn.  That’s jersey heaven right there.

And for one more example, the best that can be done at times is finding images of the style jersey in game action.

And:

Basically, anything that you can do detail-wise to help the customizer isn’t going to hurt and a little more detail rather than less is always the side to miss on.

Next, find some patches (if needed.)  And no, it’s not okay to put patches on jerseys that don’t need to be there.  Be historically accurate and do things right.

Then, prepare the patches.  Patches produced by National Emblem have a hard plastic backing on them to keep them from being placed on jerseys.  National Emblem also makes the best patches around.  So take the plastic backing off of the patches and get them ready to be placed where they were meant to be, on jerseys.

These are ready to go:

The next step in my process includes laying the jerseys and patches in the order out to double-check that all is accurate and I have absolutely everything I need.

Once everything looks good the patches are placed in baggies so they’re less likely to get lost, the jerseys are folded up carefully (make sure to not put a hard crease through the crest as they can be almost impossible to get out), and then each jersey (and baggie if needed) is put into its own larger bag.

The jersey bags are stacked in a tote so I can carry them all easily.

The lid is perfect to keep the elements out and the jerseys clean and dry.

Then we’re ready to make the trip to one of my favorite places on earth, Denver Athletic.  You probably don’t have the luxury of being able to drive to the place that letters your favorite NHL team’s jerseys, that’s just a special perk of living in Denver and loving Avalanche jerseys the way that I do.  I definitely don’t ever take this opportunity for granted.

Besides finding the jerseys the waiting is now the hardest part.  My friends at DA do phenomenal work, so the waiting is always well worth it.

Stay tuned for an update post coming at you in a few short weeks…hopefully.

 

Have questions?  Need more details?  Let me know.  Comment here,  “like” The AHP Facebook Page (if you haven’t already) and send me a message there or email me at avalanchepodcast at Comcast dot net.  I’m always happy to help you in any way that I can because getting jerseys done right is obviously a huge passion of mine.  Be in touch.  I would love to hear from you.

Peter Forsberg 2004 Game Worn Jersey: Another One Game Wonder

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There are jerseys that I have acquired that excite me.  Then there was this jersey.  This was about two miles beyond excitement.  Here’s the story, from the very beginning.

I have a friend in the jersey business who emails me once in a while to make sure I’ve seen a jersey that he thinks I might be interested in.  For the most part, I have already seen what he sends me, but it’s always good to hear from him anyway.  People looking out for my collection is always appreciated.  This jersey slipped through the cracks though.  I had not seen it and I don’t think I would have without his email.  I owe this one to him.  The subject of the email was, “You keeping an eye on this one?”  I obviously wasn’t.  The jersey was being offered by Heritage Auctions.

This jersey was what is known as a “one game wonder” as well.  That usually that has to do with a patch that’s worn during a single game.  This jersey was actually part of a patchless promotional set of jerseys the Avs had made during the 2003-2004 season.  Forsberg wore it on March 23, 2004 in a game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Pepsi Center.  Most of the teams in the NHL had a promotional set of jerseys made and worn during that season as well.  I wasn’t sure whether it being worn in only one game would have an impact on the final price, but I would soon find out.

This auction was an interesting one.  There were two parts to it: an online component and a live component.  Bidding started low during the online listing, so I jumped in.  The Internet bidding ended with me as the high bidder.  Step one complete.  Then things got interesting.  The live auction option was available for only the people that had already placed a bid on the jersey during the Internet portion of the auction meaning it was now between myself and five other bidders.

Fast forward to mid-morning of the next day and the online live auction had now begun.  There were almost 900 lots total in the entire auction and the Forsberg jersey was about 20 from the end of that seemingly endless list.  It was obviously going to be a while.  That “while” actually being close to nine hours until it was finally my turn.  During the live auctions that I watched online I had seen very few items sell for the same price as the end of the Internet bidding.  People were watching and bidding.  Needless to say, I was worried.  I actually thought I’d get buried, especially since I wasn’t willing to go any higher than I had during the live auction.

The Forsberg jersey finally came up for auction, again.  The auctioneer announced it, and within 10 seconds, (after all that waiting and without any additional bids from my competition) this jersey became the newest addition to my collection.

Now it was time to try and photomatch this jersey.  Being as it was only worn in one single game I thought the chances of this were pretty much slim to none.  As I examined the images the auction provided I noticed one distinct mark on the Avalanche crest that would be a possibility for a match assuming that Getty had any images from this game.  This was my only hope.  (By the way, for the items that were available for the online live auction Heritage Auctions provided outstanding images.  This one is just a small part of the “scrollable” image they had of the front of this jersey.  There were images of the same size and quality for the back, the size 58 hang tag, and the MeiGray Group tag as well.)

Photo Capture Courtesy of Heritage Auctions

Next stop, Getty Images.  I had to get lucky and hope there was a Getty representative there to take pictures during this game.  Their photographers aren’t there every game.  I searched “Peter Forsberg 2004” and crossed my fingers.  I navigated the pages until I got to the games played in March.  Luckily, there were three pictures from the game Forsberg wore this jersey in.  One of them was this.

Screen Capture Courtesy of Getty Images

Here’s another capture from another post I ran across in my research.  It’s a little easier to see the slash mark on the crest in this image.

Right next to the nearly horizontal silver streak in the middle of the crest you can clearly see the photo match.  It’s a beautiful thing.

The other interesting detail about this jersey, as well as this picture, is that I’ve used the image above as a profile picture on Twitter before.  I’ve always liked this picture.  For lack of a better term, it’s bad-ass, just like the Peter Forsberg we all knew and loved.  Never did I think I would own the jersey Forsberg was wearing in the image above, but now I do.

Regarding the final cost to me from the auction, it was a fraction of what I’ve seen other Forsberg game worn Avalanche, Predator, or Flyers jerseys offered and sold for.  I guess the one game wonder aspect worked in my favor in this case.  That made this deal even sweeter.

So to sum it all up: a great price, an undeniable photomatch, a pretty decent performance (as usual) by good ole number 21 while wearing this jersey in action (click here for the game summary), and documentation from my friends at The MeiGray Group that the jersey was worn in one game and one game only.  Any jersey with these credentials is obviously more than welcome to join its friends in my collection.

Ryan O’Byrne Peter Forsberg Retirement Night Game Worn Jersey: Upon Further Review

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Joe Sakic’s retirement night, on October 1, 2009, was definitely memorable.  Avs fans had the opportunity to send him out in style with speeches, a banner in the rafters, the whole thing.  The team also wore a special patch on their jerseys just to commemorate the night.  Those jerseys, worn for only that night, were then auctioned off on NHL.com.

As far as the game goes, here are your highlights.  Do what I like to do whenever I get the chance and look for the patch.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eVDS4_P-LY[/youtube]

I kept my eye on a few of the Sakic night jerseys that I thought would be affordable and that didn’t work out too well.  Even the game issued jerseys ended up being pretty pricey.  Maybe next time.

That next time came as we fast forward a few seasons to October 8, 2011.  It was time for Avs fans to say goodbye to Peter Forsberg.  Same procedure: banner, patches worn for one night, and those jerseys auctioned off on NHL.com.

Here are the highlights.  Again, the patch, look for it.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt0f3szcsRI[/youtube]

Here’s some video from my seats that night too.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_Pghq-FS24[/youtube]

I was NOT going to miss the chance to get one of these jerseys and I ended up living up to my word.

Here’s a close up of the Forsberg night patch.

Normally with a jersey worn for just one night there may be a mark or two, but nothing too distinguishing.  This jersey wasn’t normal.  Check out the damage.  This is a close up of the back of the right shoulder just above the “E” in O’Byrne.

And the big foot patch on the right shoulder has some scuffing/burning along the toes.

The next step for a jersey collector when it comes to damage is to try and photo-match it.  That process usually begins on Getty Images.  I was hoping to get lucky and maybe get a close up shot of the back of the jersey.  That didn’t work out well.  There were only two images on Getty featuring O’Byrne wearing this jersey opening night: here and here.  The Forsberg patch isn’t visible in the second image, but the “21” on the boards is the other clue.

Next, it was time to check the highlight videos for a hit that O’Byrne might have been involved in.  That didn’t work out either.  The NHL, Avalanche, or whoever decides what gets posted in the highlights only saw two hits the entire game that were worth sharing with the fans.  Thanks so much for the help guys.  Try not to wear yourselves out.

I’m not one to give up easily so I went back to the game on my DVR hoping I could see something, anything, that might clue me in as to how the damage on the shoulder of the jersey happened.  Not wanting to watch the whole thing (I don’t really prefer watching the Avs  get shutout over and over) I fast-forwarded between O’Byrne shifts and watched him very closely while he was on the ice.  He scraped the boards along the far side of the ice late in the first period, but these jerseys are made to last so that couldn’t have done it.  Then, as the second period horn sounded, Johan Franzen did what hockey players do and stuck up for his linemate Jiri Hudler, who had been knocked down by Ryan O’Byrne in the near corner.  That’s when the magic happened.  Franzen’s hit caused O’Byrne to slam into the boards in a seam between two panes of glass.  That had to be it.  It all made sense now.

I never thought I would ever thank Johan Franzen for anything.  He’s been a huge Avalanche killer over the years and I obviously don’t care for that.  But, Johan Franzen, thank you very much for coming to the aid of Jiri Hudler after big mean old Ryan O’Byrne knocked him down.  You did the right thing in regards to the jersey I now own.

As far as an official photo match through Getty and MeiGray, that will be easy.  The jersey and patch were only worn for a single game.  Blow up one of the images above and call it good.  But with a little persistence, and some investigative skills, I was able to video match this jersey as well.  It’s stuff like this that gets jersey collectors called the sickos they actually are really excited.

It took me two tries to get a retirement night jersey, and I’m still beyond satisfied that I was able to set a goal and achieve it.  Because of that fact, this Avalanche jersey is undoubtedly one of the big highlights of my collection.  Seeing it live in action made adding it to my jersey closet that much sweeter.

MeiGray creates a letter of authenticity that accompanies every game worn jersey they sell.  This letter was a little different than the others that I have.  Here are the sentences that made the letter extra special, “On October 8, 2011, the Colorado Avalanche wore a commemorative set of jerseys in honor of Peter Forsberg’s retirement.  The actual jersey worn on “Peter Forsberg Night” by #3 Ryan O’Byrne is now yours.”  I love the sound of that and I think I’ll hang onto this jersey for a while.  And by a while I actually mean forever.

Rob Blake 2003 All-Star Skills Competition Worn Jersey: So Wrong and So Right

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Too often, and usually on eBay, I run into jerseys that are just plain terrible.  There are no other words to describe them.  At times the jersey itself is fine, but the lettering/stitching/nameplate/etc. just aren’t right.  I don’t give those types of jerseys a second look for the most part.  They may eventually be posted on The AHP Facebook wall so the people that follow me there can absolutely hammer enjoy them, but that’s usually about it.  It’s not often that I am intrigued by an Avalanche jersey that’s customized incorrectly, but that’s exactly what happened when I saw an eBay auction offering this.

The front looked pretty good.  No huge problems there.  The back of the jersey is a completely different story.

There is absolutely no doubt as to the authenticity of this jersey.  This is THE jersey that Rob Blake wore during the NHL All-Star Super Skills Competition the night of Saturday, February 1, 2003 at the Office Depot Center, in Sunrise, Florida.  There is tagging and paperwork to prove that this is true, but that paperwork and tagging are pretty much the only things that would lead me to believe that this was worn on the ice by Rob Blake.

One would assume that this jersey, since it was worn by an Avalanche player on the ice, would be accurately customized like an Avalanche jersey from that era.  That assumption would actually be very wrong.

Let’s begin with the number font.  It’s wrong.  Here are a few Blake jerseys that we can compare the jersey above to.

The first is a game worn Rob Blake burgundy jersey from the 2005-2006 season.  Different branding, but it’s the same jersey.  Stay focused on the number.  (This photo compliments of a past auction on gamewornauctions.net.)

Here’s a couple of fours from a Bates Battaglia game issued jersey, from my personal collection, from the 2002-2003 season.

Now compare the fours in the previous two pictures to the four on the competition worn jersey.  Without splitting hairs and breaking out a measuring tape, it’s easy to eyeball things and see that the font is definitely different.

The manner in which the numbers are cut are different as well.  The Avalanche, prior to the 2005-2006 season, wore numbers that were “stacked.”  The numbers, from the top and going down towards the jersey, were a white layer of glacier twill (with the criss-cross design on it), on a blue layer of twill, on a layer on silver material that sparkled.  My Blake jersey’s numbers are cut in what is known as “kiss-cut.”  It’s a thin, maybe quarter inch of blue, on white glacier twill, on silver.  This is a trick used by customizing companies to save fabric while taking a little weight off the jersey at the same time.

The alternate captain’s “A” on the Blake is also off.  The font is close, but not perfect.  The cut, like the numbers, is wrong for that era of Avalanche jersey.  It’s kiss cut when it should be stacked.  The “A” on the competition worn Blake is a little too large as well.  I’d say it’s a quarter to a half inch too big.  Here’s the “A” from the Blake.

And here’s an “A” from a game issued Steve Konowalchuk, from my personal collection, from the 2006-2007 season.

Many curves on the Konowalchuk “A” while there are way more straight lines on the Blake’s “A”.

Last, but definitely not least, is the nameplate on the back of the jersey.  I’ve never seen close to anything like it on an Avalanche sweater.  From the picture in the auction I could have sworn that it was twill (the same material that the blue layer on the burgundy jersey numbers is made of), but upon receiving the jersey I was totally surprised to see that the nameplate was actually made of Starter mesh material.  It should be the material that the rest of the jersey is made of, a material called Air Knit.  In other words, it should match.

Here’s an example of a Starter mesh nameplate on a Starter mesh jersey from my collection.

Looks good.  Looks like they belong together and, ya know, matches n’ stuff.  Now check out the Blake, burgundy Starter mesh on Air Knit.

Not only is the font on the letters (compare to the pics above) off by a long shot, the material doesn’t match.  Here’s a closer look.

Yikes.

Like I mentioned early in this post, I’ve seen twill nameplates on jerseys when they shouldn’t be there, but I’ve never seen mesh on Air Knit.  The Starter mesh has actually gotten so rare that collectors, including myself, have had Denver Athletic, or their favorite customizer, take the crest off an older Starter jersey and then cut up the rest for nameplates for other mesh jerseys.  The end result looks a little something like this.

It’s a practice affectionately known as “cannibalizing.”  Not to worry though, most everyone takes a jersey, like the one above, that was in bad enough shape that it wasn’t worth getting customized anyways and re-purposes/sacrifices it for a greater cause.  It’s new lease on life!  How do you think that Forsberg Pro Player jersey (pictured above) got such a fantastic nameplate?

Bottom line, it would take someone who knows absolutely anything about Avalanche jerseys and/or has an eye for small details approximately a fraction of a second to figure out the this Blake jersey failed to come within 500 miles of Denver Athletic’s warehouse here in The Mile High City.  In this case though, it’s the details that make the Blake wrong that actually makes it very right.  This jersey really doesn’t fit in with all of the other Avalanche jerseys in my collection, either game worn, issued, or customized authentic jerseys that have visited Denver Athletic at one time or another, and that’s definitely okay by me.  That fact just adds to the story behind the jersey that I love to share with the people that read my posts.