Another Fake Favre And Much, Much More

A few days ago, news stories began appearing about a prominent sports marketing agent awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to federal charges in a case involving Super Bowl tickets and fake game-worn NFL jerseys. It is well worth reading the Sports Collectors Daily version of it here.

Court papers obtained by Sports Collectors Daily include an admission by this agent stating that from 2000 to 2003, he was able to purchase dozens of authentically-made NFL player jerseys from a Berlin, Wisconsin manufacturer (i.e. Ripon Athletic) and falsely represent them to collectors as game worn.

The article states that an unnamed trading card company wound up with some of the jerseys between 2000 and 2002 and cut them up for use on cards. Also interesting is this paragraph from the story:

"Between December of 2002 and February of 2003, Ornstein also sold or consigned 45 jerseys represented as having been worn in the 2002 season to an unnamed sports memorabilia auction company. Again, Ornstein and his associates provided false COAs. The government’s case indicates 20 of the jerseys sold for a price of over $30,000. The fate of those jerseys isn’t revealed in the court documents."

Well, I can reveal more information about this here.

In March of 2003 American Memorabilia held an auction which included a group of supposedly game-worn "NFL Properties" jerseys. All were from the 2002 season, and came with COA's from Lou Lampson and NFL Properties. And yes, a Brett Favre jersey was among them. At the start of the auction, 21 jerseys were listed, but an Emmitt Smith jersey was pulled before the auction close, making a total of 20 jerseys sold. I added up the prices realized for all 20, and the total came to $30, 942.23. The bogus Favre jersey ended at $3, 699.93. The catalog images of the jerseys can be seen above and below:

So who ended up with these fraudulent jerseys? Were these some of the ones an unnamed card company acquired? Are some of these still in the hands of unknowing private collectors? When and how were the other jerseys sold? Who else was involved?

This is an important story, and one in which more details will eventually surface.

Seeing Red On Family Night

Yesterday the Packers wrapped up another annual "Family Night" intra-squad scrimmage with the popular "Shirt Off Their Backs" giveaway. For several years the team has picked seats at random to win practice jerseys of some of the more marquee players at conclusion of the evening. As usual, arguably the most desirable jersey to win was the red quarterback jersey, worn for the past three years by Aaron Rodgers.

For the first time one jersey was held back (Donald Driver's) to be given away online though a Packers/Fox/Chili's Restaurant promotion (see Packers.com for details concerning that one). (Also of note were the new Bellin Health advertising patches and obscured Reebok NFL "equipment" shield patches at the base of the collars.)

Although not offered in the giveaway every year, before his "retirement" Brett Favre's red practice jersey was clearly the one to hope for when it came time to call out the winning seat numbers. Favre practice jerseys are very scarce and are rarely, if ever, offered publicly.

Back in 2001, one lucky fan won the jersey Favre wore for the Family Night scrimmage. Here's a shot of Favre entering the field that night:

And here's the jersey ready to be given away (Fox News 11's Tom Milbourn has been doing this for a long time. I guess if you need an opinion on a Packers practice jersey, just drop Tom a line.):

Here's the very jersey. It shows more wear than most Favre gamers I've seen, partially due to the fact that it was worn in practices leading up to that intra-squad scrimmage.



Not worth as much as a true gamer, of course, but very cool nonetheless. Special note to the winner of the Rodgers jersey last night: How 'bout putting it up on eBay? I guarantee it would fetch a nice price.

Utilizing Highlights To Uncover A Lowlight

Auctions from sportscard dealers don't typically feature game used NFL jerseys. But the current auction from Mile High Card Company offers a handful of these, and among them is a shirt represented as a 1968 Bart Starr game used cold weather jersey. Here is the relevant part of the lot description:

Presented is a game-used 1968 Green Bay Packers jersey, worn by legendary Hall of Famer Bart Starr. Specifically designed for cold weather climates, this beautiful forest green heavyweight jersey features era appropriate Sand-knit outer tail labeling, mistakenly labeled size 42 although the jersey actually measures to size 52. Normally Starr wore a size 46-48, but preferred his cold weather jerseys to be several sizes larger. This gamer features 3/4 length sleeves with embedded striping and elbow pads as well as correct horizontally dominant “5” and flat-topped “1” sleeve numerals. Light but acceptable game wear is evident, normal for cold weather QB jerseys. LOA from Lou Lampson, Mile High Card Co.

First of all, I'd like to state upfront that whenever you see the phrase "cold weather jersey", 99% of the time this is actually code for "This jersey is freakishly large for the player in question". The description states that Starr wore larger jerseys in cold weather. Can someone demonstrate proof of this? We've all seen images and video of the Ice Bowl, for example, and Starr isn't wearing an oversized jersey in that game.

Here is the LOA for reference:

This LOA states that "The front and back diamond point 5's have more exaggerated width than the norm but is acceptable." More exaggerated width? That part is correct. "Acceptable"? That part is not. Why is the wrong font size acceptable? I guess I'd like to see an example of this on an actual Packers Sand-Knit jersey from the '60s.

To illustrate what the 5's should look like, and what we're all familiar with, take a look at this screen capture from the 1968 Packers official highlight film. You can see Jim Flanigan wearing #55 in the expected Sand Knit font:

With this in mind, let's examine the claim that Starr would've worn this in a cold weather game in 1968. '68 was a year where Starr was riddled with injuries, playing in parts of just 10 games. The games in which Starr suited up when the team wore green jerseys, and their respective game-time temperatures, were as follows:

9/15 vs. Philadelphia; 80 degrees

9/22 vs. Minnesota; 75 degrees

9/29 vs. Detroit; 65 degrees

10/28 @ Dallas; 60 degrees

11/3 vs. Chicago; 50 degrees

11/17 vs. New Orleans; 41 degrees

Out of these possible games, only the Chicago and New Orleans games could slightly be considered "cold weather" games (And let's face it: For Green Bay in November, those temps are balmy.).

Again, from the 1968 highlight film, here's Starr in action against the Bears,

and the Saints:
In the '68 highlight film there are good glimpses of Starr throughout each game he participated in. In absolutely no instance will you find him wearing a jersey with a wider-than-normal 5's. Or anyone else for that matter.

Now let's look at the tagging on the offered jersey. Although the jersey measures out to a size 52, a size 42 tag is applied. The auction description states the tagging is "era appropriate". Or is it?

Packers Sand Knit jerseys of this era should have a laundry instuction tag with three underlined lines of text, such as is on this Packers jersey from 1970:

Beginning in 1973, the Sand Knit laundry tagging on Packers jerseys will have four lines of text, not underlined, as is shown on this '73 game used jersey:

Something else to note is the stitching on the tag of the Mile High auction jersey; on a green home jersey the thread should be green, not white. This is completely inconsistent with what you would expect on a legitimate Packers jersey of this era.

Frankly, this is frustrating. It is tiresome to encounter so many fraudulent jerseys that have been "authenticated" by "experts" who apparently spend very little time analyzing a jersey, and clearly don't know how to properly research such things. I did relay my concerns about this jersey to Mile High, but they said they were sticking to their authenticator's opinion, and provided no rebuttal or explanation for that decision.

Legitimate game used Bart Starr jerseys are rare, and seldom come up for auction. If an auction house presents a shirt as a "game used Bart Starr jersey", do your own research and apply common sense to analyzing some of the most basic aspects, just as you would with any other jersey: size, font style, and tagging, among other things. And spend some time viewing relevant highlight films. If you don't, who will? The authenticator?

Frankenstein!

Center Ken Bowman was a steady fixture on the Packers' offensive line from 1964 to 1973, playing in 123 games. Although he never played in a Pro Bowl, or was voted to any All-Pro teams, Bowman was respected as a smart and tough competitor, and was inducted to the Packers Hall Of Fame in 1981. Bowman routinely played through severe pain, having separated both shoulders early in his career.

The jersey pictured here is Bowman's home mesh from 1972 (he is wearing this jersey in the photo leading off this post). The nameplate I've placed on the back is from 1971, so I'm still looking for the original plate, but this will do for now. The washing instructions tag is missing, but fortunately the Sand-Knit "exclusive" tag remains.

Frankensteinian repairs grace this well-worn jersey; essentially what you would expect from an offensive lineman's shirt (particularly one that was recycled for practice use later):

Bowman was nicknamed "Frankenstein" by his teammates. According to Mike McCoy in Vernon Biever's book The Glory Of Titletown, "They called Ken Bowman Frankenstein. Big solid forehead, long hair, and this brace with chains from his arm to his shoulder. His shoulder was really bad, so he had a chain attached to a piece of material wrapped around his bicep, and it was hooked onto his shoulder pad so his arm wouldn't go above ninety degrees, limiting the range of motion."

Pictured above is the custom hole fashioned in the jersey to allow for the chain. The wire photo below offers a good shot of this very jersey and the chain contraption, from the August 19th, 1972 preseason game versus the Houston Oilers:

It's something of a cliche that every game used jersey tells a story. Although it may not have the epic scope of a Mary Shelley novel, a game used jersey with an interesting customization often tells a pretty good one.

Are They Worthy?

By now most Packers aficionados have seen and heard about the team's new alternate/throwback jersey to be worn in a few games during the 2010 season. Critiques regarding the aesthetics and historical accuracy of the uniform have been duly posited. However, the real question for collectors is: Will any of the game worn jerseys escape the Supermax-like confines of the Packers equipment room?

As has been mentioned before, Packers game worn throwback jerseys are difficult to find. Take for example, the blue and gold Lambeau-era throwbacks worn for three games during the 1994 season (as pictured above). A few years ago, I wrote an article for Gridiron Greats magazine (later reprinted by MEARS) on collecting the game worn 1994 75TH NFL Anniversary throwback jerseys. As part of the research for the article, I asked a few long-time game worn jersey dealers which team's throwbacks were the most difficult to find. The Packers were indeed on the list of each dealer I queried.

Despite their apparent scarcity, some of these throwbacks were made available to the public via a charity auction.

In the summer of 1995 an auction in Green Bay to benefit cystic fibrosis patients and research featured some game worn 1994 blue/gold throwback jerseys. A brief news item in the August 27, 1995 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel listed a few of the auctioned jerseys and their respective bids: No. 92 Reggie White ($2,151), No.4 Brett Favre ($1,810), No.84 Sterling Sharpe ($1, 034), No.64 John Jurkovic ($1,111) and No.34 Edgar Bennett ($1,034).

It's clear that from their absence from the secondary market these jerseys are highly valued, and have been locked up in particular collections.

With that in mind, here's a modern rarity of sorts--Steve McMichael's game worn blue/gold throwback from that season:

I imagine he never thought he'd ever inscribe one of his gamers with the phrase "Go Packers":

Here is the LOA that accompanied this piece (ostensibly the other auctioned gamers had similar certificates issued):

The Packers could easily do a charity auction like this again, this time with the 2010 throwbacks--a win-win for collectors and a worthy cause.

Here We Go Again

The fraudulent A.J. Hawk jersey that was the subject of my last post is back on eBay again. The listing mysteriously disappeared shortly after my previous blog, but after laying low, the seller is hoping for another to chance to dump this on an unsuspecting bidder.

In my previous post, I hopefully demonstrated how this jersey could not have been worn in the game indicated by the seller (8/28/06 at Cincinnati). Absence of a sleeve repair where a noticable hole had been torn is crucial here. Also note the grass staining on the eBay jersey. The Bengals play on FieldTurf, not natural grass. Furthermore, look closely at how the nameplate is sewn on the eBay jersey. Compare this to the screenshot below, from the Bengals game:

The nameplate here is much closer to the transverse horizontal seam, with more of a gap of space showing around the bottom of the letter K and a bit further towards the end.

Despite not having been worn for the Bengals game, could this jersey have been worn in another?

After viewing relevant photos and video, there were only three games where Hawk wore a white jersey in 2006 where the NFL "Equipment" shield was located on the V-collar (and not replaced below): The Bengals game, the 8/12 preseason game vs. the Chargers, and the 9/24 regular season game at the Lions.

Below is a screenshot of Hawk from the Chargers game. The alignment of the nameplate is similar to that of the jersey from the Bengals game:

Below is a shot of Hawk from the last game where he wore a road jersey that didn't have the NFL shield (at the Lions). If you look closely you can see the repair from the sleeve tear from the Bengals game (located at about 5 o'clock from the Reebok logo), as well as new velcro inserts sewn onto the inside of the jersey, indicated by the horizontal seam that runs across the 5 and 0). My conclusion is that the same jersey was worn for all three games, with the velcro added for that first regular season road game at Detroit. For the next road game at Philadelphia, likely the same jersey was modified, with further customization moving the NFL Equipment shield below the collar (where it has been worn on Hawk's jerseys ever since).

In slightly better news, the eBay listing for the 2001 Herbert Goodman throwback jersey that I mentioned in the previous post has been modified to reflect the fact that it was never game worn. Now if we can just prevent this Hawk jersey from becoming the latest "game used" Whack-A-Mole...

Watch Them Like A Hawk

Auction Alert: Currently on eBay someone is offering a supposed game used A.J. Hawk jersey from his rookie season. Here is the auction description:

This Green Bay Packers jersey was worn by Linebacker AJ Hawk during the beginning of his Rookie season. His first road jersey worn as a Packer. The time period of this jersey is vey specific as he switched to a custom cut neckline on September 24th indicating that this was his first road jersey ever worn as a Green Bay Packer. Size 50, custom hemmed waistline, custom cut & elasticized linebacker sleeves. Shows great use with three team repairs and numerous helmet hit marks. Some dirt staining on the shoulders and rear nameplate. Some black hit marks on shoulders (undoubtedly from bengal's black facemasks during the Aug. 28th game). Pilling on the spandex under the arms."Made in Berlin, WI" tagging on interior seam. Very Rare jersey from this star Packers LB. Obtained from a former Green Bay Packer. Winning bidder will be provided with all history information of the jersey.

Here are some of the pictures of the jersey:

I can tell you with a comfortable degree of certainty that this jersey is fraudulent, and exhibits contrived wear and repairs. Indeed, the seller foils his own case by including a couple pictures of Hawk from the game in question that show a large, unrepaired rip on the right sleeve striping that is absent from the offered jersey. No repair, no hole. Here is a photo that better illustrates this:
I have the broadcast of the game that this jersey was allegedly worn in, and for my next post I will provide screenshots of Hawk to compare the real wear with the contrived wear applied to this jersey. I will have more to say about this jersey next time, but I wanted to dash off a brief post to warn any potential bidders. In addition, the relevant authorities have been contacted concerning this auction.

Also currently on eBay is this 2001 Thanksgiving Day throwback supposedly worn by Herbert Goodman. This is being offered as "game used". One problem: Goodman was inactive for that game, and never suited up. The Packers 2002 media guide confirms this.
This is one of many "game issued" '01 throwbacks sold by the team at one of the annual tent sales. Many of these come with an LOA that serve to authenticate the autograph, but do not mention use of the jersey in game action. As I've alluded to before, '01 Packers game used throwbacks are scarce; "game issued" ones are not. Caveat emptor.