1984 Mookie Wilson game worn uniform at Grey Flannel

[TNTtoys]

All,

A very obvious one to Mets collectors is a 1984 Mookie Wilson game worn home uniform for sale at Grey Flannel, lot #82. The uniform is much like one would expect from a 1984 Mets jersey and pants. Manufactured by Rawlings, it has all the correct tagging, the right team logo, racing stripes, numbering, nameplate, lettering... but it is devoid of pinstripes!!! Not sure what this jersey could be...possibly a prototype uniform? Nevertheless, it is not game worn, as this style was never worn on field by the New York Mets. All Mets home white jerseys from 1962 to 1996 had pinstripes. Only in 1997 did the Mets begin experimenting with solid white; black debuted a year later in 1998.

I have put in a call to Grey Flannel to explain why it is wrong, and to ask that at very minimum the description to be altered. I have not heard back from them thus far.

Nick

PS- While I'm on the topic, Grey Flannel has some REAL NICE game used stuff in their latest auction! I wish I wasn't so broke!!!!!

[TNTtoys]

A follow-up... not even 10 minutes later... I just checked my "items watched" list and the jersey is gone. I searched through the auction and it clearly has been removed.

This is probably the quickest turnaround I have ever seen by an auction house to remove a bad item from an auction. Kudos to GFC for their commitment to the community.

[skipcareyisfat]

I agree. Lots of beauties in this one. And funny you should mention the quick response with regard to that Mets jersey. I spoke with someone at GF during lunch yesterday about another item and it was gone by the time I got back to my desk. They're looking into another lot as well but I'm pretty sure it won't be up much longer. Ditto the kudos to the GF folks.

-Jason

[kingjammy24]

there are lots of nice jerseys. i wish the owners had gone to ebay instead.

anyway, i know it's cool and all to clean up auctions and save people from making mistakes and buying garbage but a part of me wishes i had someone at my job, doing my work for me and cleaning up my mistakes for free. people here do the research and the auction houses benefit. what a sweet deal for them. given all the expertise and free work on here, i'm actually surprised some of them haven't simply run entire auctions through here and saved themselves the authentication fees.

a professional authenticator mis-authenticates a jersey. a GUU member corrects it. the authenticator still gets paid, the auction house collects the fees, and the GUU member who did the actual work gets bupkis. personally, i think nick/tnttoys should get a cut seeing as he's the one who got it right.

rudy.

[TNTtoys]

If a guy like me was to get a cut for each item I found to be wrong out there, I can only imagine what Rudy would be raking in, as you expose far more than the rest of us... but seriously, a few random thoughts come to mind here...

We do this because it's our hobby. It somehow brings us some sort of enjoyment to research the history of the uniforms of the game, and also to help others that are newer to the hobby. To others (like the authenticator), it's a means for income, a livelihood, etc. I'm trying to picture a week that has gone by without having made a mistake at my own work... Thankfully there is not "Computer System Managers Universe" watching over me like Big Brother and posting publically all of the silly mistakes I made on the job.

It's kind of a funny way to look at things, but with that said, you would think an authenticator would know that a team like the NY Mets wore pinstripes on every home jersey for 36 years. Occasional mistakes are one thing, but some of the "authentication blunders" that have been made seriously have me scratching my head -- it is almost as though NO effort was made to get it right whatsoever.

There have been quite a few discussions on here about our ability as a community to provide a better service for free than a professional does at a price. Occasionally I receive an email asking me what I think about a Mets jersey or a Mets autograph. Part of me feels good that the other person trusts my opinion enough to base their purchase off of it... I never decline to offer my help when I am able to provide an educated response. I do however politely decline when I don't know enough to make a good assessment. I don't feel that others are doing the same (especially those who are being paid for their opinion).