Hines Ward game jersey on Ebay

[costas]

comes with lou lampson letter but wanted your thoughts before bidding. thanks

http://cgi.ebay.com/Game-Worn-Hines-Ward-Pittsburgh-Steelers-Jersey-2002_W0QQitemZ120315188915QQihZ002QQcategoryZ86829 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[otismalibu]

You'd need to find out if Hines ever wore his jersey full length during that season. Now, he has them hemmed so that he doesn't even have to tuck them in.

You can kind of see what I'm talking about in the photo below.

http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/image/2004/11/07/017015418.jpg

[treasurechest collectibles]

Looks like the seller just bought it a week ago. Check his feedback. Strange.....

[helmets]

Looks like the seller just bought it a week ago. Check his feedback. Strange.....
Either he thinks he can make some money on it, or perhaps it has a problem and he did not like it. He bought it with the buy it now, so there doesn't seem to be any shill bidding involved...

[costas]

thanks all for the feedback, does anyone own a Ward gamer so we could compare the specifics?

[Ed3SJ]

Its my jersey... no problems with it... I had an issue with my truck and need the money. The thing broke while the jersey was being shipped, and i spent all my money on the jersey. Ya, i did buy it thinking i could make some money on it in the long run, just didnt think id have to let go of it this soon. I got that one along with a jason peace 2000 nike steelers jersey. Also a over sized game issued willie parker I like to wear while watchin the games. But this ward jersey is sweet.. def my favorite right now

[Nathan]

Here are my thoughts, as a friend is a huge Steelers and Hines Ward fan.

In both auctions, the numbers look a little bit creased. There looks to be a wash tag clean enough to shave with. The previous auction also looks to show a bit of lost elasticity in the neck, which is certainly a positive. It doesn't quite mesh with the wash tag, but it's still something to note.

On the other hand, I looked through Getty's 2002 archives of Ward. In each game that the Steelers wore black in that there's a picture of Ward*, there is a distinct horizontal rippling pattern to both front numbers. Also, the Steelers logo patch looks to have been slightly inwardly rotated when it was applied. This is visible in the previous games where there isn't a clear enough picture to see if the rippling is still there, leading me to believe that one jersey was used the entire season.

*9/15 v Oakland, 10/21 v Indy, 11/10 v Atlanta, 11/24 v Cincinnati, 12/8 v Houston, 12/15 v Carolina, 12/29 v Baltimore, 1/5/03 v Cleveland

You can clearly see in picture #1717638 that there is a good deal of blown stitching on both numbers as well as a tear in the front 8. In pictures #1704763 and #1704939, the blown stitching is the same but the tear in the number has been repaired. This is also evident in picture #1729207, which was a playoff game.

Granted, this covers just the 2002 season. It's entirely possible that a jersey tagged 02 was used in any ensuing year, but these are my thoughts on just that one year in question.

[Nathan]

Also, in picture 1729207, does anyone want to take a guess as to what exactly Tommy Maddox is saying to Ward? Combine the overall action of the picture with Ward's facial expression, and I'm almost afraid to know.

[treasurechest collectibles]

wow... jersey is already at $1,000 with 5 days left.

[Nathan]

I went ahead and went through the 2002-2005 time frame for Hines Ward on Getty, and here's what I noticed.

1) EVERY black jersey he wore had the same top-to-bottom horizontal rippling I noted in my first post. No vertical creasing or rippling was noticed.
2) Comparing from one game to the next, it seems apparent that a single jersey was used by Ward the entire season. In one of those years, he picked up a huge white streak on a shoulder in early October and it was noticed on all ensuing games the rest of the year
3) All the jerseys featured the same characteristic around the numbers: blown stitching around the lateral edge of the 8 and the top edge of the circle of the 6. Each time, there seemed to be a decent-sized repair to the interior point on the lateral edge of the 8.

In order for this to have been used during a game from 2002-05, it would have had to have been put into circulation for just one game that wasn't photographed. Somehow I have my doubts about this actually happening, but then I guess Lou Lampson knows a lot more about the ready availability of Steelers jerseys than I do.

[jwasserman]

the original auction description seems to indicate it was game issued, not worn. the newer listing simply states 'game worn'.

[b.heagy]

it is my understanding that true Steelers gamers have tightly cropped nameplates. see attached pic from getty. always do your home work when it comes to Steelers game used equipment. seldom does authentic steelers equipment hit the market.

[b.heagy]

see the difference between the spacing in the nameplate as compared to the getty image.

[otismalibu]

Pretty hard to compare the spacing on an angled game photo vs. the photo of the jersey where it's not even laid flat.


The two questions I'd have are:

1) Did Hines ever wear his jersey full length like this?
2) Why is the nameplate on the auction jersey so much longer?

Unlike the Reebok retail jerseys, where you get the same length plate whether your name is WARD or HARRISON, the Steelers seem to trim the plates to fit the name.


http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb110/otismalibu/wardplate.jpg