Rob L
12-31-2008, 02:10 PM
Looks like the "Abbott" warmup jersey did originate from the big league club. Per Rudy's suggestion, I had contacted Lon Lewis regarding this particular shirt. Lon provided an interesting look into Dick Dobbin's purchase of the Angels jerseys, how they were cataloged, checked, etc.
In part, Lon wrote:
When Dobbins received the jerseys they were shipped from the Angels in increments with the designation of which teams were the last to use them either in or on the boxes. Once Dobbins got them they were cross checked for number changes, use and where they came from as much as possible. You have to remember that this was in the era before online anything so there was no "photo/style matching" taking place you simply had to rely on both the teams and whatever resources were available. The jerseys were then seperated with the regular Angels game jerseys (which covered the years 1981-1990) being the first to be restored if needed. Of the over 1200 game jerseys about 150 were still complete.Those jerseys that were determined to be major league jerseys (with the exception of a small amount that were kept at the house for immediate sale) were stored off site at a storage facility in a 10'x10' room with double hanging racks (top and bottom) this included both the regular game jerseys and the B.P. tops plus pants, jackets, helmets, bats. The jerseys that were deemed minor league remained in the boxes and stayed at the house in a seperate room off of the garage. The blank game jerseys were mostly used for nameplate material as well as some of the pants. The blank B.P. tops were numbered and sold to local softball or hardball teams that wanted a quality jersey at a small cost usually $ 10-15.00ea. These jerseys were usually numbered with single thru teen numbers. If there are "retail" jerseys then the Angels mixed in the jerseys themselves and were inaccurate in their description of what the jerseys were and where the jerseys came from. Finally, I don't know for sure if the Angels wore Majestic B.P. jerseys in 1989-90 but Getty image # 1465149 of Brian Downing that has the generic date of Jan 1990 appears to show me a Majestic jersey. Even though the photo only shows the back, the unique style/font of the number is of that used by Majestic on the Angels B.P. tops.
I think this puts the LOA issue to rest. Now the interesting thing is to determine how this style of jersey was used by the Angels (ie. why this type of sleeve logo and no tail tag). Rudy has brought up several interesting issues, including Dick's statement to Dave Miedema regarding the equipment manager and determining the provider of the BP jersey during the time period.
Thanks to Lon, Dave and Rudy for alot of insight and dialogue in this.
In part, Lon wrote:
When Dobbins received the jerseys they were shipped from the Angels in increments with the designation of which teams were the last to use them either in or on the boxes. Once Dobbins got them they were cross checked for number changes, use and where they came from as much as possible. You have to remember that this was in the era before online anything so there was no "photo/style matching" taking place you simply had to rely on both the teams and whatever resources were available. The jerseys were then seperated with the regular Angels game jerseys (which covered the years 1981-1990) being the first to be restored if needed. Of the over 1200 game jerseys about 150 were still complete.Those jerseys that were determined to be major league jerseys (with the exception of a small amount that were kept at the house for immediate sale) were stored off site at a storage facility in a 10'x10' room with double hanging racks (top and bottom) this included both the regular game jerseys and the B.P. tops plus pants, jackets, helmets, bats. The jerseys that were deemed minor league remained in the boxes and stayed at the house in a seperate room off of the garage. The blank game jerseys were mostly used for nameplate material as well as some of the pants. The blank B.P. tops were numbered and sold to local softball or hardball teams that wanted a quality jersey at a small cost usually $ 10-15.00ea. These jerseys were usually numbered with single thru teen numbers. If there are "retail" jerseys then the Angels mixed in the jerseys themselves and were inaccurate in their description of what the jerseys were and where the jerseys came from. Finally, I don't know for sure if the Angels wore Majestic B.P. jerseys in 1989-90 but Getty image # 1465149 of Brian Downing that has the generic date of Jan 1990 appears to show me a Majestic jersey. Even though the photo only shows the back, the unique style/font of the number is of that used by Majestic on the Angels B.P. tops.
I think this puts the LOA issue to rest. Now the interesting thing is to determine how this style of jersey was used by the Angels (ie. why this type of sleeve logo and no tail tag). Rudy has brought up several interesting issues, including Dick's statement to Dave Miedema regarding the equipment manager and determining the provider of the BP jersey during the time period.
Thanks to Lon, Dave and Rudy for alot of insight and dialogue in this.