Wes Unseld Gamer

[peabody]

Looking for assistance on a Wes Unseld late-1970s Washington Bullets game-worn jersey. There appears to have been a number change, as well as a NOB change.
My biggest concerns are: "Size 46" - could Unseld have possibly squeezed into a size 46?
and...
The NOB plate has "UNSELD" in blue applique, rather than tackle twill. Did the Bullets apply the players' names in heat-transferred letters, or was it tackle twill, like the numbers and team name?

Any answers will be appreciated.

[otismalibu]

Not sure who made the Bullets' jerseys, but I've seen photos of a George McGinnis late 70s Wilson Sixers jersey and a Moses Malone 80s Wilson Sixers jersey, that were both size 46. Big George was around 6'8" 235 lbs. and Moses 6'10" 255 lbs. So, it's possible, IMO.

[jdr3]

Do you have any photos? Unseld wore a size 50. The Bullets did have iron on letters for the NOB when then switched from Rawlings to Wilson jerseys.

[sox83cubs84]

While the sizing is within the realm of reason for the era, the fact that it has a name and number change would cause me to steer clear. I doubt a player of Unseld's stature would get a hand-me-down. Even if the changes were legitimate, when the time comes to move it, potential buyers would be scared off. I doubt MEARS would grade the piece as a legitimate Unseld jersey...it would either be Unable To Authenticate or a very low grade based on being a Bullets team-issued piece, not attributable to Unseld.

Dave M.
Chicago

[jdr3]

About 10 years ago I was offered a Wes Unseld jersey and was told it was actually a Dave Corzine Bullets jersey that had a number change and was then put in a frame to present to Unseld in his last year. He had kept many of his jerseys so he removed the number change and inserted one of his own. Does it look like the number was 40 before the change? If so, this is most likely that jersey.

[tcfor3]

The Bullets first had names, or nicknames, in 1971-72 when they used Rawlings jerseys. The names were sewn on letters which were sewn directly onto the jerseys (no nameplates) with the vertically striped jerseys that the team wore the final two years in Baltimore and then again when they became the Capital Bullets in 1973-74.

They starting using nameplates for the 1974-75 season.

By 1976-77, they were using Wilson jerseys, the nameplates had white letters heat pressed onto the nameplates for the blue road jerseys and blue letters for the white home jerseys.

They utilized this same style when they switched to Sand-Knit jerseys for the 1986-87 season. I do have some examples of nameplates (both home and road) from Sand-Knit in 1986-87 that have the names screen painted onto the nameplate in a different font and size that the heat pressed examples from the same season. It appears that this was done for players with longer last names, Dan Roundfield, as an example.

The Bullets redesigned their uniforms for the 1987-88 season and had the names made of a two layers of single pieces of material (blue outlined in red for home white jerseys and blue outlined in white for the road red tops) that went in a straight line and were sewn onto the back of the jerseys.

Starting in 1988-89 the names were sewn in individual letters and were arched across the back of the jersey.

They continued with this style until they became the Wizards.

As far as the font(s) and sizes of the letters that were used for the names on the jerseys after the 1973-74 season, they changed very little for the Wilson shirts, but were slightly different for the home white jerseys and the road blue jerseys in 1986-87 made by Sand-Knit.

As for Unseld, typically, he wore size 46-48 jerseys from the 1975-76 season until he retired following the 1980-81 season.

As for the number and nameplate change, the Bullets would recycle jerseys when they acquired a player at mid-season.

This is a guess, but, this jersey may have been an Unseld shirt that was recycled for another player and then someone has attempted to restore it to what it was originally.

Pictures of the jersey and the close-ups of the changes/restoration would be helpful.

[sox83cubs84]

tcfor3:

Some great info and other thoughts as well. The restoration possibility is one I hadn't considered...but would still need to be addressed when resale would be considered.

Dave M.
Chicago area

[otismalibu]

FWIW...

The Wes Unseld 74/75 Washington Bullets road warmup shown at Dick's Courtroom consists of a size 46 jacket and size 40 pants.

[both-teams-played-hard]

Looking for assistance on a Wes Unseld late-1970s Washington Bullets game-worn jersey. There appears to have been a number change, as well as a NOB change.
My biggest concerns are: "Size 46" - could Unseld have possibly squeezed into a size 46?
and...
The NOB plate has "UNSELD" in blue applique, rather than tackle twill. Did the Bullets apply the players' names in heat-transferred letters, or was it tackle twill, like the numbers and team name?

Any answers will be appreciated.

I would really like to see photos or a link. I used to own a 1978 Bullets durene gamer by Wilson with a number and nameplate change(although common player).
I am getting old, because a size 46 on a 1970s NBA shirt is friggin' HUGE.

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/7461/was2.jpg
that's the bright and shiney durene knit, not the double-knit style.

[jdr3]

It's interesting how many sizes Unseld used in his career. There was a Wilson Bullets jersey on display in the National Sports Gallery that he loaned them that was a size 50. He must have pudged a bit at the end of his career.