1987 Mattingly Jersey on ebay

[JimCaravello]

Hello Forum Members - Please follow the link below to the above referenced item currently on ebay. I e-mailed the seller this morning with numerous questions. I have personally owned 1987 Mattingly and 1987 Yankees jerseys and the tagging in the collar on the item referenced is.........well - let's wait till I get a response from the seller. I wanted to post this as I am sure it will attract a lot of interest from potential bidders.

Eric - I think this post is fine? If not - let me know - I will update Forum members once I hear back from the seller. Thanks, Jim

http://cgi.ebay.com/Don-Mattingly-1987-Yankees-Game-used-Jersey-Pinstripe_W0QQitemZ8821845169QQcategoryZ60597QQrdZ 1QQcmdZViewItem

[JimCaravello]

Hello Forum Members - I have e-mailed the Seller of the Mattingly jersey and after 48 hours, I have had no response. I have seen fake Mattingly jerseys in the past, but this is the first one I have seen with stitching in the strip tag which at first glance appears to be accurate. Let's look at the photos below - the first photo are two exemplars of legitimate Mattingly jerseys from 1985 and 1987 and the second photo is the jersey on ebay.

Let's review the probelms with the jersey on ebay:

The M is not swirled as can be seen
The strip tag is way too thin for that time period
The G and Y are cut off at the bottom of the strip tag
The lettering is too rigid
The 8 is all wrong
The 7 should have a hook at the top left going downwards
The 1 should not have a base or a stem on it
Its hard to see, but both the legitimate jerseys have a faint red line below the lettering and numbers to guide the tailor in placing the stitching on the strip tag - the jersey on ebay does not have this red line
The 8 and 7 on the ebay jersey are connected with stitching which is all wrong
Lastly, I have never seen a 1987 jersey ( especially Mattingly ) make it to 1991, which would have been when the Billy Mating #1 patch would have been removedThis jersey is most likely a legitimate size 42 Yankees jersey from the late 90's that has had a number change and the fake strip tag placed into the collar.

I suggested to the seller that he should shut the auction down and I also informed him that I would send him the photos you see here to help him understand the probelms with his piece. As mentioned, no response to date and this is a Private Auction which is unfortunate, as ebayers can not be warned about this item.

All I can say is stay away........

If anyone has any comments - I would love to hear them. Thanks for looking. Jim - jcaravello@nc.rr.com

[DonFan23]

Jim,

I noted some of the same issues. The font used in the name is similar, if not identical to the one discussed in several threads previously on "supposedly" game used Clemens and Posada jerseys. Both the name and numbers appear to have been created via a computerized stitch pattern, not hand-sewn as was typical for Yankees jerseys before they went to the printed tagging in the tail.

Also, as many forum members have indicated previously, the private auction, while not always indicative of a problematic item, is another factor to consider that might raise red flags for some.

R.J.
Always looking for Mattingly and Yankees game-used items

[JimCaravello]

Richard - good to see your post - hope you are well. I wanted to bump this thread up to the top to inform everyone that the bidding has reached $1,000 on this jersey and the reserve has been met. I am hoping that as many people as possible will see this post and not make a mistake. Jim - jcaravello@nc.rr.com

[Number9]

Back to the top with one day to go in the auction. Jim has made some great points about this jersey.
Grey Flannel has a Mattingly on their site for sale and you can compare the two and see the obvious differences, especially in the chain-stitching, as Jim has pointed out.

[JimCaravello]

Hello Forum Members - this jersey sold for over $2,000 which is really sad. It's funny - of all the Seller's listings on ebay - this is the only one which was a private auction. He didn't respond to any of my e-mails and I firmly believe he knew this jersey was bad.

Once again - the value of GUU and The Forum can not be over stated. I am a bat guy - always have been, but I also like to collect 70's and 80's Yankees jerseys. I feel like I have a good handle on this specific area of Yankees jerseys.

I also have dabbled in other jerseys over the years. I have seen numerous posts where jerseys have been questioned and proven to not be authentic that I have looked at and would have maybe purchased were it not for Members posting threads such as this.

I encourage everyone to continue to post threads like this - do your homework, follow the rules of contacting and posting and hopefully more people will find out about this great venue and no make mistakes like the one on ebay.......think about it - probably two guys were going crazy on this piece late - if those guys would have seen this post, they wouldn't have bid and maybe the Seller's reserve would not have been met and he would have been stuck with his jersey that he knew was bad...

Thanks, Jim - jcaravello@nc.rr.com