1980/81 St. Louis Cardinals Garry Templeton game worn jersey QUESTION (Is it real?)

[aallanson]

Good morning.

Aside from a rather hastily crafted post in the "July 2013 pick-ups" thread, this is my first post on the game used universe forums. I am so glad to have access to this wonderful community and the experts that post within.

About a year ago, after becoming increasingly disenchanted with collecting baseball cards, I decided to start collecting game used jerseys. Excitedly, I logged into ebay and began looking for something to buy. Almost immediately I saw a game used jersey for one of my boyhood heroes, Jumpsteady himself, Garry Templeton. I asked the seller a couple of questions and I eventually bought it. When it arrived, I was pretty happy. The seller disclosed the following imformation BEFORE I bought it: The jersey is tagged 1980 in the tail, but he believed it was worn by Templeton in 1981. What you might not be able to tell from the pictures is that it has undergone a name / number change. The outline for #5 and letters that spell "P-H-I-L-L-I-P-S" are visible on the back. The seller said that it was common for the Cardinals to recycle jerseys and re-issue them to other players. Since Mike Phillips was traded from the Cardinals before the 1981 season, and also because he and Templeton were the same size, I shrugged it off and bought it anyway.

Fast forward to today. After cooling my heels for the past year and reading up on the hobby (educating myself), I have decided that I needed a focus for my collection. I chose to focus my collection on acquiring game worn college baseball jerseys from players who were named all-american. As is such, Templeton doesn't fit my focus anymore. Since I am limited as far as how much money I can spend on my hobby, I decided to sell the Templeton jersey to help fund my new collecting focus. Don't worry, this is NOT a selling thread. Before I sell this jersey, I want to find out if it is either a real Templeton gamer, a jersey altered by someone other than the cardinals organization to make the jersey look like a Templeton gamer, or something else entirely. So, I am asking the board. Please help. I took some photos with my iphone, but they are rather large. I posted them on my imagevent page which can be found here: http://imageevent.com/thebeautifulgame/gamewornjerseyquestion

Any help or advice would be great. I don't want to pass on a problem jersey to another collector. And I am also curious as to its authenticity.

Alan

[Birdbats]

That's a tough call, Alan. My first hunch is, Templeton was an established player for the Cards and some even considered him a star. Stars typically aren't candidates for recycled jerseys, especially if they've been on a team for a few years (vs. just being traded to a team). So, it seems unlikely Templeton would need a recycled jersey; he should have had plenty of his own.

Phillips' last season in STL was '80. I assume you also should be able to see the outline of #5 on each sleeve. The Cards didn't have numbers on front in '80, so there shouldn't be any sign of a #5 removed there.

I've been collecting long enough to know anything is possible. It's possible Templeton tore a jersey and needed a replacement quickly... or had a jersey stolen... or wanted a third road jersey so he could change during games (like Chris Carpenter, who sweats so much he changes jerseys multiple times a game). It could have been made for spring training. On the other hand, it could have been made up by a Templeton fan. The company that lettered jerseys for the Cards, Liebe, will do the same for fans (I've had them do jerseys for me), so they'll look just like the team's jerseys. The fonts and spacing all look right; it doesn't look like an amateur job.

Long story short, there's no way to know, unless you can track down Templeton or Buddy Bates, the team's former equipment manager. They might recognize it and know the story. I wouldn't expect Templeton to wear a hand-me-down in 1981, but it's always possible.

[aallanson]

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. You are correct that there was no trace of a number on the front. I am not at home at the moment, so I will check the sleeves when I get there. I suspected I would never be able to actually KNOW for sure. It is a nice jersey. I will either sell it cheaply as a real Cardinals jersey (worn by someone, just not sure who, lol) or just keep it for display. My only concern about selling it is whoever I sell it to trying to pass it off as a "for sure" Templeton gamer when they try and sell it in the future. If any Cardinals fan wants it for their "man-cave" I will make them a good deal, lol. I guess this is part of the fun of collecting (trying to unravel mysteries).

[aallanson]

Quick update: the outline where the number 5's were removed CAN be seen on the sleeves.

[Birdbats]

Alan, are you in/near STL? If so, I'd love to see the jersey to see how the letters/numbers are sewn on and other little details the might hold clues. I might have interest in it as a 1980 shell for my exemplar collection. Thanks!

[aallanson]

I live in Syracuse, NY. I actually just sold it to another forum member. It's a really great jersey. It is just too bad I couldn't figure out if it was definitively Templeton's or not.

Thank you for all your help.

Alan