“Purchased From” rubber ink stamps.

[R. C. Walker]

I’ve seen the same types of rubber ink stamps on jerseys for the Reds, Indians, Angels and a few more I cannot recall at this time. Anyone can have a “Purchased From” ink stamp made. Which ones in fact used them?

I know the Giants in the past have stamped “Purchased From” with a rubber ink stamp. I borrowed the attached photo from Marichal27’s 1974 Moffitt he has For Sale at this time. It’s exactly the same stamp that’s on an ’88 Giants jersey of mine I purchased from Dick Dobbins and many others I have seen.

Any experts have a legitimate list of teams that used such a stamp?

[hblakewolf]

This practice of stamping was first started by Dobbins with his Giants jerseys. He also did this in 1991/2 (?) when he purchased the Angels jerseys. Note, I indicate Dobbins did this-not the team. In later years, Rob Wochnick at Sports Warehouse continued this practice with Giants jerseys and then into the Indians. Rob even did it to the Indians hats and helmets. I'm not aware of any baseball team doing this, rather, those dealers who purchased equipment from the teams.

The sad part? Anyone can purchase a rubber stamp EXACTLY the same as the one used by Dobbins/Wochnick for about $10.!

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

[R. C. Walker]

Thanks Howard. The extra info clears thing up for me.

I recall when Robb purchased the Indians lot. And if I remember correctly, he might have told me he was using the same stamp Dobbins used for the Giants jerseys.

[GameBats]

Dick Dobbins also included his own letter of authenticity with the stamped Jersey's.

[kylehess10]

The sad part? Anyone can purchase a rubber stamp EXACTLY the same as the one used by Dobbins/Wochnick for about $10!



I've actually always wondered about that. Why isn't that considered illegal? Shouldn't someone have some kind of proof that they work for [whatever team] in order to have those stamps made? Seems pretty ridiculous that they can be made for anyone and for only $10

[hippo916]

Dick also stamped the 49ers jerseys he handled through the team in the late-1980s, and Oakland A's jerseys he handled through the team in the early-1990s. Additionally, his 1994 Oakland Oaks Turn-back-the-Clock jerseys and pants had the A's stamp. After the 1996 season, Dick quit handling the Giants jerseys through the team. But he kept a stamp because he continued to purchase and sell Giants jerseys, and would stamp those that were previously unstamped with the stamp. For example, in 1997, I purchased several jerseys Dick obtained from a Giants employee. He stamped them and wrote COAs. In 1997, Sportswarehouse handled the jerseys. They also stamped them.

After the conclusion of the 1999 season, the Giants began selling the jerseys themselves. But none of the 1999 or 2000 jerseys sold during those years were stamped. The caveat is that those 1999 and 2000 jerseys that remained in inventory and were sold after December 2001, when the Giants brought back the stamp, should be stamped and have a COA. And, those 2001 jerseys sold before December 2001 may not have the stamp unless the purchaser sent the jersey back to the Giants to get stamped.

There are differences between Dick's stamp and the Giants' stamp; primarily, Dick's said "Purchased from San Francisco Giants" and the Giants' said "Purchased from the San Francisco Giants."

Notably, between 1999 and 2000, there was a dealer/collector who created his own Giants stamp, and would stamp his Giants jerseys "Purchased from the San Francisco Giants." I called the person on the practice and I was told that he obtained the stamp from Dick. Untrue. After the Giants learned of this practice, they explored legal remedies against the dealer. But it was decided that he was operating within legal boundaries because most of the jerseys were, indeed, purchased from the team. There was a bogus Bonds jersey he sold on Ebay, however, that had his version of the Giants stamp. In December 2001, in an effort to distinguish their planned stamp from the dealer's, and as a direct slap in the dealer/collector's face, the Giants intentionally used a different font, size, and layout for their stamp.

[R. C. Walker]

Thanks for the added info, hippo916.