OT: Is Anyone Here Good At Vintage Jersey Authentication/Identification?

[btcarfagno]

Sorry about the off topic post. I posted this over at the Game Used section but I am not sure how many people are actually over there.




I purchased this at auction in 2011 hoping that it was a Newark Federal League uni. I have found some photos of the Newark uniform and there are many similarities, but one or two things that I am just not sure about. Not being a uniform collector, I do not know if the possible "problems" that I see are disqualifiers or not.

Here is the uniform:



Here is one of the best images I could find of the uniform:



For the good, the pinstriping looks the same, the collar area leading down to the button front looks the same, the lettering looks the same as well.

The problems that I see are twofold:

1. The positioning of the lettering on my uniform is quite a bit higher than on the jerseys in the photo. On mine, the "A" in Newark is above the second button on the jersey. In the photo, the second button is more like around the middle or bottom 2/3 of the "A".

2. Around the collar and heading down the front is a dark line coming down both sides of the neck. I am not sure if this would be considered to be twill or what it is...if it is even on the jersey or just darkness from the way the photos were taken back in 1915. Whatever it is, my jersey does not have it. However, I assume that this could come off as there is a "twill" area on the pants (that I also have) and some of the twill is separated from the pant making it look in those areas like it was never there to begin with.

So, I have this great question that I don't have an answer to and I am reaching out to anyone who might be able to help me out on it.

Many thanks!

Tom C

[WillBBC]

Very interesting. Can't wait to see how this breaks out.

Have you tried contacting Paul Lukas over at http://www.uni-watch.com/?

I've shot him an email here and there with some small questions and he's been great about responding. Hope you have some luck.

[Sean]

There seems to be no wear at all. This is a hundred year old jersey in such great condition?

But I'm no expert, so don't rely on me. Sorry.

[btcarfagno]

Originally Posted by Sean

There seems to be no wear at all. This is a hundred year old jersey in such great condition?

But I'm no expert, so don't rely on me. Sorry.

There is a decent amount of wear. Moth holes, staining (lots of it inside and out) even a team repair. I still hold out some hope that it coukd be a Fed League jersey, but I believe that there is a better chance that it comes from a minor league team of some sort. Still tracking down leads.

If anyone has any photos of the Newark Eagles I would love to know if there could be a possible match there.

Thank you for the input received so far. It is much appreciated.

Tom C

[steve B]

A couple thoughts, probably way off.

The ones in the old newspaper look like the W is right against the side of the button reinforcment. This one isn't. I'd the databse at the HOF seems to show the away uniforms as being the only ones with Newark on them Home had the N in a circle. So it probably should be gray, but the database shows the away as very light, so maybe white?

Since the team moved from Indianapolis and Indy used similar uniforms maybe they reused them? If they did there might be signs of other lettering.

Unless it was unused in 14 and madeup for one of the new players for 15. If it was done later that might explain the mismatch of the exact letter location.

Totally crazy thought

Newark had a player in 1916, Rupert Mills who was local and had legal training.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Mills

Since his contract required him to show up and be in uniform, he did.

I can't help but think that a defunct team might not supply him with a uniform, especially if it meant they had to pay him too. And if he bought his own, it would probably not be an exact match.

Does it have any Provenance?

Steve B

[bmarlowe1]

You might contact archivist P.at. .Kelly at HoF and ask about Newark FL team or player photos. They will charge you something, but it may be worth it if they have some clear images.