The Big Train Jersey In Heritage Auctions

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

But isn't it the photo match with the Babe Ruth connection that gives it so much value?

I think that was what they were attempting to do and from my vantage point I was not sold in the least on the connection. No idea of value on this just as a Johnson jersey but it might be that the price reflected that those interested were not buying the story either.

And here I thought cards were dicey. This stuff you simply have to buy into a tale. Not the first time we have seen this either.

[calvindog]

This is why I don't buy game worn jerseys and prefer autographed checks to signed cards unless there's some real provenance.

[tjisonline]

Originally Posted by calvindog

This is why I don't buy game worn jerseys and prefer autographed checks to signed cards unless there's some real provenance.

Agree. Bought a 1952 signed Ty Cobb check in 2006. Liked how Francis Cobb also signed the back.

[MVSNYC]

Pinstripe Jerseys are like fingerprints- the way the fabric is cut and seamed. The above side by side photo analysis of the WaJo Jersey looks like a match to me (and apparently Heritage, and to the authentication company too)...Re: the W, can't speak to that, possibly replaced sometime over the last 100 years, which is very common with numbers, letters and patches on vintage Jerseys. I know it says it's originally, but that might be an oversight(?), as it was likely replaced (which I don't think impacts the overall value at all). Or, finally, the original photo is an action shot, there's movement of his body, part of his body (right arm) is blurry. It's possible it's the same W but the movement of his body has blurred or distorted some of the details.

For reference, I have a Derek Jeter Game Used Jersey from his final season. Photo-matched to 2 games. It's very well-documented and was just on exhibit for a year at Yankee Stadium's Museum. You can see how the pinstripes interact with the NY Logo and #2, and the interaction at the seams. These are the details authenticators are looking at for photo-matching.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by Lorewalker

And here I thought cards were dicey. This stuff you simply have to buy into a tale. Not the first time we have seen this either.

Brings to mind a piece I showed to the late Bill Huggins (boy, that's hard to write...) to see what he thought of it. He listened patiently to what I had been told about it, then said, "Hank, whenever you need a story to go with an item, you've got a problem."

[Peter_Spaeth]

How much of that sale price is due to the "photomatch" does anyone know what a Johnson jersey would otherwise sell for?

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

How much of that sale price is due to the "photomatch" does anyone know what a Johnson jersey would otherwise sell for?

Shows ya what we know...apparently or obviously this is a rare item.

https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.co...swat-erickson/

https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions...8/lot.168.html

[edjs]

Originally Posted by Lorewalker

Shows ya what we know...apparently or obviously this is a rare item.

https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.co...swat-erickson/

https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions...8/lot.168.html

And yet Sotheby’s writes that Johnson was from Idaho. Wow.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by edjs

And yet Sotheby’s writes that Johnson was from Idaho. Wow.

Not really inaccurate in the sense that "hailing from" can also mean coming from in addition to being born there. And Walter did, indeed, go directly from Idaho to D.C.

[edjs]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Not really inaccurate in the sense that "hailing from" can also mean coming from in addition to being born there. And Walter did, indeed, go directly from Idaho to D.C.

I guess to me, “hailing from” means where you are from. No one knows better than you where he was from, since you wrote the book, and are his kin. Do you think he would have said “I hail from Weiser, Idaho” if someone asked him where he was from? My guess, he would say either Kansas or California.