At some point in my lifetime I would really hope that each major sports league would offer game-used jerseys the “right” way, in order to offset the problems that are currently taking place with modern game-worn jerseys. In my opinion there is only one way to do this, and it’s actually quite simple.

After a player is through using a particular jersey, it should then be inventoried and properly marked and then auctioned off on that league’s website.
I know the leagues already do this to an extent, but in the very near future I would like to see every single jersey that is worn in a professional game up for auction.
Obviously, nothing can be done for jerseys that were distributed in the past, but looking forward, this would be the answer.

Each jersey should be accompanied with a team letter and a matching hologram, in addition to a proprietary marking (invisible ink perhaps?).
This system would work perfectly and it would take any guesswork, used to determine whether a jersey is real or not, out of the equation.

Say you want the jersey that Terrell Owens wore in his first game as a Cowboy… As long as you are willing to win it at auction, this can happen.

Do you want a milestone jersey like Peyton Manning’s Super Bowl XLI shirt or Kobe’s 81-point shirt he wore in 2006? No problemo.

The auction format is a no-brainer. There is so much demand for game-worn jerseys without rock-solid provenance and a lot more demand for shirts with that sure-fire proof.
Far too many game-issued, game-cut and even store-model jerseys are offered to collectors and identified as authentic gamers, and this crap is really getting old.

The truth is there are very few ways you can tell if a jersey was actually used in a game. Unless you have a perfect photomatch, which is nearly impossible to find most of the time, you can’t be sure that a jersey was actually used in a game.

Many sellers won’t even write the word “game-used” in an auction title any more. “Dan Marino game jersey,” “Babe Ruth game model bat.” These sellers won’t even tell you that it is “game-used,” but the pieces are still getting “game-used” money.
Now I am not saying that every jersey sold as a “game model,” and not “game-used” is fake. All I’m saying is you better be very careful.

If a LaDanian Tomlinson gamer goes up for auction and is described as having “light use,” I can tell you one thing right now; it ain’t real, and never was in the same building as L.T. unless it was sold at Qualcomm Stadium’s souvenir stand.

A jersey that was used by a running back in the NFL will more than likely be battered, filled with rips and hit marks, especially from a guy who touches the ball as many times as L.T.
I know that my request is probably a little far-fetched, mainly because the leagues are many moons from being even close to this strategy, but all I know is at some point something has to be done.

If you are a memorabilia collector and haven’t been to mearsonline.com yet, you might wanna check out this site. Troy Kinunen and Dave Bushing are selling a lot of their own items and also are offering items from consignors.

Their idea is to bring some of the top game-used equipment and other memorabilia to collectors who want to purchase something “right now,” as opposed to trying to win something from an auction.
The Miss America panoramic photo and many other sports and non-sports items can be viewed at their site.

They charge no buyer’s premium, so the price you see is the price you will pay.
On that same note, I will be conducting an interview with Kinunen this week and will either write a Q&A or offer the interview on sportscollectorsdigest.com as an audio file.

If there is an interview that you would like to hear, write me at chris.nerat@fwpubs.com.

As an enthusiast of vintage football memorabilia I was really excited to see the “Executioner” style helmet that hit eBay a couple days ago. I have never seen one of these Hannibal Lector-like beauties at the auction block before, so I am pumped to see what it sells for. My guess would be $5,000-7,000.

Also, by commenting on that helmet, it gives me the chance to post this interesting photo of hobby-mogul Bill Mastro and a mystery man who is wearing one of these helmets… Who is the masked man? I encourage readers to make their guesses in my blog’s comment field. I am assuming I will get some interesting responses.


I guess I was right on the money in my blog entry last night, when I guessed the final price for American Memorabilia’s Jackie Robinson single-signed baseball. That minty-white sphere sold for just a tad over my prediction of 25K (after the juice).
AMI’s 1977 Reggie Jackson Yankees jersey had Game Used Forum participants Dave O’Brien and Eric Stangel talking late last night. The Jackson closed at an impressive $22,396 (after the juice).

Universal Rarities’ auction ends tonight. Notably, the Anna Nicole driver’s license is still at $2,500. I was hoping it would catch up to the price on its Babe Ruth game-used bat. Stay tuned.