Collectible of the Week: Tommy Greene No-Hitter Jersey
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| Tommy Green No-Hitter Celebration |
This week the Phillies celebrated 1991 with "90's Retro Night" which featured both them and the Cincinnati Reds wearing uniforms matching those worn 21 years ago. As noted in my previous entry, despite their sub-.500 record, there were several memorable on-field moments that summer - none bigger than Tommy Greene's No-Hitter on May 23rd. I remember watching this game after school and telling my dad all about it when he got home. It's a day that in many ways has made a post-career, career for Tommy Greene and sticks with many fans my age.
I wanted something representative of the 1991 season to present for this week's "Collectible", and it just made sense to relate it to the no-hitter. One of most unique items I was able to find online (i.e. - I do not own this) was the gray road jersey Greene wore the day he throw his gem. Paragon Auctions (paragonauctionsite.com) put the item up for bid last September. It sold after 14 bids for a whopping $2,100!
I am not a big collector of game used jerseys, but have picked up a few at the Phillies Holiday Sales over the years. Buying from the Phillies gives me a lot of confidence in the jersey's authenticity (whether game used or issued). If/when I purchase outside have to rely on the information I have available to me. One of the best resources I can recommend for anyone interested in collecting game used jerseys is the Phillies Game Worn Guide. When researching this item, I referenced my copy of the guide and identified the uniform tagging used during the 1991 season:
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| Tommy Greene No-Hitter GU Jersey |
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| Tagging on T. Greene No-Hitter GU Jersey |
I am not a big collector of game used jerseys, but have picked up a few at the Phillies Holiday Sales over the years. Buying from the Phillies gives me a lot of confidence in the jersey's authenticity (whether game used or issued). If/when I purchase outside have to rely on the information I have available to me. One of the best resources I can recommend for anyone interested in collecting game used jerseys is the Phillies Game Worn Guide. When researching this item, I referenced my copy of the guide and identified the uniform tagging used during the 1991 season:
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| Example of Phillies 1991 Jersey Tagging |
From the example in the guide, I can reasonable conclude that the item in the auction lot is a gamer from the 1991 season. The rest is a leap of faith. Of course, I would feel better if it was being sold by or had a COA from either Greene or the Phillies - but, that was unfortunately not the case in this situation. Still, if you have trust in either the dealer or auction house, and believe they have done their due diligence to authenticate the jersey definitely don't let a piece of Phillies history like this get away!