07-08 Wirtz patch, Edge 1.0 & 2.0
1.0 Brent Seabrook, 2.0 Marty Havlat, 1.0 Adam Burish and 2.0 James Wisniewski 07-08 game worn jerseys
Brand: Reebok
Material: Edge 1.0 & 2.0 (Airknit)
Hem: Vector logo rear-neck
Set Tagging: Yes, patch with Indian Head except Convention jerseys
Patches: WWW memorial for William W Wirtz
Sets: Two regular season sets per color of 1.0 (unofficially), one per color of 2.0
Notes:
Material: Edge 1.0 & 2.0 (Airknit)
Hem: Vector logo rear-neck
Set Tagging: Yes, patch with Indian Head except Convention jerseys
Patches: WWW memorial for William W Wirtz
Sets: Two regular season sets per color of 1.0 (unofficially), one per color of 2.0
Notes:
- Reebok introduced the ‘RBK Edge’ jerseys in 07-08. Not only was the cut of the jerseys different, with a front and rear ‘bib’ on the hem, there were no ‘double elbow’ reinforcements, the NHL Shield was moved to the front of the neck and the cut was tighter, they also introduced the X-trafil material. I was designed to reduce water absorption (wickening) and allow the jerseys to dry more quickly, thus being lighter and making the players quicker. Up close, the jerseys did not have the little holes that the airknit jerseys had, they were a solid knit, almost like the old Ultrafil jerseys. It may have been a good theory, but in practice the players did not like them. Their sweat would run down to their gloves and skates and the jerseys were too tight and uncomfortable. These jerseys are known as the Edge 1.0 jerseys…
- After hearing the complaints of the players, around Jan 1st, Reebok debuted the Edge 2.0 jerseys. These jerseys were the same style cut as the 1.0’s, however the sleeves were wider, fitting a bit more traditionally and they were mostly made from the airknit material that the '94-'07 Hawks jerseys were made from. They still had the same look, with the front and back bibs, but had the little airknit holes. This style jersey was worn by the Hawks from the 2nd half of 07-08 to the 16-17 season.
- The Hawks wore one set of the Edge 1.0 jerseys up until 11/7/07 in white and 11/9/07 in red . As relayed by the eq staff, when they heard that the 2.0 jerseys were on the way, the Edge 1.0 jerseys that were going to be used for the set 2’s were issued to the players. The 2nd set of 1.0's in red were worn from 11/11/07 to 12/16/07. White 1.0's were worn from 11/14/07 to 12/15/07.
- The Edge 2.0’s were issued to the players starting on 12/19/07 in red and 12/22/07 in white and worn through the end of the season. So in theory, most players had 2 Edge 1.0 jerseys worn in the first half of 07-08 and many of them have lighter wear due to the shortened usage timeframes. Thanks to Alex Robb for the assist on the 07-08 set dates.
- Longtime team President William (Bill) W Wirtz passed away just before the regular season started, on 9/26/07. Shortly thereafter, the team wore a WWW patch with Hawks feathers hanging off in to honor Wirtz. Preseason games did not feature the patch, but the team began wearing it in the season opener 10/4/07 at Minnesota.
- There were two slight variations to the WWW patch. The stitching of letters on the first was more rounded as the embroidery of the W’s was puffy, the later 2nd version was flatter.
- The Blackhawks Fan Convention debuted in the summer of 2008 and changed the way that Hawks game worn jersey were marketed. In this first convention, jerseys were auctioned off by the team to the highest bidder, as well as selling sticks and other equipment. Over the three days of the Convention, only the Edge 1.0 jerseys were sold. These jerseys had LOA’s printed on Blackhawks Convention letterhead, but did not contain any set tagging.
- For the jerseys not sold at the Convention, the team continued set tagging in the form of patches sewn into the rear hem of the jerseys after the season, prior to their being sold through Hawkquarters. The red & whites were tagged 'Set 1' or 'Set 2', different than previous seasons that were 'Set 1 of 2', etc. While jerseys sold through Hawkquarters had this tagging, jerseys sold at the initial Hawks Convention had no tagging. All of the 1.0 jerseys were tagged as Set 1, the 2.0 style was tagged 'Set 2'.
- Nikolai Khabibulin joined the team in 05-06 and introduced the concept of changing jerseys in between periods. Going forward until present, Hawks goalies have had 3 jerseys issued to them and they change between periods. Presently, they wear the same 3 all season. In these early years, it may have been 3 jerseys per set. A few other players also wore multiple jerseys per set.
- There was no alternate jerseys worn in 07-08 as the Reebok Edge jerseys were being introduced.
- The league had all the team captains wear a Hockey Fights Cancer (HFC) patch for one game. Those jerseys were then auctioned off on NHL.com with the proceeds going to the HFC charity. Since the Hawks did not have a Captain in 07-08, Marty LaPointe was chosen to wear the patch on Jan 11, 2008 vs Minnesota. The patch was not the same as the big white square used in earlier seasons, but much smaller and was only the HFC logo itself. This was the last season the NHL did this promotion.
- A Shirt Off Their Back Night (SOTB) or Fan Appreciation Night jersey being given out to ‘random’ attendees of the last home game of the season. This practice continued until the early 2010’s. In some years, the jersey contained special tagging, the 03-04 jerseys are confirmed to have a Fan Appreciation set tag similar to the patch sewn in the other jerseys in this era. In all letters that have surfaced that came with these jerseys, they are worded “Congratulations on winning…” rather than “Congratulations on purchasing…”. The Hawks typically wore a new set of jerseys for the SOTB promotions, although there may have been a season or two where they were worn longer.
- Hawkquarters continued their practice of selling “Locker Room Jerseys” around this time. If there were jerseys that originated from the Hawks locker room, but they were not sure what set it was part of, or if it was a backup jersey, etc, it was sold without an LOA at a discount. Some great deals came out of the Locker Room section as many had solid wear and were later photomatched.
- Note there was no Captain in 07-08.
- The team honored their all time greats Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull on 3/7/08 and half the players wore a #21 jersey in warmups and the other a #9 jersey. These jerseys were signed by Hull or Mikita and the player who wore it and was auctioned off online after the game. On 3/19/08, the team did the same to honor Tony Esposito, where both goalies wore 35. To honor Espo.
Examples of the earlier & later WWW patch.
Edge 2.0 (red) vs Edge 1.0 (white) comparison
Set tag examples
Tagging examples
Lapointe wearing the Hockey Fights Cancer patch
No WWW patch in this pic from the preseason on 9/23/07. Bill Wirtz would pass 3 days later.
WWW patch debut on 10-4-2007 at Minnesota, the season opener.
Example of a Mikita warm up from 3/7/08 worn by James Wisniewski