The Blackhawks auctioned off a Connor Bedard game worn jersey at the end of the season in an online charity auction. While it was nice to see that they were releasing jerseys (also a Korchinski, Vlasic and Foligno), there were issues with how they went about it. I made a podcast appearance on the Dirty Laundry Hockey Game Worn Jersey podcast and wrote an article for Puckjunk to discuss the mess. Check them both out in the media section of the website.
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Between the 2007-08 and 2022-23 seasons, the Blackhawks wore specialty themed jerseys on occasion during pregame warmups and most were auctioned off for local charities after the game. This site chronicles the jerseys the Hawks wore during that timeframe. They wore 56 warmups if you count both Hull & Mikita and include the RR2.0! As you will see, they went a little overboard the last few seasons...
The NHL announced in Summer 2023 that teams are no longer allowed to wear specialty themed warmup jerseys prior to games. Sooooo... of course we felt the need to document what the Blackhawks wore during the years they were allowed. Check them out, if you have a jersey that we do not have front and back photos of, please reach out as we'd love to add them. Enjoy! Warning: Long Grail post - and I don’t use that G word lightly.
When I was younger, I learned that my grandfather’s brother’s son (I think I have that right), George ‘Red’ Sullivan played in the NHL during the 1950’s & 60’s, including for the Blackhawks. That really peaked my interest in hockey and its history, which led me to collecting his hockey cards, and eventually getting into game worn jerseys and specifically the Blackhawks. I’ve collected Hawks game worn jerseys for nearly 30 years now, and have many ‘grail’ type jerseys, but one of Red’s Hawks shirts was always my ultimate grail. I found a post of mine on the old gw.net forum from 2003 looking for one, which I thought likely didn’t exist. The two years he played for the Hawks 54-56, they wore wool jerseys that were recycled quite a bit as practice jerseys or to various minor league affiliates. They just didn’t survive. Most Hawks wools that you see pop up are from HHOF type players, not guys like Red, although he had a very respectable career, also playing for the Bruins and captaining the Rangers in the late 50’s/early 60’s. Many years ago, I was lucky and found a game used stick of his, and I thought that would be as close as I’d get. Collecting Hawks jerseys for as long as I have, I’ve accumulated quite a bit of knowledge on them and have had people/organizations/auction houses from all over the hobby for years asking me questions… and there was a lot of incorrect assumptions out there in Hawks jerseys. So over the pandemic I put together a groovy little website on Hawks Jersey history dating back to 1955: https://blackhawksjerseyhistory.weebly.com/ and in doing so poured over photos, archives, auction results and reached out to many within the hobby to ensure I was correctly documenting the Hawks post-barberpole era. There was always confusion as to when they wore what and for how long in many parts of the 50’s/60’s/70’s. So, I made sense of the senseless for myself for the most part, and in turn, hopefully have helped many of you in the process with that resource. Fast forward to November of 2022. Someone contacted me offering a Ted Lindsay Blackhawks wool jersey, which was photomatched and sourced directly from Lindsay through a teammate. I thanked him and said I’d be interested, but probably would not be in the price range they were looking to get for it… but, being the Hawks jersey history guy, asked to see pictures as maybe I could use them on my site. A few days later he sent them, and my jaw dropped. Ted Lindsay was traded to the Blackhawks in the summer of 1957, basically as punishment for starting the Player’s Union. Based on my site research, I was now very familiar with the era Lindsay played - in 57-58 the Hawks introduced sleeve numbers for the first time - above the tomahawks which were in the elbow area on the sleeves. They wore them again in 58-59 and in Lindsay’s last year in 59-60, the tommies moved up to the shoulders above the numbers, where they reside today. The photos that were sent to me of the Lindsay jersey did not have sleeve numbers. The Blackhawks wore their barberpole style red/black/white jerseys with the circular crest from 37-38 to the 54-55 season. (I hope to update my Blackhawks jersey site dating back to their origin in 1926 eventually). 55-56 was the first season of what looks like the jerseys the Hawks wear today, red with black/white stripes on the sleeve and hem and white with red/black stripes on the sleeve and hem. The circular crest was retired and the colorful likeness of Sauk Chief Black Hawk was used as the primary crest. Additionally, small crossed tomahawks over a C were used on the sleeves for the first time. My research showed the team actually changed the red jersey version of the tommies early in the year, making the tommies larger and more colorful in November 1955. The white jerseys however stayed with the smaller tommies the entire season. In 56-57, the team’s white jerseys started with the smaller tommies, but by late October had switched to a larger version like the red jerseys. The Lindsay photos that were sent to me was a white jersey with the smaller tommies. The photomatch of the Ted Lindsay jersey is a posed shot of the diminutive Lindsay looking up at the appropriately nicknamed Moose Vasko. The stripes misaligned on the side of the jersey perfectly matched the photo, as well as positioning of the tommies. So, yes, the jersey was definitely worn by Lindsay, but my research found that beginning with game 1 of 57-58, the Hawks wore sleeve numbers. As was their way, this jersey had been recycled to Lindsay for use in practice. Lindsay had kept the shirt and gifted it later to a teammate as his game worn jersey, but he had actually never worn it in a game. Who had worn #7 in the 55-56 season when this set of jerseys was introduced? George ‘Red’ Sullivan. Sullivan wore it the entire 55-56 season and likely Wally Hergesheimer for the first handful of games in the 56-57 season before the team switched to the larger tommies. Both players were part of a trade in the 1956 offseason between the Hawks and Rangers. So, this jersey survived because Red happened to wear the same #7 as Hockey Hall Of Famer Lindsay. Needless to say, I had to find a way to make a deal for the shirt and through many side deals and assists from friends both inside and outside the hobby, the jersey was hand delivered to me this week. Needless to say, it’s a beauty - proper wear/repairs, tagging, etc. I’m not aware of another white of this 1st year 55-56 style in the Hobby. I’m forever grateful to those who helped along the way and I guess the moral of the story is never stop looking for your grail. You never know how or when it might pop up, sometimes being presented as something else. As our buddy Milt Byron always says… Do your homework! Sometimes, research takes you in directions which contradict your previous research, let's walk through a recent bit of research that led me to update this page. In June 2022, Grey Flannel auctioned a Stan Mikita jersey. The jersey was a V neck Wilson dureen red jersey with 2 color numbers. The jersey did not have a name on the back and there was no mention of photo of a year tag in the jersey. Based on these facts, I was skeptical of the jersey as my research did not point this combo to any year within the 1970's based on my previous research. So my project began.
There was a photomatch in the auction of the Mikita jersey, but that match was to a posed photo of Mikita. Those posed photos from the Hawks in the 60's & 70's should always be taken with a grain of salt as the team reused jerseys as practice jerseys and these posed photos used on team postcards, etc were often taken at practice.... so the jersey pictured may or may not have been used by that player in a game after recycling and number changes. I started my research by looking for action photos of Mikita wearing the jersey. It had nice wear including a few prominent marks, so if he wore it, I should be able to find a picture. As many of you may know, that's often easier said than done on older jerseys, especially prior to the 1980's as there were more photos and video available starting in the early/mid 1980's... but I gave it a shot. And bingo... totally lucked out as there were marks on the jersey that showed up on photos housed at Getty Images, the first place most collectors go for modern jerseys, but as found here, is also useful on occasion for older shirts. So, now I knew Mikita wore it. Research continued. The combo of 2 color numbers, a V collar and no name on back did not make sense based on previous research. What I found was, I did a shotty job of researching the 76-77 season. I had seen 76 tagged jerseys, and these were cross collar. So I assumed the jerseys for 76-77 followed earlier patterns where the previous season's playoff jerseys. However, with the Mikita in-mind, I looked into the 76-77 season with newspaper archives and lo-and-behold, the V necks were used in game 1 of the season, with the notable exception of Bobby Orr. I also contacted the auction house and confirmed there was no year tag in the jersey. Another unknown now known... at least with this Mikita. At the end of the research, I was able to confirm the V neck being widespread in the 76-77 season, at least for the reds in the regular season. In the Playoffs, I had already confirmed that V necks were worn. and Mikita wore a white V neck when he hit 500 goals in Feb. So while there are still lingering questions of the white in the early regular season and the lack of year tag on jerseys beyond the Mikita, I have updated the 76-77 page to reflect the additional research. Never assume! With the unfortunate passing of Tony Esposito over the summer of 2021,the Blackhawks will wear a 35 patch to memorialize his passing. Additionally, the jerseys for 21-22 will be made from recycled materials... we'll see how that goes. Additionally, I updated a few pages with some miscellaneous photos and tidbits. I hope to tackle the barberpole era at some point, but that will be tough! In the meantime, I intend to update more photos from games to show the various styles worn as well as research some important changes. Thanks for checking out the site, can't wait for 21-22 and seeing how Fleury, Jones and a full year of a healthy (hopefully) Dach will go!
Site Update! Sulli26’s History of the Blackhawks Gameworn Jersey page now covering 65 years of gameworn goodness from 1955 to present. The latest update covering 1955-65 as well as a few updates to other seasons. The site now contains the entire era after the barberpole design was demised and the red & white jerseys, similar to what is worn today, are in use.
If nothing else, Covid has allowed time for research... This site is ever-evolving as new info is found and new photos added. That said, if anyone has Hawks jerseys from the tie-down and wool eras, I’m looking for better photos of jerseys, tagging, etc. Also, any additional info is always welcomed as I’m sure things have been missed. Will the site go back to the franchise’s first year of 1926? We’ll see. Photos and jersey examples are scarce from 26-55... and there were a lot of subtle changes within the barberpole and other designs throughout the early days. It’ll be challenging to say the least. Anyway, have a look, enjoy a walk through Hawks jersey history, let me know your thoughts and what I messed up. Contributions of photos, information and whatever else always welcomed! I used to have a webpage 11+ years ago that focused on my Hawks jersey collection. Based on that website, I connected with collectors and former players worldwide and made many long lasting friendships out of the hobby. As time went on I stopped updating the site, but it was still around. It was hosted on Comcast's free webspace... Several years ago, Comcast cancelled their web hosting, so the site went away. In the years since, I've heard from many people how useful the site was to them in researching Hawks jerseys. So I decided to bring back a site, not so much to focus on the collection, but to focus on the differences year to year in the Blackhawks game worn jersey.
I've always focused on completing a home & road jersey of every jersey style and patch variation dating back to when the Hawks started using nameplates. To make things more interesting, I've tried not to double-up on players if I can help it. While I have made a few exceptions, I've gotten quite the variety of styles and players. Perhaps one day I'll make another site focusing on the jerseys... the wear & tear... the photomatches... the stories they tell... but in the meantime, I think this site will be more useful to both hardcore collectors and casual fans. Hope you enjoy it. |
AuthorJust a huge Hawks fan with a collecting habit. Archives
April 2024
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