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!
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AuthorJust a huge Hawks fan with a collecting habit. Archives
April 2024
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