darkhaha Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 Several months ago I ordered some custom '65-66 Bronco jerseys from Home Run Derby. When I inquired about an ETA, Terry Soldwisch of HR Derby e-mailed me to let me know the reason for the delay: "The manufacturer has had problems with the machine that knits the sleeve stripes into the jersey material; the stripes were not being knitted sharp enough. The machine is from 1946 and is the only machine of its kind remaining." He then totally stepped up to the plate and said I could either cancel my order or I could have an in-stock jersey for free. Of course I took the free jersey!First of all, I think it's way cool that someone is still manufacturing jerseys out of the durene material that they used back in the day. Second of all, I'm glad that old 1946 machine is still plugging away. Third of all, I think that Terry is a real stand-up guy for offering me a free jersey! If the Bronco ones are as cool as this beauty, I'm going to be very happy indeed.Here are a couple pics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshawaggie Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 Did you just commit some kind of sin, being a Bronco fan and all? @josh_j12 CFA- Fargo Bobcats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc49erfan15 Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 Alright...how much did that jersey cost, because that is absolutely gorgeous and I am currently deciding on whether my college student, rent-paying budget can handle one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldogbarks55 Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 Several months ago I ordered some custom '65-66 Bronco jerseys from Home Run Derby. When I inquired about an ETA, Terry Soldwisch of HR Derby e-mailed me to let me know the reason for the delay: "The manufacturer has had problems with the machine that knits the sleeve stripes into the jersey material; the stripes were not being knitted sharp enough. The machine is from 1946 and is the only machine of its kind remaining." He then totally stepped up to the plate and said I could either cancel my order or I could have an in-stock jersey for free. Of course I took the free jersey!First of all, I think it's way cool that someone is still manufacturing jerseys out of the durene material that they used back in the day. Second of all, I'm glad that old 1946 machine is still plugging away. Third of all, I think that Terry is a real stand-up guy for offering me a free jersey! If the Bronco ones are as cool as this beauty, I'm going to be very happy indeed.Here are a couple pics:The original Chargers uniforms were made by Spanjian Sportswear when Spanjian was located in Pasadena. Spanjian moved to San Marcos (near San Diego) in the late '60s. Spanjian was bought out by DeLong Sportswear. The company that made this throwback has the correct number font. Those numbers were Spanjian's stock full-block font. The original 'bolts were made of tackle twill and sewn onto the sleeve insert with a swiss embroidery stitch. Good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkhaha Posted January 17, 2008 Author Share Posted January 17, 2008 Did you just commit some kind of sin, being a Bronco fan and all?What makes you think I'm a Bronco fan?But seriously, folks... that's a good question. I'm an old guy (50 tomorrow) and I grew up in the 60s and 70s as a die-hard AFL/AFC fan. It may seem odd now, but such was my allegiance that I actually rooted for the RAIDERS the first two times they were in the Super Bowl. Of course, those days are long gone, and their recent slide into oblivion warms the cockles of my heart (whatever the hell they are).I've always loved most of the old AFL unis, in particular the Broncos '65-66 set (as shown in my sig), the Chargers, the Oilers, the Bills, the Pats -- almost of all them were classics, in my opinion. So I have no problem rockin' a Chargers throwback, but I would NEVER wear anything silver and black... In fact, I recently bought a cool throwback t-shirt that had all the old AFL helmets on it, and my wife threatened to put tape over the Raiders helmet! (One of the many reasons I love her, even though she thinks my uniform obsession is totally lame.)To answer the question of the next poster, Home Run Derby has a range of prices... A custom jersey may take a while, but as I said in my original post, Terry is a straight shooter, and I couldn't be happier. I'll definitely post pics of the Broncos jerseys when I receive them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gothamite Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 So they'll make custom versions of old NFL jerseys? Aren't there licensing issues involved? The Green Bay Packers Uniform Database! Now in a handy blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkhaha Posted January 17, 2008 Author Share Posted January 17, 2008 The original Chargers uniforms were made by Spanjian Sportswear when Spanjian was located in Pasadena. Spanjian moved to San Marcos (near San Diego) in the late '60s. Spanjian was bought out by DeLong Sportswear. The company that made this throwback has the correct number font. Those numbers were Spanjian's stock full-block font. The original 'bolts were made of tackle twill and sewn onto the sleeve insert with a swiss embroidery stitch. Good job.Yes, I was struck by the quality of the construction and the historical accuracy. They even replicated the large number font for the front like the Chargers had back in the day. Here are a couple more detail pics... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkhaha Posted January 17, 2008 Author Share Posted January 17, 2008 So they'll make custom versions of old NFL jerseys? Aren't there licensing issues involved?I'm not sure how they deal with that... or maybe they're flying under the radar, in which case I oughta shut up! I notice that on the site the jerseys they have in stock are just listed by the city name, with no reference to nicknames or anything to do with the NFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gothamite Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 Okay, I'm going to email him right now. There are several jerseys I'd like to have made.Did you have a minimum order? The Green Bay Packers Uniform Database! Now in a handy blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gothamite Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 Wow. That is one beautiful jersey. Outstanding.Hey, what's that baseball flannel off to the left, with the sleeve patch?Any idea? The Green Bay Packers Uniform Database! Now in a handy blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkhaha Posted January 17, 2008 Author Share Posted January 17, 2008 Okay, I'm going to email him right now. There are several jerseys I'd like to have made.Did you have a minimum order?I originally ordered a '65-66 Bronco road jersey. After some time went by, I contacted Terry for an ETA, and he told me that they have to have a certain number of orders come in before they can justify a production run. Of course, that gave me all the incentive I needed to go ahead and order a home jersey from the same era. They are now in production, and I can't wait! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkhaha Posted January 17, 2008 Author Share Posted January 17, 2008 Wow. That is one beautiful jersey. Outstanding.Hey, what's that baseball flannel off to the left, with the sleeve patch?Any idea?That's an old Denver Bears 1969 home jersey I had made by Ebbets Field Flannels. I also have a 1969 Bears road jersey that they did for me. Although I love the quality of the jerseys for the most part (the felt is off kilter on the back number on the road one), they are riddled with historical inaccuracies. When I tried to point this out to Jerry Cohen at Ebbets... well, let's just say he didn't exactly bowl me over with his people skills and customer service. I've had a much more enjoyable experience with Terry at Home Run Derby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illwauk Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 So they'll make custom versions of old NFL jerseys? Aren't there licensing issues involved?I think a lot of those jerseys have generic enough designs that they can get away with it. But if I were them, I'd stop putting the names on the jerseys which I'm sure would be a HUGE sticking point if they were to get sued.But since you're the man when it comes to Packers unis, how on point is that Travis Williams joint? The only thing I'm not sure of is the neck trim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powersurge Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 I don't know how practical it is anymore to have long sleeved football jerseys for the winter, but I think it would be pretty cool to see a team try to do it. I love those old pics of guys wearing the long sleeves covered in mud and grass. I think I have one of Butkus somewhere wearing something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gothamite Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 But since you're the man when it comes to Packers unis, how on point is that Travis Williams joint? The only thing I'm not sure of is the neck trim.Flatterer.Looks good to me otherwise, but I'm pretty sure that the Packers were wearing neck stripes on their road whites by 1967. Good catch.This SI is from the year before:as is this Mitchell & Ness version:I don't have a confirmation on when the neck stripes were added, but I want to say it was 1965. I have lots of home photos from the period but not a lot of road photos. The Green Bay Packers Uniform Database! Now in a handy blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illwauk Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 I just realized the twos don't match each other... although that might actually be accurate considering 1967 was well before anyone thought to standardize numerals (the 72 Dolphins had players on the field at the same time wearing different number and stripe styles).EDIT: Upon further review (read: me googling Super Bowl II ad nauseum), it looks like most of the Packers wore solid green neck stripes. Although Bart looks like he might have been wearing the green-yellow-green pattern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSky Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 That thing looks spot on. Very nice!P.S. I'm not a Raider fan by any stretch but this is one of the best looking jerseys ever. Love those silver numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkhaha Posted January 17, 2008 Author Share Posted January 17, 2008 I just realized the twos don't match each other... although that might actually be accurate considering 1967 was well before anyone thought to standardize numerals (the 72 Dolphins had players on the field at the same time wearing different number styles and sleeve striping).I have some photos from Super Bowl I that show Elijah Pitts with the sans-serif twos on his sleeves and the serif version for front and back. I think this was fairly common back then, as the Cowboys and Steelers (and probably some others I can't remember) all had slightly different twos for their TV numbers.As for the neck stripes, the beauty of ordering a custom jersey is that I'm pretty sure you can request that they be included. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spearhead Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 Wow, what an anomaly, the jersey Earl Campbell SHOULD have worn: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkhaha Posted January 17, 2008 Author Share Posted January 17, 2008 Wow, what an anomaly, the jersey Earl Campbell SHOULD have worn:I thought the same thing when I saw that one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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