Jump to content

Custom Jerseys


BlueSky

Recommended Posts

My quest for a late '60's Saints jersey had been limited to Home Run Derby, the only place I could find that could/would make it. Ran across these guys on the UniWatch site and wondered whether anyone has used them. If so, what's your take?

Doesn't look like they'd do professional teams, their examples are all of minor teams. But who knows, maybe they do under the table professional reproductions.

neonmatrix_leafs2.gif

Because Korbyn Is Colour Blind, My Signature Is Now Idiot Proof - Thanks Again Braden!!

Go Leafs Go!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My quest for a late '60's Saints jersey had been limited to Home Run Derby, the only place I could find that could/would make it. Ran across these guys on the UniWatch site and wondered whether anyone has used them. If so, what's your take?

Doesn't look like they'd do professional teams, their examples are all of minor teams. But who knows, maybe they do under the table professional reproductions.

Good question. How far back do licensing requirements go? Does the NFL own every jersey design ever worn? And unless a jersey has a logo on it, how do they enforce it since a lot of those old jerseys were pretty generic?

92512B20-6264-4E6C-AAF2-7A1D44E9958B-481-00000047E259721F.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My quest for a late '60's Saints jersey had been limited to Home Run Derby, the only place I could find that could/would make it. Ran across these guys on the UniWatch site and wondered whether anyone has used them. If so, what's your take?

Doesn't look like they'd do professional teams, their examples are all of minor teams. But who knows, maybe they do under the table professional reproductions.

They e-mailed me back and said they could do it. Good question though, how far back do licensing requirements go? Does the NFL own every jersey design ever worn? And unless a jersey has a logo on it, how do they enforce it since a lot of those old jerseys were pretty generic?

It wouldn't surprise me if that's the exact reason why the NFL pushes for teams like the Browns, Jets, Steelers, etc. to put a wordmark or logo somewhere on the front of the jersey.

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
My quest for a late '60's Saints jersey had been limited to Home Run Derby, the only place I could find that could/would make it. Ran across these guys on the UniWatch site and wondered whether anyone has used them. If so, what's your take?

BlueSky, I've been meaning to reply to this for awhile but I got preoccupied with some other threads! Anyway, I have done business with both HR Derby and Classic Old School Gear, and they both have their strengths and weaknesses. Here is a pic of a jersey COSG did for me:

COSGBroncos65.jpg

The service from Alain (COSG owner) was absolutely first rate. He only wanted like 10% down to start the project, he showed me initial drawings and kept me informed every step of the way, he sent me the photo shown above before he mailed the jersey, and he gave me tracking numbers when he sent it. And the whole process took about six weeks. Unfortunately, I wasn't bowled over by the final product. Although the lettering is quite nice, the material, construction and cut are a little funky and not quite like a vintage jersey. I think if I had been going for a mesh jersey from the 70s or something like that they might have gotten closer to what I was looking for.

I have talked about this before in another thread, but here are the home and away '65-66 jerseys HR Derby did for me:

65_BroncosGG3.jpg

1965_Broncos_Road_Back.jpg

Although Terry seems like a very nice guy and I've heard nothing but good things about him on this board, it really took them a long time to deliver these -- eight months for the orange one and over a year for the white one, even though I had actually ordered the white one first. The only good thing about the lag time was that they were able to correct some of the mistakes they made in the orange one (truncated shoulder stripe, too thick collar) by the time they did the white one. Even with the long delay and the mistakes on the orange one, these are the real deal -- manufactured by Southland Athletic in Texas, with actual inserts and woven-in striping just like back in the day. So if you're after something really authentic (and you have the patience of Job), I would recommend HR Derby. On the other hand, I really want to figure out another project to slide Alain's way, because his service was so exemplary.

Hope this helps!

1966BroncosMED.jpg64BearsBlasingamelowres-1.jpgKeyeReboundCloseJPG.jpgDUMagnuson.jpg
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The one thing about Southland's Durene stuff is that they won't make less than 12 pieces. I was going to work on some for my Dad's high school team's annual reunion, but I only had 6 spoken for and they didn't want to fire up the machine for less than 12- that might have something to do with what took so long to get those from Terry (and I agree, super nice guy- really enjoyed dealing with him way back when).

"Hats for bats. Keep bats warm. Gracias"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's already been a couple months since I ordered my 1944 Don Hutson Packers jersey from HR Derby. If they make it right, I don't mind waiting until next season to get it.

Another thing about them - unlike a lot of companies, they don't seem to be too bothered by returns of custom merchandise. When I inquired about their sizing, his response was "if it doesn't fit, send it back and we'll make another."

All indications are good, fingers crossed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the advice. Seems like neither is the perfect choice. HRD sounds great but I have absolutely NO interest in waiting 8 months or a year for a jersey. I understand these are custom pieces and so on but that's absurd. OTOH I'm very impressed by COSG's process and my e-mail exchanges with the guy who runs it, but I'm concerned by what you said about the materials and fit. Also, is it me or are the numbers on the #24 COSG jersey you had done spaced too far apart? The last thing I want is to drop the $$ it costs to get one of these customs jobs made only to be disappointed in the final product. The ideal of course would be to walk into Distant Replays (they're here in Atlanta) and find a nice Saints throwback in there, something I could see and feel and try on before buying. But while there are some very nice Packers, Colts, Jets, et. al. throwbacks, it'll probably be a long time if ever that the NFL does the Saints one I'm looking for.

I really, really want one of those late '60's Saints jerseys and have been reluctant to exercise my other alternative, buying a current authentic Saints jersey, for fear they'll change the design the next season. Ha - guess that would be a throwback then. :D

Decisions, decisions...

EDIT: E-mailed HRD and they quoted 10-12 weeks. Darkhaha, were you quoted a time that they then exceeded or did you expect it to take as long as it did? Also, can you elaborate on "...the material, construction and cut are a little funky and not quite like a vintage jersey"? COSG told me their material is a heavy poly, not durene, so that part I understand, but if you could explain further I'd appreciate it. BTW, those Broncos jerseys are very cool.

92512B20-6264-4E6C-AAF2-7A1D44E9958B-481-00000047E259721F.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the advice. Seems like neither is the perfect choice. HRD sounds great but I have absolutely NO interest in waiting 8 months or a year for a jersey. I understand these are custom pieces and so on but that's absurd. OTOH I'm very impressed by COSG's process and my e-mail exchanges with the guy who runs it, but I'm concerned by what you said about the materials and fit. Also, is it me or are the numbers on the #24 COSG jersey you had done spaced too far apart? The last thing I want is to drop the $$ it costs to get one of these customs jobs made only to be disappointed in the final product. The ideal of course would be to walk into Distant Replays (they're here in Atlanta) and find a nice Saints throwback in there, something I could see and feel and try on before buying. But while there are some very nice Packers, Colts, Jets, et. al. throwbacks, it'll probably be a long time if ever that the NFL does the Saints one I'm looking for.

I really, really want one of those late '60's Saints jerseys and have been reluctant to exercise my other alternative, buying a current authentic Saints jersey, for fear they'll change the design the next season. Ha - guess that would be a throwback then. :D

Decisions, decisions...

EDIT: E-mailed HRD and they quoted 10-12 weeks. Darkhaha, were you quoted a time that they then exceeded or did you expect it to take as long as it did? Also, can you elaborate on "...the material, construction and cut are a little funky and not quite like a vintage jersey"? COSG told me their material is a heavy poly, not durene, so that part I understand, but if you could explain further I'd appreciate it. BTW, those Broncos jerseys are very cool.

The cut of the COSG just doesn't seem to be from a standard jersey template, and the thick blue field with white stripes, which is supposed to be an insert that starts at about shoulder level, was actually just another piece of fabric sewed on the outside, and a little too far down the sleeve, sort of like on a Canadiens sweater.

It's hard to describe the material on the COSG jersey, except to say that it is not very close to the more accurate nylon Durene fabric that HR Derby employs. Of course, the fabric HR Derby currently uses, which is 100% nylon with a Durene coating, is not as nice and historically accurate as the material they used to use, which was 50% cotton (on the inside of the jersey) and 50% nylon (the outside), with a Durene coating. (Thanks to BulldogPark for explaining these distinctions in an earlier post.) Last year I bought two great used HR Derby jerseys on eBay (a '65 Dickie Post Charger road and a '69 Roman Gabriel Rams blue) that had the old-time 50% nylon/50% cotton fabric, and they are by far the most comfortable and authentic in my collection.

When I first ordered my Bronco jerseys from HR Derby, I was quoted a turn-around time of 10-12 weeks, and it turned into much longer than that. In their defense, I will mention a couple of mitigating factors:

1. Apparently the machine at Southland broke down for quite awhile and delayed a bunch of orders.

2. To make up for the delay, Terry sent me a jersey they had in stock for free (I chose a '65 John Hadl Chargers home).

1966BroncosMED.jpg64BearsBlasingamelowres-1.jpgKeyeReboundCloseJPG.jpgDUMagnuson.jpg
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I remember hearing about that. I think that them and Ripon are the only companies that still have/use Durene fabric. However, I think that Ripon uses sublimation to color their jerseys. Plus, they only use Durene for the M&N throwbacks and for the Steelers, who I believe use woven durene stripes on their jerseys.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Darkhaha, in reference to HRD, it appears their process is to just tell them what you want and then wait for the jersey to see if they got it right as opposed to what COSG does. Was that your experience or was there any back and forth at all on the design with HRD? Did you send them pics? How did that process work?

Thanks for your help on this. I'm just reluctant to drop $100-200 on a jersey without feeling completely comfortable about the finished product.

92512B20-6264-4E6C-AAF2-7A1D44E9958B-481-00000047E259721F.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Darkhaha, in reference to HRD, it appears their process is to just tell them what you want and then wait for the jersey to see if they got it right as opposed to what COSG does. Was that your experience or was there any back and forth at all on the design with HRD? Did you send them pics? How did that process work?

Thanks for your help on this. I'm just reluctant to drop $100-200 on a jersey without feeling completely comfortable about the finished product.

When I first talked to Terry at HR Derby, he alluded to the fact that they had done the Bronco jerseys before, so I assumed they knew what they were doing. Plus, I sent them the following PDF, which is pretty specific:

Broncos 1965 Uniform Specs

However, when I received the orange jersey I noticed that the white collar was much too wide and that they had truncated the top white stripes on the shoulders. I could have returned the jersey for a full refund, but at that point I wanted the damn thing. The good news is that when they did the run of the white jerseys, they corrected these problems.

The crux of the biscuit is this: Terry is a stand-up guy, so if you order the jersey and don't like it, I'm pretty sure he will give you a full refund. However, if I were you I would try to be as specific as possible about what you want right from the beginning. And if they do a run of the white Saints jerseys with the gold numbers, I might just have to buy one myself!

1966BroncosMED.jpg64BearsBlasingamelowres-1.jpgKeyeReboundCloseJPG.jpgDUMagnuson.jpg
Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, thanks for all the info. Another question - does HRD basically take full payment up front then hold your money for however long it takes to make the jersey?

I think I'm going to e-mail the guy and suggest they consider a FAQ section for their site. I'm sure many people have the same questions and it would save them a lot of time to answer in advance. For one thing, how do they research the jerseys to make sure for instance that they get the unique gold the Saints used in '67?

92512B20-6264-4E6C-AAF2-7A1D44E9958B-481-00000047E259721F.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, thanks for all the info. Another question - does HRD basically take full payment up front then hold your money for however long it takes to make the jersey?

I think I'm going to e-mail the guy and suggest they consider a FAQ section for their site. I'm sure many people have the same questions and it would save them a lot of time to answer in advance. For one thing, how do they research the jerseys to make sure for instance that they get the unique gold the Saints used in '67?

Yes, they take full payment up front and hold the money, which is different than Ebbets Field Flannels, for instance, a company that also makes custom jerseys.

I've been looking at HR-Derby's website for 3 or 4 years now and have never seen one update, so If you can get them to do an FAQ section my hat is off to you...

1966BroncosMED.jpg64BearsBlasingamelowres-1.jpgKeyeReboundCloseJPG.jpgDUMagnuson.jpg
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
Hey BlueSky, did you ever order a 1969 Saints jersey anywhere? Just curious.

Not yet. Still mulling over what number to get and whether to go with the '67 or '69 design.

Did you decide which company to go with? You're thinking about a white jersey, right? I'd love to have one of those myself.

1966BroncosMED.jpg64BearsBlasingamelowres-1.jpgKeyeReboundCloseJPG.jpgDUMagnuson.jpg
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
Hey BlueSky, did you ever order a 1969 Saints jersey anywhere? Just curious.

Not yet. Still mulling over what number to get and whether to go with the '67 or '69 design.

Did you decide which company to go with? You're thinking about a white jersey, right? I'd love to have one of those myself.

No, I haven't done anything yet. I'm just not sure enough of either company.

92512B20-6264-4E6C-AAF2-7A1D44E9958B-481-00000047E259721F.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.