First a bit of history... In 1994, celebrating its' 75th season, the NFL asked teams to don "thowback" uniforms for at least one each home and away game. On September 26th, Broncos' QB John Elway wore just such a jersey--styled after the teams' 1966 unifroms--for an away game at Buffalo. This was the ONLY game in which this particular style of uniform was worn.
A couple of years ago, it was brought to our attention that Grey Flannel had authentiacation and/or auctioned more than one of this style of jersey. Our research uncovered at least 3 GFC LOAs which had been written for different jerseys. With some e-mail correspondence and a couple of phone calls to Andy Imperato, he agreed that it was improper for GFC to contiunue to authenticate this style of jersey. To the best of our knowledge (and to GFCs credit), we are not aware of any additional Elway jerseys of this style being authenticated offered.
http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/Auction_Item.asp?auction_id=13525
Having just viewed American Memorabilia's Apr 7 Auction offering, I noticed that they are now offering their third version (that we're aware of) of Elway's one-time-wear gamer (the first was Lot #115 in 9/02 auction and the second was Lot #48 in their 10/04 auction). All three of which were authenticated by Lou Lampson dba 100% Authentic, which I believe is a subsidiary of American Memorabilia (AMI).
The rub is that this issue is apparently not a concern to either the auction house or autheticator as it was brought to the attention of both AMI and Mr. Lampson via our e-mail of 10/23/04 (to which we received no response from either), the text of which follows:
----- Original Message -----
From: theendzone
To: Auctions@AmericanMemorabilia.com
Cc: Authenticators@100PercentAuthentic.com
Sent: Saturday, October 23, 2004 12:19 PM
Subject: Elway 1994 Throwback Jersey Questions
Ladies and Gentlemen;
We are preparing for an update of our web site and at the behest of a reader, intend to do a short news piece regarding an item offered in your recently completed auction--Lot 48: 1994 John Elway Game Worn Jersey. We are hopeful that either American Memorabilia (AM) and /or Lou Lampson might choose to respond, so that we may include your statements as part of this article.
Your comments/answers to any/all of the following items would be appreciated:
Sources from both the Denver Broncos' media relations department (Rebecca Villanueva) and the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Jason Aikens, JAikens@ProFootballHOF.com) have confirmed our research that the Broncos wore the road "Thowback" uniforms in one game ONLY (9/26/94). The Pro Football Hall of Fame lays claim to this jersey, (per Mr. Aikens) noting that Elway's entire uniform from this game was obtained directly from the Denver Broncos. This point was also brought to AM's attention via out e-mail of 10/4/04, from which we received no response.
----- Original Message -----
From: info@americanmemorabilia.com
Sent: Monday, October 04, 2004 7:56 AM
Subject: www.americanmemorabilia.com/Store Contact Us Page
We received the following submission:
Submitted By: William Bosco
Email: theendzone
Country: United States
Submitted: 10/4/2004 9:56:32 AM
Comments: Regarding lot #48 in your 10/21 auction... This style of jersey was worn only once (on 9/26/94) and the Pro Football HOF lays claim to having obtained Elway's entire uniform worn during this game, directly from the Broncos. How might you explain such a conflict with provenance?
We value your questions/comments and will be responding shortly.
--Team American Memorabilia, Inc. http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/Store/
Lot 115 of your 9/2/2002 auction, while the same style of jersey, would appear to be materially different based on the catalog descriptions (i.e. amount of wear, autographed vs. non). Is this the second time that you've offered the same jersey or a second "unique" jersey being offered? Note: See attachment
As an advocate for integrity within the game-used/worn memorabilia hobby we will look forward to your response so that we may present the most objective information to our readers.
Best regards,
W. Bosco
