Matching Jerseys to Photos

It's always fun to match your jerseys with photos of the players wearing them.  However, you have to remember that the jersey may not look exactly like its photo counterpart because it may have been washed, either fading or removing markings, or may have been the recipient of a truckload of additional wear after the picture was taken, thereby camouflaging marks you see in the photo.  Team programs, media guides, sports cards and video all make excellent sources for finding a matching shot.

The easiest jersey 'fingerprints' to see in a photo are stick marks which leave black streaks wherever stick tape may came into hard contact with the jersey.  Pictured below is a 96-97 Martin Lapointe Red Wings home jersey and a detail of the jersey in the photo.

Another fingerprint that is easy to recognize is the team repair, which, if it is a large enough of a stitch job, can be seen somewhat easily in quality photos.   Below is a Marcus Ragnarsson card which shows some stitch work done on his 95-96 rookie-year Sharks home jersey, and a detail of the jersey itself.