Not to be outdone by their garish softball uniforms of the previous decade, the Chicago White Sox ushered in a new favorite of uniform collectors with this style in 1982. Although the design was short lived spanning only five seasons, for a generation of White Sox fans these became a lasting memory of Comiskey Park and the Southside. Harold Baines, also a fan favorite, wore this offering during 1985 campaign; a season that saw him make his first of six All Star appearances. An un-improvable grade of A10 and original 75th Anniversary of Comiskey Park Patch await the next owner.
Player Attribution and Dating: The jersey is attributed to Harold Baines by both the presence of his name sewn directly to the back of the jersey as well as the number 3 on the rear. In addition, there is a strip tag in the tail with supplemental information of year and size (85 44). This is both consistent with period sizing of Harold Baines (6’, 2”; 189 lbs - 1985 Street & Smith Yearbook). The jersey is tagged as and measures as a size 44. As such I consider this to be an appropriate sized jersey for Harold Baines at this point in time.
Construction: The jersey is constructed of a period appropriate knit fabric and features Raglan style sleeves. The jersey is a pullover variant which is also team/period appropriate. Period images can be used to confirm various physical characteristics of the jersey to include sleeve and collar trim, alpha-numeric font styles, and direct application of player name (vs nameplate) and 75th Anniversary of Comiskey Park patch worn on the left sleeve: (PLATES I-III). The jersey is Sand-Knit MacGregor product and both the manufacturers tag and team exclusive tag are period and team appropriate. While these products typically feature the player name screen to a strip tag, the player name has washed out of this tag. This is not uncommon and can be found in other 1985 White Sox home jerseys in the MEARS data base.
MEARS Cert # 301540, Greg Walker 1985 Chicago White Sox Home Jersey (Name in tail laundered out)
The cut of the jersey through the torso also presents a tapered appearance when compared to a period on hand exemplar of White Sox Coach Ed Brinkman.
Use and Wear: The jersey features signs of moderate use and wear with even and consistent surface wear to all fabrics. All anchor stitching remains strong and fully intact. The 75th Anniversary patch is original to the jersey and the fabric gathering beneath the patch is consistent with that of other items sewn to the jersey. The jersey features a black autograph across the stomach. This is the only writing present on the jersey.
Opinion: This jersey possess all of the characteristics that I would expect to find in a Sand-Kint MacGregor product provided for use and wear by Harold Baines with the Chicago White Sox in 1985. The MEARS grading criteria for pre-1988 jerseys begins with a base grade of 10 and five categories for deductions. I found no reasons to deduct points from this jersey.
As such the final grade for this 1985 Harold Baines Chicago White Sox Home Jersey with MEARS hologram #311472 is A10.