Seldom are you afforded the chance to garner the combination of rare style, Hall of Famer, and high grade (A10) all in one offering. This jersey has it all and the original Cleveland Spirit of 76 Patch makes this a must have for any collection of vintage 1970 baseball knits. Worn by Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley in just his second season only adds to the significance of the piece.
Player Attribution and Dating: The jersey is attributed to Dennis Eckersley by both the presence of his name sewn directly to the back of the jersey as well as the number 37 as well. While the jersey is without any sort of supplemental year identification (which is not atypical for Cleveland Indians knits of this period), the jersey is dated to 1976 by the presence of the Cleveland Spirit of 76 patch on the right sleeve. The style of the Wilson manufacturers tag is one generally found during the period of around 1974-1978. The jersey is tagged as and measures as size 42. This is both consistent with period sizing of Dennis Eckersley (6’, 2”; 190 lbs - 1976 Street & Smith Yearbook) as well as:
MEARS Cert # 310895, 1976 Dennis Eckersley, Indians Red Jersey; Wilson, Size 42
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. Getty 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): (PLATES I-III)
Getty # 85266177: Dennis Eckersley
Getty # 85266184: Jackie Brown
Getty # 85266156: John Lowenstein
Use and Wear: The jersey features signs of moderate use and wear with even and consistent surface wear to all fabrics. There is slight separation to the anchor stitching on the Wilson manufacturers tag. The rear numerals and letters are lightly toned with only the slightest signs of rust like flecks on tiny portions of the letters “E” and “C” of Eckersley. All lettering and numbering, as well as the patches are original to the jersey and the gathering of the fabric beneath these is even and consistent. The jersey features a blue autograph at the top of the rear numeral “3”. 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 Wilson product provided for use and wear by Dennis Eckersley with the Cleveland Indians in 1976. 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 1976 Dennis Eckersley Cleveland Indians Home Jersey with MEARS hologram #311471 is A10.