1972-73 NHL BOSTON BRUINS # 28 DOUG ROBERTS GAME WORN JERSEY - MESH STALL AND DEAN - WHITE HOME

This jersey was worn by defenseman Doug Roberts during the 1972-73 Regular Season and potentially the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Bruins were eliminated in 5 games in the quarter final vs the New York Rangers.  A story that has surfaced regarding these jerseys is that Phil Esposito got injured in game 2 of this quarter final while wearing these jerseys. As a result the team thought the jerseys were cursed and chose to never wear them again in actual regular season or playoff competition. While this may be true, I believe there may have been several factors that contributed to the teams decision to not use these any longer. First, it appears that the jerseys did not have a consistent fit. The Bruins wore these jerseys for photo shoots the following season and most of these images appeared on the 1974 OPC hockey cards. In these images you can see that some of the players had to have the jerseys shortened (including this one) by folding the gold knit hem under and creating a new hem. (You can see in the attached photo of Bobby Orr that he also had this customization on his jersey). Secondly when putting the jersey over one's head, it is very tight and uncomfortable and would be most restricting in the neck area. And finally, the jerseys did not appear to wash very well as observed in the greying affect that resulted in the black screened on areas of the jersey.

There is no evidence that the black jerseys were ever worn in regular season or playoffs. Only the white jerseys appear to have been used in actual game action. An accompanying photo to this product listing shows goaltender Ross Brooks wearing this exact style of jersey in the 1973 training camp. So we do know that the jerseys were kept with the team and recycled for training camp use and potentially practices. 

This jersey measures to a size 54 (27" chest). The body is composed of a lightweight white mesh with black and gold trim. The shoulder and original hem are made of a heavy cotton knit material. All the cresting and numbers are screened on. This is the only example of these jerseys I have seen that has the original Stall And Dean Brockton Massachusetts tag in the collar. There is another tag present in the lower left gold knit hem, but it is not visible due to the hem being turned under and a new hem being created. It does however appear to be a "wash" tag.

Evidence of wear is exhibited in the form of un-repaired burn holes and stick marks. 

There have only been a handful of these jerseys ever surface. The jersey will come with a comprehensive letter of authenticity by Global Vintage Sports Memorabilia Inc.