Restoration: Oakland A's flannels and knits

It was common practice for the A's to send player jerseys down to the minors after their use in the majors was through. Player names were stripped, and expert restoration is desired. Here are the three, with "before and after" photos. Follow along to see the process.

This is a real beauty! Gene Tenace's gold 1971 jersey

(back)

Clearly the same jersey from this photo match. Look at the distortion of the shape of the lettering, caused by the wearing of catchers' equipment for so many hours.

The correct tag is inside the jersey,

Here you can see the "ghosts" of Tenance's original nameplate.

(We've digitally outlined the lettering so you can see it better.)

Screen Shot 2018-12-02 at 10.31.54 AM.png

We crafted the name using the A's original "pencil thin" font from our archives.

We laid out the name perfectly prior to heat-pressing it on for exact sewing.

We stitch the jersey after the heat press "locks in" the correct placement.

Here is the final result of the restoration!

The "ghost" of the name on the back (NOB) is visible on the light table.

The ghosts are visible on the light table. Note the distortion on the ends -- I avoid sewing new lettering on crooked like this... it just looks wrong.

The NOB crafted to exactly cover the ghosts. But how jarring it would be to have the name be so bright white when the numbers are yellowed with age. What to do?

Boiling the twill in Lipton tea makes it perfectly match the 40 year old originals.

The thread is also boiled in the tea to make it match.

This shows various pieces of twill, boiled in different kinds of tea and coffee in an attempt to get the best match. At far right, notice the undyed piece for reference.