Steve: I bought my jacket in 1988 (still fits) at Gerry Cosby’s at Madison Square Garden, one of the few places at that time that sold authentic team apparel.It is the same one they wore in 1986. I bought the 25th Anniversary patch, which I know from pictures is vintage and not a repro, on ebay and had it sewn on at a uniform store a few years ago.
I had to have my name on back of my jacket, but only if I could match the font exactly. I have found pictures of the same font on jackets worn by the 1989 A’s and 1990 Reds (Yes that makes 3 world championship teams to use the font!). The jackets were all made by Starter, so I have concluded that Starter embroidered the names for certain teams that wanted it. The font has not been used in years…to recreate it, I was lucky enough to buy a jacket worn by coach Rich Miller on ebay for $100 (asking price was $495).
I’m pretty good copying artwork, so using MS Paint, with some help from Bill Henderson author of MLB Game Worn Jerseys Guide, I recreated my name and most of the whole font. Then I had to find an embroiderer who could use my art to create a file the embroidery machine could use. I used America’s Stitch Authority (thanks Lisa!), who did a great job and put up with my pickiness.
This font was used on the Mets satin jackets some of your readers may own right into the early 1990s. If someone wants their name in the font to embroider, I may be able to help them.
The result is attached.
