It would be incredibly difficult to fake a jersey like this. There are so many things to consider. I took all these into account when purchasing a pre-war jersey. I'm sure there are many things I missed too. One wrong answer to any of these can be a huge red flag.
1) Is the jersey made of the correct material? Different fabric blends and weights can be pinpointed to different time periods.
2) Who was the manufacturer?
3) Does the style of the manufacturer's tagging, wash instructions, etc. match the period the jersey was supposedly used?
4) Is the jersey the correct size for the player?
5) Does the jersey have the correct lettering font on the front?
6) Is the style of the number font correct?
7) Is the lettering the correct color?
8) Is the font placement correct?
9) Is the font material correct?
10) Does the jersey have correct buttons?
11) Does the jersey have the correct number of buttons?
12) Is the button placement correct?
13) Is the pinstriping correct?
14) Are team personalizations correct (chain-stitching, etc.)
15) Does the jersey show any alterations?
16) Does the hem match period specifications?
17) What about the taper?
18) What kind of wear does it show?
19) What about the collar style?
20) What about the armpits? There are different methods of sewing the sleeves to the shirt (and sometimes even different fabrics). Even things like the placement and number of air holes in the arm pits have to be consistent with examples from the manufacturer from that period.
Provenance and photomatching can only strengthen an argument.
The nice thing about Ruth jerseys is that several have survived. It is tougher to make a comparison when something is one of a kind.
Just food for thought.
Chris
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