Expert Mantle opinions wanted! Fantasy camp or fantasy piece?

[JoeDfan]

Sometimes, my curiosity gets the best of me. I watched this jersey go around on ebay a few times, and shied away from it. But then one night, I saw it again, and had a thought. The longer the night went on, the more the thought came back. So, long story short, I was able to successfully negotiate a sale, and the jersey arrived today. I didn’t pay a lot for it, but I will leave it to you to look up the completed sales if you want to know; I am sure it is there.

Essentially, my thought was this:
It could be a total fantasy piece. If it is, no one made any effort to hide anything.
But, I think the tags look correct for a 1985 game worn jersey. You can clearly see that someone took scissors and trimmed out the word “Fisher” in the collar, and wrote in “Mick”. They also crossed out “Hop”. You can also clearly see that the number “54” was once on this jersey. You can also clearly see that another number, “74” was also on this jersey. Then at some point, the “4” was taken off, and the “7” was moved over to the center.

Is it possible that this was a Brian Fisher gamer, recycled to Florida for spring training (which would explain the “74”), and then recycled again for one of Mick’s fantasy camps? I could totally envision (and by now, my theory turns into a total fable) Mick putting on a trash jersey with his number on it, just long enough to run out onto the field and give it to some guy who plunked down his money for the ultimate Yankee experience.

As usual, I want to say that I felt that the ebay seller was more than honest with me about what I was buying, and I completely made this ridiculous story up all by myself.

So, I am asking you, the Net54 experts, to chime in with any and all opinions. Don’t worry, I am fully expecting to wake up tomorrow morning and see 1000+ comments of “you are a knucklehead”; but hey, in this hobby, sometimes you have just got to have a little fun with your imagination.

Sean

[ooo-ribay]

"You are a knucklehead" but I really enjoyed reading your story.

Seriously, though....who knows? Your explanation might hold water. Did I miss it or did you have a thought on who "Hop" might be?

[murphusa]

So they were that cheap that hey couldn't give Mick a new jersey

[bnorth]

Can't argue with the knucklehead part.

Unless you can get a good close up photo to match it with Mickey wearing it, it is probably a fantasy piece. The price also says fantasy. If there was any chance of it being real the seller would not have come down to the price paid.

Disclaimer: I know nothing about jerseys and have not stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in many years.

[JoeDfan]

Originally Posted by ooo-ribay

"You are a knucklehead" but I really enjoyed reading your story.

Seriously, though....who knows? Your explanation might hold water. Did I miss it or did you have a thought on who "Hop" might be?

I have no idea who "Hop" might be; but I plan on researching it.

To Ben's point, I do plan on searching the internet to find a picture; but until then, it is just a fantasy wall hanger...

Thanks everyone!

Sean

[Brandon554]

Howard "Hop" Cassady was a AAA coach and scout for the Yankees farm team, the Columbus Clippers. He also won a Heisman in 1955. I would start there

[JoeDfan]

Originally Posted by Brandon554

Howard "Hop" Cassady was a AAA coach and scout for the Yankees farm team, the Columbus Clippers. He also won a Heisman in 1955. I would start there

According to a NY Times article I just found, Cassady lives in Tampa, and has worked spring training for the Yankees since 1976. In uniform.

I also just bought a 1986 Brian Fisher Topps Tiffany card. While it is not definitive of course, I think the pinstripes pass through the "NY" very closely to my "Mantle". At least worthy of a closer look, I think.

Suddenly, I feel like this ridiculous story might not be as ridiculous as I first thought.
But of course, I am still a long way from Mick.

[JoeDfan]

Also, according to Keith Olbermann on his blog, Mantle was barred from MLB activities after 1983 for his affiliation with an Atlantic City Casino. He was not allowed to return as a spring training coach until March of 1985. While this certainly doesn't connect Mantle with my jersey, the timing of his return to spring training matches the time frame I am looking for.