Curtis Joseph
1989-90 St. Louis Blues
Home Jersey, Preseason
Photo-Matched, FIRST PRO JERSEY
This jersey has an interesting history and has been one of the most challenging pieces in the collection to authenticate. But first, a little history lesson.
The St. Louis Blues changed their jerseys virtually every season from the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. In the 1988-89 season, the logo on their jerseys looked like this:
An American forward named Jim Vesey wore the number 33 that season and played in 5 games: two at home and three away. In his very first NHL game in St. Louis, Jim got in a fight where he would get cut near his right eye.
Fast forward to the summer of 1989. The St. Louis Blues outbid other teams such as the Hartford Whalers, New York Islanders, and Edmonton Oilers to sign the un-drafted University of Wisconsin’s stand-out goaltender: Curtis Joseph. When the Blues announced signing him, they also stated that Curtis would wear the number 31.
For the 1989-90 season, the Blues updated their logo:
Since the Blues were changing logos and jerseys, many players reused regular season and preseason jerseys from prior seasons. Curtis injured his knee early in training camp, so his chances to push Vincent Riendeau or Greg Millen for an NHL roster spot were eliminated.
On September 29th, 1989 the St. Louis Blues (home) and Edmonton Oilers (away) played a neutral site game in Sacramento, California. After nursing his injury since early in training camp, Curtis got his first and only preseason start. Curtis played the entire game, earning a 3-3 tie. A minor observation: Curtis did not wear the number 31 as intended– He wore the number 33!
When Curtis made his NHL Regular Season debut the following January, he was wearing the new style jerseys, with the number 31 we’ve all known him to wear his entire pro career.
So, how did he end up with the number 33 and what happened to the number 31?
Per Kelly Chase, he wore the number 31 during the 1988 preseason. A fellow collector owns a 1988-89 number 31 with a Joseph nameplate attached. That jersey also looks accurate and has plenty of wear on it. It’s my belief that this sweater was either prepared for Joseph but lost/forgotten before the preseason game, or found and had the nameplate attached later. Either way, it wasn’t handy when Curtis was going to play in the preseason and they had to whip up this sweater quickly so he could play. Maybe one day, I’ll be able to discover exactly what happened.
Now, with what we know, how do we authenticate it?
This jersey features a Vesey nameplate sewn on under the Joseph nameplate. On top of that, it has a light blood stain on the right shoulder, evidence of the cut Jim sustained during his first NHL game and fight. Regular skater wear is very light, a sign that the jersey was not used a lot. The customization is accurate for a jersey from this season with no red flags. Outside of running a DNA comparison on the blood, this logically had to be worn by Jim.
How do we know it was worn by Curtis? Besides the Joseph nameplate sewed on, It has marks on the front and arms on the jersey are are consistent with puck marks from saves. It also has red paint transfer on the back of the forearms, which makes sense as the net was probably painted in preparation for an NHL preseason game, and Curtis would hug the posts during play. So, on top of establishing this jersey was worn by Vesey, it was also worn by a goalie, and no other goalie wore the number 33 between Vesey’s games and Cujo’s preseason game.
Additionally, older Blues jerseys had a lot of “character” as the logos were often done by hand. You could have two jerseys next to each other and notice slight differences that wouldn’t occur if they had been done in a factory. When you closely examine the cover of this magazine, you can see unique details that match the jersey.
