Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Winter 2014
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/25/2014
A decade before Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe, would begin lacing them up for the Detroit Red Wings, another Wings player roamed the ice in his wool sweater with number "9" on the back, Wally Kilrea, a small yet versatile forward who would hold the Stanley Cup high in the spring of '36 and '37. Heady days indeed for Kilrea and teammates Marty Barry, Syd Howe, Mud Bruneteau, Bucko McDonald (who would one day mentor a little Parry Sound kid named Orr), and all the others who wore those old, itchy sweaters that ooze history, sweaters that are mostly gone now. But we say "mostly", because Classic Auctions is thrilled to present a game sweater believed to be Cup-era and attributed to Wally Kilrea when he was hoisting those Cups in the 1930s, complete with the soon-to-be iconic number 9 on the back! What a classic gamer it is, with the embroidered winged wheel sewn on slightly off-centre, with a scattering of holes throughout that include team repairs on many, and of course, the white felt number 9 completely intact. Speaking of team repairs, we see at least 8 on the right sleeve, 7 on the left sleeve, another 9 at least on the front, and at least 5 on the back. On the inside hem is a tag that reads "Made under Knitted Outerwear Code Authority". To note is how we've dated this vintage gamer, beginning with the team crest that shows white in the red embroidered areas, the lines in the wheel logo point as opposed to more square ones on examples from earlier years, and the tagging on the inside hem "Size 42, Tool Shop Hardware Co. Detroit, Mich" with the "O'Shea Knitting Mills of Chicago" logo are the same as a circa 1937 sweater we previously sold from the Jimmy Orlando family and others from families of players of that era as well. Such a time it was for the era of this Red Wings gamer. In the semi-finals of 1936, Wings teammate Mud Bruneteau ended the longest game in NHL history with a goal in the sixth overtime period against the Montreal Maroons, and the Wings would go on to sweep the Montrealers. In the finals, it took Detroit four games to dispose of the Toronto Maple Leafs, while in 1937, Kilrea and the boys bested the Habs in five games and then the Rangers in another five. We're excited to offer Wally Kilrea’s game-worn sweater from days of old. An absolute Hall of Fame-worthy garment, ready for the hammer to come down.
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