1987-88 Cooper Muskegon Alternate Game Worn
#29 Dwight Mathiasen
Manufacturer: Cooper
Size: XL
Purchased From: Game Worn Auctions
Lettered by: The Muskegon Lumberjacks
The Story: The Muskegon Lumberjacks were a storied franchise in minor league hockey circles for most of the second half of the twentieth century. Founded in 1960 as the Muskegon Zephyrs of the International Hockey League, they had their ups and downs over the years and went through many changes. In only their second season, the Zephyrs won both the Huber Trophy (as the IHL's regular season point leader) and the Turner Cup (awarded to the IHL's playoff champion). Renamed the Mohawks in 1965, they continued as one of the IHL's most successful franchises before falling into the category of also-rans through the 1970's. In 1981, the Mohawks became the Pittsburgh Penguins' second-tier minor league affiliate. No longer financially viable, and in a series of events you'd only expect to see in comedy movies like Slapshot, they were sold for one dollar (yes, literally ONE DOLLAR) in 1984 to former Edmonton Oilers GM Larry Gordon and were again renamed, this time as the Lumberjacks after a local contest was held to choose a new name. Muskegon took a chance and hired former Hartford Whalers legend Rick Ley as head coach and the move immediately paid dividends, as the "Jacks" lost in the 1985 Turner Cup Finals before winning the Turner Cup again in 1986. Success continued and, when the Pens' AHL affiliate in Baltimore folded in 1987, the influx of talent under contract with Pittsburgh helped the Lumberjacks to set an IHL record with 126 points in 1987-88 - a record that was never surpassed - for the franchise's eighth Huber Trophy. Muskegon mainstays Scott Gruhl, Jock Callander, and Dave Michayluk were joined by Baltimore veteran Warren Young as well as young and talented players like Phil Bourque, Jim Paek, Frank Pietrangelo, Dave McLlwain, and in later years, Mark Recchi, Paul Stanton, and Kevin Stevens to form a minor league juggernaut that continued to develop talent for the big club for years. The heavily-favored 1987-88 Jacks lost in the first round of the Turner Cup playoffs, due primarily to starting goalie Pat Riggin's four-game suspension for a spearing incident, to end the season on a down note, but the best was yet to come the following season, when they won their fourth and final Turner Cup in 1989. The team moved to Cleveland prior to the 1992-93 season and remained the Penguins top-level minor league affiliate through 1996-97. But during the late-80's, there was no hotter ticket in town than the Lumberjacks. And any longtime Penguins fan fondly remembers when three players - Callander, Michayluk, and Mike Needham - were brought up to Pittsburgh for the 1992 Playoffs to fill in for a rash of injured Penguins forwards. Dubbed "The Muskegon Line," the three made their farm team's fans proud, scoring big goals and playing quality minutes to help the Pens win their second consecutive Stanley Cup.
This jersey is one of the rare alternate jerseys used in budget-conscious minor league hockey of the 1980's. Known as "Sunday jerseys" as they were typically worn only for Sunday games, I was able to pick this up in the GameWornAuctions.net Spring 2021 auction. I had always wanted a Muskegon jersey, and the fact that this was a rare alternate jersey made it more appealing. As is the case with most jerseys, researching the story of this one was very fun for me, though it was quite a task, as GWA listed it only as being worn by "Player #29" (see the accompanying Letter of Authenticity below). I learned quickly that finding a 33-year-old minor league hockey roster with players' jersey numbers to be impossible, so I had to do a lot of digging. After searching dozens of websites and newspaper archives on the 87-88 Jacks, I stumbled across a video of a fight in a Lumberjacks game against Kalamazoo from that season and, about seven seconds in, saw a player wearing number 29, though the player was never mentioned by name. The video is very grainy, but I could tell that the name was rather long and, after watching a few times at various zoom levels, was able to make out that the name on the jersey began with an "M" and ended with an "N." I also searched for game programs, but it's not like scans of minor league hockey programs from the 1980's are prevalent on the Internet! Luckily, I did find an eBay listing for an old program that included a fuzzy picture of a single-sheet insert that provided each team's lineup for the game (linked at the bottom on this page). I knew that Michayluk wore number 27 and that goalie Rick Tabaracci wore number 31. There was one player listed between them on the numerically-ordered roster, and though the zoom made the picture a bit fuzzy, I could make out "Dwight Mathiasen" as that player's name.
Right wing Dwight Mathiasen also followed an uncommon path in his pro hockey career. He was signed by the Penguins as an undrafted free agent after shining at the University of Denver, earning All-American honors as a junior in 1985-86, his final year of college hockey, when he put up 89 points in 48 games and had a school record 28-game scoring streak. He signed with the Pens and was able to play the final four games of the 85-86 season - his first four games as a pro - in the NHL, where he'd score the only goal in his NHL career. He'd go on to play 33 NHL games, all for the Penguins, before retiring after the 1987-88 season, when he scored 61 points in 46 games for Muskegon. But his claim to fame isn't the numbers he put up. Instead he's more famous for his contract. That free agent contract was a four-year deal worth $1.2 million, including a $250,000 signing bonus. He turned down a more lucrative deal with his hometown Vancouver Canucks because he was excited for the opportunity to play on Mario Lemieux's wing. Though many believed he could've been a solid NHL winger as he improved, he decided to retire at the end of the 1987-88 season at only 25 years of age.
With my research now complete, I looked over some of the names on that program and they brought back memories. Bourque, Paek, Mathiasen, and Mark Kachowski would be future Penguins. Mitch Wilson's, Pat Mayer's, and Wilf Paiement's names told me that it would be an entertaining game for fight fans. On the other side of the page, the Flint Spirits lineup featured Don Waddell, who also served as the Spirits' assistant coach; 1992 US Olympic Team unsung hero Ray LeBlanc; and first-year pro John Cullen, who would go on to win the IHL's Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year awards before signing with Pittsburgh in the upcoming off-season. Readers of this site have no doubt learned of my affinity for "Cully!"
The mesh jersey is the first Cooper-made jersey I've ever owned, and the heat-sealed heavy vinyl lettering has held up remarkably well for being over 30 years old. Notwithstanding the limited use of an alternate jersey, it's definitely apparent that it's a gamer, as the customary stick marks on the body and paint transfers on the sleeves are very visible on a light-colored jersey. The black stick/puck marks and popped seam threads on the front of the jersey are consistent with hooking in game action while the red and blue paint transfers tell me that Mathiasen took part in a few battles along the boards wearing this one. The screen printed crest on the front is a similar design to that of my 1993-94 Markus Naslund Cleveland Lumberjacks gamer, though the look of tree bark on the Lumberjacks logo, which was removed after the move to Cleveland, is a nice touch, as is the old loop style tie-down strap. I get the impression that this set of jerseys may have been a bit of a rush job for the team's customizer, as the verso numbers were applied with a clear tilt to them. In other words, this jersey is exactly what you'd expect from a late-1980's minor league hockey team! There aren't many of this one-year-only style around any more, and I'm happy to have one of the few in the hobby. This jersey is loaded with history, and researching it taught me a lot about the Jacks from an era that was very early in my hockey fandom.
Size: XL
Purchased From: Game Worn Auctions
Lettered by: The Muskegon Lumberjacks
The Story: The Muskegon Lumberjacks were a storied franchise in minor league hockey circles for most of the second half of the twentieth century. Founded in 1960 as the Muskegon Zephyrs of the International Hockey League, they had their ups and downs over the years and went through many changes. In only their second season, the Zephyrs won both the Huber Trophy (as the IHL's regular season point leader) and the Turner Cup (awarded to the IHL's playoff champion). Renamed the Mohawks in 1965, they continued as one of the IHL's most successful franchises before falling into the category of also-rans through the 1970's. In 1981, the Mohawks became the Pittsburgh Penguins' second-tier minor league affiliate. No longer financially viable, and in a series of events you'd only expect to see in comedy movies like Slapshot, they were sold for one dollar (yes, literally ONE DOLLAR) in 1984 to former Edmonton Oilers GM Larry Gordon and were again renamed, this time as the Lumberjacks after a local contest was held to choose a new name. Muskegon took a chance and hired former Hartford Whalers legend Rick Ley as head coach and the move immediately paid dividends, as the "Jacks" lost in the 1985 Turner Cup Finals before winning the Turner Cup again in 1986. Success continued and, when the Pens' AHL affiliate in Baltimore folded in 1987, the influx of talent under contract with Pittsburgh helped the Lumberjacks to set an IHL record with 126 points in 1987-88 - a record that was never surpassed - for the franchise's eighth Huber Trophy. Muskegon mainstays Scott Gruhl, Jock Callander, and Dave Michayluk were joined by Baltimore veteran Warren Young as well as young and talented players like Phil Bourque, Jim Paek, Frank Pietrangelo, Dave McLlwain, and in later years, Mark Recchi, Paul Stanton, and Kevin Stevens to form a minor league juggernaut that continued to develop talent for the big club for years. The heavily-favored 1987-88 Jacks lost in the first round of the Turner Cup playoffs, due primarily to starting goalie Pat Riggin's four-game suspension for a spearing incident, to end the season on a down note, but the best was yet to come the following season, when they won their fourth and final Turner Cup in 1989. The team moved to Cleveland prior to the 1992-93 season and remained the Penguins top-level minor league affiliate through 1996-97. But during the late-80's, there was no hotter ticket in town than the Lumberjacks. And any longtime Penguins fan fondly remembers when three players - Callander, Michayluk, and Mike Needham - were brought up to Pittsburgh for the 1992 Playoffs to fill in for a rash of injured Penguins forwards. Dubbed "The Muskegon Line," the three made their farm team's fans proud, scoring big goals and playing quality minutes to help the Pens win their second consecutive Stanley Cup.
This jersey is one of the rare alternate jerseys used in budget-conscious minor league hockey of the 1980's. Known as "Sunday jerseys" as they were typically worn only for Sunday games, I was able to pick this up in the GameWornAuctions.net Spring 2021 auction. I had always wanted a Muskegon jersey, and the fact that this was a rare alternate jersey made it more appealing. As is the case with most jerseys, researching the story of this one was very fun for me, though it was quite a task, as GWA listed it only as being worn by "Player #29" (see the accompanying Letter of Authenticity below). I learned quickly that finding a 33-year-old minor league hockey roster with players' jersey numbers to be impossible, so I had to do a lot of digging. After searching dozens of websites and newspaper archives on the 87-88 Jacks, I stumbled across a video of a fight in a Lumberjacks game against Kalamazoo from that season and, about seven seconds in, saw a player wearing number 29, though the player was never mentioned by name. The video is very grainy, but I could tell that the name was rather long and, after watching a few times at various zoom levels, was able to make out that the name on the jersey began with an "M" and ended with an "N." I also searched for game programs, but it's not like scans of minor league hockey programs from the 1980's are prevalent on the Internet! Luckily, I did find an eBay listing for an old program that included a fuzzy picture of a single-sheet insert that provided each team's lineup for the game (linked at the bottom on this page). I knew that Michayluk wore number 27 and that goalie Rick Tabaracci wore number 31. There was one player listed between them on the numerically-ordered roster, and though the zoom made the picture a bit fuzzy, I could make out "Dwight Mathiasen" as that player's name.
Right wing Dwight Mathiasen also followed an uncommon path in his pro hockey career. He was signed by the Penguins as an undrafted free agent after shining at the University of Denver, earning All-American honors as a junior in 1985-86, his final year of college hockey, when he put up 89 points in 48 games and had a school record 28-game scoring streak. He signed with the Pens and was able to play the final four games of the 85-86 season - his first four games as a pro - in the NHL, where he'd score the only goal in his NHL career. He'd go on to play 33 NHL games, all for the Penguins, before retiring after the 1987-88 season, when he scored 61 points in 46 games for Muskegon. But his claim to fame isn't the numbers he put up. Instead he's more famous for his contract. That free agent contract was a four-year deal worth $1.2 million, including a $250,000 signing bonus. He turned down a more lucrative deal with his hometown Vancouver Canucks because he was excited for the opportunity to play on Mario Lemieux's wing. Though many believed he could've been a solid NHL winger as he improved, he decided to retire at the end of the 1987-88 season at only 25 years of age.
With my research now complete, I looked over some of the names on that program and they brought back memories. Bourque, Paek, Mathiasen, and Mark Kachowski would be future Penguins. Mitch Wilson's, Pat Mayer's, and Wilf Paiement's names told me that it would be an entertaining game for fight fans. On the other side of the page, the Flint Spirits lineup featured Don Waddell, who also served as the Spirits' assistant coach; 1992 US Olympic Team unsung hero Ray LeBlanc; and first-year pro John Cullen, who would go on to win the IHL's Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year awards before signing with Pittsburgh in the upcoming off-season. Readers of this site have no doubt learned of my affinity for "Cully!"
The mesh jersey is the first Cooper-made jersey I've ever owned, and the heat-sealed heavy vinyl lettering has held up remarkably well for being over 30 years old. Notwithstanding the limited use of an alternate jersey, it's definitely apparent that it's a gamer, as the customary stick marks on the body and paint transfers on the sleeves are very visible on a light-colored jersey. The black stick/puck marks and popped seam threads on the front of the jersey are consistent with hooking in game action while the red and blue paint transfers tell me that Mathiasen took part in a few battles along the boards wearing this one. The screen printed crest on the front is a similar design to that of my 1993-94 Markus Naslund Cleveland Lumberjacks gamer, though the look of tree bark on the Lumberjacks logo, which was removed after the move to Cleveland, is a nice touch, as is the old loop style tie-down strap. I get the impression that this set of jerseys may have been a bit of a rush job for the team's customizer, as the verso numbers were applied with a clear tilt to them. In other words, this jersey is exactly what you'd expect from a late-1980's minor league hockey team! There aren't many of this one-year-only style around any more, and I'm happy to have one of the few in the hobby. This jersey is loaded with history, and researching it taught me a lot about the Jacks from an era that was very early in my hockey fandom.
mathiasen_jersey_research.docx | |
File Size: | 651 kb |
File Type: | docx |