1988-89 CCM Road Game Worn Jersey
#5 Gord Dineen
Manufacturer: CCM
Size:
Purchased From: Facebook "Pittsburgh Penguins Game Worn/Used Collectors" Group
Lettered by: Century Sports
The Story: For older hockey jerseys, it's sometimes difficult to determine in what year a jersey was worn. It's even tougher to get more granular than that, like figuring out what set a jersey belonged to. For this jersey, there are no such difficulties!
Penguins jerseys had undergone quite a transformation in the late-1980's and early-1990's, and the 1988-89 jerseys had very easily-distinguished traits between each of the three sets. Set 1 marked a few changes from the 1987-88 jerseys. First, the jersey itself was different. Both seasons featured jerseys made by CCM, but 87-88's Air-Knit jerseys were replaced with Ultrafil material in 88-89. Second, while the screenprinted crest and pressed-on vinyl lettering remained, the shoulder numbers were moved down to mid-sleeve, to a location where they've been ever since (not counting the Penguins early-2020's gold alternate jerseys, which were throwbacks to the old days of numbers on the shoulders). Century Sports was the team's customizer, so their wordmark was embroidered into the rear left hem. When the Pens moved to their second set of jerseys that season, the customization quality improved tremendously. The crest was now an embroidered patch, though it had an error where the "shine" of the skating Penguin's toe was gold (these "gold toe" jerseys have become very rare and highly-sought after in the hobby, even though they were recycled into future years). And the lettering featured a move from heat-pressed vinyl to two-layer tackle twill numbers with single-layer tackle twill lettering on nameplates that stretched across the entire jersey, no matter how long or short the name sewn to it was. The changes from year to year and set to set confirm that this jersey was part of the 1988-89 season's Set 1, worn for 19 road games from the start of the season through January 2, 1989. To a collector, this is important, as it allows them to determine what achievements would've been made by a player wearing a particular jersey.
Gord Dineen was traded to the Pens from the Minnesota North Stars on December 17, 1988. Research tells me that he played only three games in this jersey before they switched to their Set 2 sweaters, recording no points and two penalty minutes. I was able to find video of Dineen playing in this jersey, however, from which I captured the grainy game photos at the top of this page. (As a side note, it was great to hear a 40-year-old Mike Lange call this game. He really was the best in the business!)
Dineen was one of three brothers (Kevin and Peter) to play in the NHL, all of whom are sons of former NHL player and coach, Bill Dineen. Needless to say, hockey runs deep in Gord's blood, and over his playing career, he's seen just about everything. He played for four team (New York Islanders, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, and Ottawa) over his 13-year, 568-game (regular season and playoffs) NHL career. He also played for seven different minor league teams during that span, for whom he played a total of 721 games. His statistics were never anything to get excited about - in 117 games with the Penguins over four years, he scored two goals and added ten assists - but he was a durable and reliable stay-at-home defenseman who played a solid positional game. He received a Stanley Cup ring with the Penguins in 1991, though he didn't play enough games to get his name engraved on the Cup. His hockey IQ and quiet leadership led to his being named Ottawa's captain in 1993-94 and translated well into his coaching career, where he's been both an assistant and a head coach at the East Coast and American Hockey League levels.
This jersey really appear to come from the days of "old time hockey." Given the uniqueness of this jersey, as this crest and lettering combination was limited to only one-half of one season in the team's history, I was ecstatic to add this one to the collection in November of 2022!
PHOTOS COMING SOON
Size:
Purchased From: Facebook "Pittsburgh Penguins Game Worn/Used Collectors" Group
Lettered by: Century Sports
The Story: For older hockey jerseys, it's sometimes difficult to determine in what year a jersey was worn. It's even tougher to get more granular than that, like figuring out what set a jersey belonged to. For this jersey, there are no such difficulties!
Penguins jerseys had undergone quite a transformation in the late-1980's and early-1990's, and the 1988-89 jerseys had very easily-distinguished traits between each of the three sets. Set 1 marked a few changes from the 1987-88 jerseys. First, the jersey itself was different. Both seasons featured jerseys made by CCM, but 87-88's Air-Knit jerseys were replaced with Ultrafil material in 88-89. Second, while the screenprinted crest and pressed-on vinyl lettering remained, the shoulder numbers were moved down to mid-sleeve, to a location where they've been ever since (not counting the Penguins early-2020's gold alternate jerseys, which were throwbacks to the old days of numbers on the shoulders). Century Sports was the team's customizer, so their wordmark was embroidered into the rear left hem. When the Pens moved to their second set of jerseys that season, the customization quality improved tremendously. The crest was now an embroidered patch, though it had an error where the "shine" of the skating Penguin's toe was gold (these "gold toe" jerseys have become very rare and highly-sought after in the hobby, even though they were recycled into future years). And the lettering featured a move from heat-pressed vinyl to two-layer tackle twill numbers with single-layer tackle twill lettering on nameplates that stretched across the entire jersey, no matter how long or short the name sewn to it was. The changes from year to year and set to set confirm that this jersey was part of the 1988-89 season's Set 1, worn for 19 road games from the start of the season through January 2, 1989. To a collector, this is important, as it allows them to determine what achievements would've been made by a player wearing a particular jersey.
Gord Dineen was traded to the Pens from the Minnesota North Stars on December 17, 1988. Research tells me that he played only three games in this jersey before they switched to their Set 2 sweaters, recording no points and two penalty minutes. I was able to find video of Dineen playing in this jersey, however, from which I captured the grainy game photos at the top of this page. (As a side note, it was great to hear a 40-year-old Mike Lange call this game. He really was the best in the business!)
Dineen was one of three brothers (Kevin and Peter) to play in the NHL, all of whom are sons of former NHL player and coach, Bill Dineen. Needless to say, hockey runs deep in Gord's blood, and over his playing career, he's seen just about everything. He played for four team (New York Islanders, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, and Ottawa) over his 13-year, 568-game (regular season and playoffs) NHL career. He also played for seven different minor league teams during that span, for whom he played a total of 721 games. His statistics were never anything to get excited about - in 117 games with the Penguins over four years, he scored two goals and added ten assists - but he was a durable and reliable stay-at-home defenseman who played a solid positional game. He received a Stanley Cup ring with the Penguins in 1991, though he didn't play enough games to get his name engraved on the Cup. His hockey IQ and quiet leadership led to his being named Ottawa's captain in 1993-94 and translated well into his coaching career, where he's been both an assistant and a head coach at the East Coast and American Hockey League levels.
This jersey really appear to come from the days of "old time hockey." Given the uniqueness of this jersey, as this crest and lettering combination was limited to only one-half of one season in the team's history, I was ecstatic to add this one to the collection in November of 2022!
PHOTOS COMING SOON