1989 CCM NHL All-Star Road Authentic
#44 Rob Brown with 40th NHL All-Star Game Patch
Manufacturer: CCM
Size: 52
Purchased From: Facebook Pittsburgh Penguins Memorabilia Collectors Group
Lettered by: Unknown
The Story: A few years back, I was able to land a "holy grail" for my collection - a 1990 Mario Lemieux All-Star jersey. Of all the different All-Star jerseys the NHL used over the years, these we, by far, my favorites. They lasted for a few years, and in my opinion, this simple, yet classic design is the best of them all. The colors were a straighforward black and orange - the NHL's logo colors - on white home jerseys and black road jerseys. This is a set I've always wanted to complete, but with these jerseys getting older and more scarce as the years went by, the odds of doing so were getting longer.
Until...I happened to be scanning my Facebook jersey collectors groups and I spied this one! I saw it only minutes after it was posted and immediately contacted the owner. Within a few minutes, he replied and said that he wanted to confirm it wasn't a game-worn jersey before he agreed to sell it. I was able to help him along that path, finding some subtle variants from gamers of the era, but this one was, nonetheless, a great find and a great deal.
This jersey, along with the Lemieux All-Star jersey from the following year, shows some of what I call "the evolution of the hockey jersey." This jersey, though one size larger, actually has shorter sleeves than the Lemieux jersey, which has shorter sleeves than those from later years. This is a direct result of shoulder pads becoming much bulkier as time went on. These jerseys are also shorter than jerseys just a few years newer, predominantly for the same reason. Personally, these lerseys from the late-80's and early-90's just don't feel the same as newer jerseys, even though they're constructed of the same Air-Knit material from CCM, the standard for hockey jerseys until Adidas took over as the jersey manufacturer for the NHL in 2017. Compared to similarly-sized jerseys from 1991 and forward, these jerseys run small. As someone who wears a size 52 in the CCM/Koho pre-Edge style, this jersey isn't overly comfortable to wear, but it's a great conversation piece! The patchwork on these jerseys aren't the same as the 1990 All-Star Game, either, as those jerseys featured embroidered patches while the ones on this jersey are printed, single-layer patches. These patches, however, as the same as those used on game-worn jerseys from this game. It just goes to show you how the quality improved through "the evolution."
Robbie Brown holds a special place in Penguins history. He set the world on fire in juniors and was a good up-and-coming winger in Pittsburgh. He played on Lemieux's right wing for the bulk of his first of two stints in a Penguins uniform, but 1988-89 was his breakout year. He netted 49 goals during the campaign and became a fan favorite with his goal scoring touch and his signature windmill celebration. He's also known as being the lynchpin of one of the funniest moments in Penguins history, when Ron Hextall of the Philadelphia Flyers chased him around the ice after scoring a goal that put the Pens up 9-3 in a playoff game on April 25, 1989. This jersey is from Brownie's one and only appearance in an All-Star Game, and he was voted to be the starting right wing, one of three Penguins (with Lemieux and Paul Coffey) starters for the Wales Conference. He was traded to Hartford in late-1990 and bounced around the NHL and the IHL for the next few years before returning to the Penguins in 1997 and remaining for three seasons.
But for a short time in the late-80's, Brown was a star in Pittsburgh. And I can honestly say that I've never seen anyone at a Pens game wearing a Robbie Brown All-Star jersey, making it a great fit for my collection!
Size: 52
Purchased From: Facebook Pittsburgh Penguins Memorabilia Collectors Group
Lettered by: Unknown
The Story: A few years back, I was able to land a "holy grail" for my collection - a 1990 Mario Lemieux All-Star jersey. Of all the different All-Star jerseys the NHL used over the years, these we, by far, my favorites. They lasted for a few years, and in my opinion, this simple, yet classic design is the best of them all. The colors were a straighforward black and orange - the NHL's logo colors - on white home jerseys and black road jerseys. This is a set I've always wanted to complete, but with these jerseys getting older and more scarce as the years went by, the odds of doing so were getting longer.
Until...I happened to be scanning my Facebook jersey collectors groups and I spied this one! I saw it only minutes after it was posted and immediately contacted the owner. Within a few minutes, he replied and said that he wanted to confirm it wasn't a game-worn jersey before he agreed to sell it. I was able to help him along that path, finding some subtle variants from gamers of the era, but this one was, nonetheless, a great find and a great deal.
This jersey, along with the Lemieux All-Star jersey from the following year, shows some of what I call "the evolution of the hockey jersey." This jersey, though one size larger, actually has shorter sleeves than the Lemieux jersey, which has shorter sleeves than those from later years. This is a direct result of shoulder pads becoming much bulkier as time went on. These jerseys are also shorter than jerseys just a few years newer, predominantly for the same reason. Personally, these lerseys from the late-80's and early-90's just don't feel the same as newer jerseys, even though they're constructed of the same Air-Knit material from CCM, the standard for hockey jerseys until Adidas took over as the jersey manufacturer for the NHL in 2017. Compared to similarly-sized jerseys from 1991 and forward, these jerseys run small. As someone who wears a size 52 in the CCM/Koho pre-Edge style, this jersey isn't overly comfortable to wear, but it's a great conversation piece! The patchwork on these jerseys aren't the same as the 1990 All-Star Game, either, as those jerseys featured embroidered patches while the ones on this jersey are printed, single-layer patches. These patches, however, as the same as those used on game-worn jerseys from this game. It just goes to show you how the quality improved through "the evolution."
Robbie Brown holds a special place in Penguins history. He set the world on fire in juniors and was a good up-and-coming winger in Pittsburgh. He played on Lemieux's right wing for the bulk of his first of two stints in a Penguins uniform, but 1988-89 was his breakout year. He netted 49 goals during the campaign and became a fan favorite with his goal scoring touch and his signature windmill celebration. He's also known as being the lynchpin of one of the funniest moments in Penguins history, when Ron Hextall of the Philadelphia Flyers chased him around the ice after scoring a goal that put the Pens up 9-3 in a playoff game on April 25, 1989. This jersey is from Brownie's one and only appearance in an All-Star Game, and he was voted to be the starting right wing, one of three Penguins (with Lemieux and Paul Coffey) starters for the Wales Conference. He was traded to Hartford in late-1990 and bounced around the NHL and the IHL for the next few years before returning to the Penguins in 1997 and remaining for three seasons.
But for a short time in the late-80's, Brown was a star in Pittsburgh. And I can honestly say that I've never seen anyone at a Pens game wearing a Robbie Brown All-Star jersey, making it a great fit for my collection!