2001 SP Wilkes Barre-Scranton Home Replica
#66 Mario Lemieux with Captain's "C"
Manufacturer: SP
Size: XXL
Purchased From: eBay
Lettered by: Keener Jerseys
The Story: What? Mario Lemieux never played minor league hockey! And he certainly didn't play for the Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penguins! Yet, if you look at the top of this page, there are pictures of him skating for the Baby Pens. What's going on?
If you made any of those statements, you'd be 100% correct. However, after WBS become the Penguins' AHL affiliate in 2001, they did something to drum up interest in the new team. That something was a preseason game, know as the original (it was replicated again in 2011, and I have a game-worn jersey from that game) Black and Gold Game. Held in Wilkes Barre on September 22, 2001, the game was a preseason exhibition between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penguins. However, by this point in training camp, the teams were already decided, unlike in future iterations of the Black and Gold Game, where the two teams were pretty even going in. So, to even up the game and make things interesting for the home crowd, Le Magnifique suited up and played for the Baby Pens! Mario's only scoring contribution came on the power play at 6:52 of the first period of a 4-3 Pittsburgh win. The framed jersey, pictured above, is actually one of three jerseys Lemieux wore in the game (he wore a different jersey every period). This jersey hangs in his office at the PPG Paints Arena.
This jersey is one that is sought after by collectors. I tried for over two years to find an authentic jersey, with no luck. I even tried to find blank authentics from that time period, but couldn't find one anywhere. WBS had brought this jersey back, but with updated shoulder logo patches, but I wanted an actual jersey from 2001. It took a while to find it, but I found an of-the-era replica jersey that would fit me and I bought it. From there, I had been turned onto Keener Jerseys, a company in Winnipeg, MB, Canada who could do custom lettering matching pretty much anything. I contacted them and was told that they could handle the customization for this one, and their meticulous attention to detail resulted in a fantastic job and a really beautiful jersey! Once they completed the lettering kit, they even sent me pictures of the jersey before the letters were sewn down. On top of that, the work was reasonably priced and they turned it around rather quickly. I'd certainly use them again to perform any special customization. They got yet another very happy customer!
And I got a jersey that I've been looking to get for years. Check another off the "must have" list!
Size: XXL
Purchased From: eBay
Lettered by: Keener Jerseys
The Story: What? Mario Lemieux never played minor league hockey! And he certainly didn't play for the Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penguins! Yet, if you look at the top of this page, there are pictures of him skating for the Baby Pens. What's going on?
If you made any of those statements, you'd be 100% correct. However, after WBS become the Penguins' AHL affiliate in 2001, they did something to drum up interest in the new team. That something was a preseason game, know as the original (it was replicated again in 2011, and I have a game-worn jersey from that game) Black and Gold Game. Held in Wilkes Barre on September 22, 2001, the game was a preseason exhibition between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penguins. However, by this point in training camp, the teams were already decided, unlike in future iterations of the Black and Gold Game, where the two teams were pretty even going in. So, to even up the game and make things interesting for the home crowd, Le Magnifique suited up and played for the Baby Pens! Mario's only scoring contribution came on the power play at 6:52 of the first period of a 4-3 Pittsburgh win. The framed jersey, pictured above, is actually one of three jerseys Lemieux wore in the game (he wore a different jersey every period). This jersey hangs in his office at the PPG Paints Arena.
This jersey is one that is sought after by collectors. I tried for over two years to find an authentic jersey, with no luck. I even tried to find blank authentics from that time period, but couldn't find one anywhere. WBS had brought this jersey back, but with updated shoulder logo patches, but I wanted an actual jersey from 2001. It took a while to find it, but I found an of-the-era replica jersey that would fit me and I bought it. From there, I had been turned onto Keener Jerseys, a company in Winnipeg, MB, Canada who could do custom lettering matching pretty much anything. I contacted them and was told that they could handle the customization for this one, and their meticulous attention to detail resulted in a fantastic job and a really beautiful jersey! Once they completed the lettering kit, they even sent me pictures of the jersey before the letters were sewn down. On top of that, the work was reasonably priced and they turned it around rather quickly. I'd certainly use them again to perform any special customization. They got yet another very happy customer!
And I got a jersey that I've been looking to get for years. Check another off the "must have" list!