Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Winter 2015
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/25/2015
How far did Billy Smith get into the Edmonton Oilers’ heads in the 1983 Stanley Cup Final? This unforgettable photo of the Hall of Fame Islanders goalie staring down a furious Wayne Gretzky in the dying minutes of Game 2 tells the tale, and it also offers a great photo match for Smith’s 1982-83 Islanders road gamer that he wore through the Stanley Cup playoffs and final. Smith was wearing this game-worn jersey when he got a five-minute major for his slash that sent Gretzky and the Oilers into hysterics, and then he claimed the Conn Smythe Trophy after leading the Islanders to a four-game sweep of Edmonton. Smith and the Islanders dynasty won the Cup for a fourth straight season, becoming the only team other than the Montreal Canadiens to accomplish that incredible feat. The reddish-brown stain on the white stripe in the middle of the rear tail clearly shows in the famous photo of Smith, who won the Jennings Trophy during the regular season, brandishing his stick in Gretzky’s face after the slash. Among other photo matches on this historic blue mesh gamer Smith wore for the first two games of the final at Northlands Coliseum is the black mark on the “N” in the upper left of the team crest that shows on Smith’s photo on the cover of the May 23, 1983 issue of Sports Illustrated. Washed-out SK and laundry instruction flag tags remain in the neck and game wear shows in various black marks on the front and both sleeves. Comes with Billy Smith’s signed LOA.
The stain on the rear tail that is photo-matched to the Gretzky-Smith Game 2 photo also shows in an action shot of Smith vs. the Boston Bruins. The spacing of the lettering on the nameplate, although not a match, looks to be quite the same on both photos.
Other photo matches include the fold on the lower right part of the team crest and the mark on the orange twill “Long Island” above the “puck” in sewn-on white and orange twill. This gamer is also photo-matched to the sewn-on white and orange double twill numbers on the left sleeve, including the loose white thread in the middle of the 3, the small loose threads on the top right of the 1, and the placement of the white twill over the orange twill on the lower portion of the 1.
There is nice pilling to the orange knit collar and an unrepaired cut hole on the outer layer of blue mesh on the front left shoulder.
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