Historical Hockey and Sports Memorabilia Auction Fall 2022
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/20/2022
Beginning and concluding his professional career in the NHL, with numerous seasons spent in between in the WHA including with Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Denver, Darryl Maggs witnessed a total of 135 NHL career games, and 402 in the infamous rebel league. From his time in Denver, we have an extremely rare single-season Spurs alternate captain's jersey worn by the Saskatoon native in 1975-76, the club's only season, and it hails from the noteworthy collection of Barry Meisel. First wearing recycled jerseys from the 1974-75 CHL Spurs at the beginning of the season, these second set jerseys were worn later, and until the club folded (after a two-game stint as the Ottawa Civics). Wilson and BH labels with “50” sizing is affixed to the collar (with “2 X Long” handwritten), with no additional tagging present. Featuring a tackle twill team crest with embroidered detailing, “4” is sewn to the sleeves and verso in layered tackle twill, with the garter-style fight strap intact. The original nameplate is also in place, with very few of these remaining Spurs jerseys having the nameplate intact. Showing nice game-use, there is puckering to the team crest and reverse number, with a few stains on the upper and lower front. There are also a few stick marks to each sleeve, with a single team repair beneath the team crest. The Spurs/Civics' 41-game existence made them the shortest-lived franchise in WHA history.
Instrumental to the hobby as one of the founders of the MeiGray Group in 1997, a hobby entity paramount in the authentication of game-worn jerseys and equipment, pioneer collector Barry Meisel enjoyed almost two decades as a successful sports journalist. Beginning with his days interning for the Binghamton Evening Press while a senior in college, Meisel explains how his passion for collecting was fueled, stating “My plan was to get a game-worn jersey for every team I covered once I became a pro hockey writer. I got a Barons, then a Broome Dusters, Binghamton Whalers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers. It was the late '80s. My first career was born. From the Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin to the Morristown, NJ, Daily Record, to the New York Daily News”.
In his dozen years with the New York Daily News, Meisel covered the New York Islanders, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils and New York Giants. He also spent the early-1990s serving as the News’ investigative sports reporter, with additional time as a columnist for The Hockey News (1982-90) and The New York Giants Newsweekly (1990-96), with a few book authored including 'Losing the Edge: The Rise and Fall of the Stanley Cup Champion New York Rangers’. Despite building a vast and encompassing grouping of items, Meisel notes, "I have my favorites. The Scotty Press that still sits in my home office. My 1983-84 Detroit Red Wings Ken Holland, the minor-league goalie in Binghamton who became a lifelong friend, and who had a cup of NHL coffee before becoming a Hall of Fame General Manager. And my 1994 Stanley Cup Finals New York Rangers white Craig MacTavish, who was wearing this jersey in Game 7 at Madison Square Garden on June 14, 1994. MacT knocked the final faceoff into the corner with 1.6 seconds left on a 54-year Jinx, the night the Rangers allowed the Monster of MSG to one day Die in Peace. This jersey is on display at the Garden, to remind every Blue Seater from old Section 433 that the wait was worth it”.
Classic Auctions in honoured to have been chosen to sell the Barry Meisel personal collection, with dozens of high-quality jerseys offered including an endless supply of important New York Rangers specimens from Marc Staal, Glen Hanlon, Mattieu Schneider (last MSG home game of the millennium) Kelly Hrudey and others, All-Star Game jerseys from Mark Messier, Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan, and inaugural season jerseys for the Quebec Nordiques, Chicago Cougars and Kansas City Scouts. The Meisel collection even boasts a rare single-season New York Golden Blades jersey! Additional gems that will have bidders salivating includes prominent lumber, with game-used sticks from HOF members Jean Ratelle, Billy Smith, Bryan Trottier and Igor Larionov, along with a tremendously rare copy of a 1946-47 New York Rangers media guide that predates the club’s first known Blue Book media guide.
As always, we hope these long-loved treasures find new appreciative collectors, with Meisel stating it best, “It's time for Classic Collectibles and my good friend Marc Juteau to help me find my gamers new homes. Time for others to enjoy the greatest hobby alive."
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