This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/7/2014
Founded in 1939-40 in the Alberta Senior Hockey League, the Edmonton Flyers played two seasons before play was suspended because of Canada's entry into World War II. The team remained on hiatus until the end of the hostilities in 1945-46. When the club was revived, they joined the brand new Western Canada Senior Hockey League. The 1952-53 season saw the Flyers graduate from amateur senior hockey to becoming a minor professional club when the WCSHL merged with the Pacific Coast Hockey League, which then changed its name to the Western Hockey League. With the move to the ranks of minor professional hockey, the Flyers became an affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings and saw such names as Johnny Bucyk, Glenn Hall, Al Arbour and Norm Ullman all don the Flyers sweater in front of standing room only crowds, although all of those players eventually made their names by playing for other NHL clubs!
This rare Edmonton Flyers game-worn sweater from the mid-to-late 1950's is a marvelous representation with a terrific vintage logo and excellent design and colors from this classic era of hockey sweaters. The heavy wool knit garment features white with blue trim on the shoulders and sleeves and a blue-and-yellow stripe arrangement near the waist. A Cloverdale Knitting Mills manufacturer's label appears on the collar; the Edmonton Flyers "plane" logo patch is featured on the front in blue and yellow felt, with intricate red and blue stitching. Number 10 appears in blue and yellow felt on his left breast and one the back. The laced shirt opening at the collar includes the laces, with only slight staining from rust around the eyelets. The condition of the sweater overall is incredible, showing enormous game use and wear and yet maintaining a sensational presentation. There are numerous holes, small dings and team repairs, most notably around the collar and sleeves but also front and back, and a small stain between the two numbers on the back.
Includes a Letter of Authenticity from longtime NHL referee Lloyd Gilmour (mistakenly claiming attribution to John Bucyk) and a Letter of Provenance from the Newport Sports Museum Collection.