Eddie's Jersey Room

Identification The 97-98 and 98-99 jerseys are mostly identical to each other. The main way to tell them apart is by the set mark written on the collar tag. The 97-98s have a large digit written in marker, which usually shows some marker bleeding around the edges. The set marks on the 98-99s are written in small lower-case Roman numerals.

A second way to differentiate these two years is by the number layering. The 98-99 jerseys have standard top-to-bottom layering, while the 97-98 jerseys appear to have the "kiss-cut" construction, in which the middle color sits below the inside and outside colors. A word of caution: this may not be true for all 97-98 jerseys, as I haven't seen them all or confirmed this as fact.

A third apparent difference appears to be the curvature of the name. The curve of the 98-99s seems to tuck up into the arch of the piping a bit more, while the 97-98s appear to be a little flatter. This can be really difficult to detect on some jerseys, as longer and shorter names tend to show the curve differently from each other.

In cases where no set mark exists, other methods such as deductive reasoning or photo matching must be used.

CHS Memorial Patch The jerseys worn in the playoffs carried the Columbine High School memorial patch on the left sleeve. Most of these jerseys were tagged set "IV", however that is not true of all the jerseys with the patch. The patch is the same silver material used in the jersey numbers. The letters "CHS" are embroidered in black. The patch is sewn to the jersey near the shoulder seam using the same color thread as the underlying sleeve material. The stitching is very dense, as to create a border on the patch.

Crest The crest measures approximately 12" from the top of the "A", straight down to the bottom-most portion of the puck.

Custom Sleeve Sizing Many 98-99's have custom sleeve configurations from the factory. Sleeve widths are anywhere from 7" to 11" at the cuff. Sleeve lengths are usually 20" to 22" (see "Size Tag" below for an explanation of the tagging itself). Some players still had additional alterations performed on their sleeves, in spite of the varying size options.

Nameplates The letters measure 4". The letters are sewn to a nameplate, which is sewn to the jersey.

Numbers Numbers should measure approximately 12", however they may measure as large as 12.25" on any given jersey, but the sleeve numbers should still measure 4.5.

In 98-99, the team returned to the traditional top-to-bottom layering of the numbers. The 97-98's used an inlaid style of number layering, which featured the main portion of the number on the bottom, with the two outer colors raised even with each other, for an inlaid effect.

Outer hem logo The home jerseys have the Starter "star" logo, while the road jerseys carry the word "Starter" spelled out. Both carry the NHL logo.

Set Markings One item that differentiates the 98-99 jerseys from the 97-98's is the set number. In both 97-98 and 98-99, the set number is marked in the neck with a black sharpie. In 97-98, the set number (if the jersey had one) appears as a digit (1, 2, 3). In 98-99, Roman numerals were used I, II, III, IV, V). I have seen many set I and II's. Set IV is the CHS playoff set. Set V is a set of game-ready jerseys that were created for use in the Stanley Cup finals, had Colorado beaten Dallas in game 7 of the Conference finals. I have seen one jersey with a set VIII.

Size tag The 98-99 size tags are the same as the 97-98's. The tag is located in the neck, as in the first year, below the Centre Ice tag. The format of the sizing code is "56R-8-21", with the first number being the jersey size and cut, the second being the sleeve width at the cuff, and the third being the sleeve length from the shoulder seam to the end of the sleeve.

Washing Tags The washing tag is located inside the jersey, stitched into the side seam. It is a single cloth tag with washing instructions embroiderd on it. There are no logos. (Note, this washing tag configuration appeared in some of the first- and second-year jerseys, as well.)