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There’s nothing better than a throwback jersey. Why? Because we’re all grumpy old men and women in training and, as such, nothing and nobody will ever be better than the athletes of our heyday. Michael Jordan, LeBron James, John Elway, Peyton Manning, Wayne Gretzky. Everyone. That’s why vintage companies like Mitchell & Ness exist to sell throwback jerseys to overly-nostalgic idiots fans like us.
Mitchell & Ness, who make one hell of a snapback, I have to say, crunched the numbers on their 2014 sales data and turned it into an awesome map of the best-selling jerseys by state. Check it out.
Here are the top selling jerseys by state:
ALABAMA – Ryne Sandberg (Chicago Cubs)
ALASKA – Wayne Gretzky (LA Kings)
ARIZONA – Pat Tillman (Arizona Cardinals)
ARKANSAS – Bo Jackson (White Sox)
CALIFORNIA – Joe Montana (San Francisco 49ers)
COLORADO – John Elway (Denver Broncos)
CONNECTICUT – Vince Carter (Toronto Raptors)
DELAWARE – Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers Rookie Jersey)
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA – Cal Ripken, Jr. (Baltimore Orioles)
FLORIDA – Alonzo Mourning (Miami Heat)
GEORGIA – Deion Sanders (Atlanta Falcons)
HAWAII – Deion Sanders (San Francisco 49ers)
IDAHO – Mickey Mantle (New York Yankees)
ILLINOIS – Walter Payton (Chicago Bears)
INDIANA – Johnny Unitas (Baltimore Colts)
IOWA – Joe Namath (New York Jets)
KANSAS – Ray Nitschke (Green Bay Packers)
KENTUCKY- Dave Concepcion (Cincinnati Reds)
LOUISIANA – Steve Gleason (New Orleans Saints)
MAINE – Dave Winfield (San Diego Padres)
MARYLAND – Cal Ripken, Jr. (Baltimore Orioles)
MASSACHUSETTS – Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)
MICHIGAN – Barry Sanders (Detroit Lions)
MINNESOTA – Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)
MISSISSIPPI – Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)
MISSOURI – Ozzie Smith (St. Louis Cardinals)
MONTANA – Roger Staubach (Dallas Cowboys)
NEBRASKA – Steve Carlton (Philadelphia Phillies)
NEVADA – Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)
NEW HAMPSHIRE – Vince Carter (Toronto Raptors)
NEW JERSEY – Joe Namath (New York Jets)
NEW MEXICO- Ernie Banks (Chicago Cubs)
NEW YORK – Patrick Ewing (New York Knicks)
NORTH CAROLINA – Larry Johnson (Charlotte Hornets)
NORTH DAKOTA – Fred Biletnikoff (Oakland Raiders)
OHIO – Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)
OKLAHOMA – Deion Sanders (Dallas Cowboys)
OREGON – Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)
PENNSYLVANIA – Randall Cunningham (Philadelphia Eagles)
RHODE ISLAND – Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)
SOUTH CAROLINA – Ozzie Smith (St. Louis Cardinals)
SOUTH DAKOTA – Walter Payton (Chicago Bears)
TENNESSEE – Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)
TEXAS- Troy Aikman (Dallas Cowboys)
UTAH – Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
VERMONT – Carl Yastrzemski (Boston Red Sox)
VIRGINIA – John Riggins (Washington Redskins)
WASHINGTON – Steve Largent (Seattle Seahawks)
WEST VIRGINIA – Paul Molitor (Milwaukee Brewers)
WISCONSIN – Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)
WYOMING – Lou Gehrig (New York Yankees)
Couple of surprises here. First of all, nobody sells better than Kobe, who was the highest seller in seven states. Even crazier considering that he’s still technically an active player on an NBA roster, making more money this year sitting on the bench recovering from injury than any of us will ever see. Then again, it’s his rookie jersey he wore when he won his first three championships, and the 81-point game. He changed to his current number, 24, in the 2006-2007 season. Even more surprising, he’s not the best-selling jersey in California, that honor belongs to Joe “The Comeback Kid” Montana.
Speaking of Joe Cool, you won’t find his Kansas City Chiefs jersey anywhere on this list, but there are certainly a couple of players whose jerseys are best sellers, but from their tenures with different teams. Deion Sanders alone is there for the Falcons (Georgia), the 49ers (Hawaii) and the Cowboys (Oklahoma). Also represented is the man he helped win a Superbowl with the Cowboys, Troy Aikman (Texas).
It’s shocking that Michael Jordan didn’t just lose in Illinois (that honor goes to Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton), but that he’s not on this list at all. Larry Bird’s on there three times (Massachusetts and Rhode Island, unsurprisingly, as well as Mississippi), Karl Malone’s on there once for his beloved Utah Jazz in Utah, and the great Patrick Ewing is representing New York. Hell, even Vince Carter’s on there. TWICE (Connecticut and New Hampshire). But to be fair, that throwback Toronto Raptors jersey is fucking dope..
[via ESPN]
Image via Mitchell & Ness
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Will Grandex be producing a throwback McGannon jersey?
Probably frame it and sell it in a silent auction.
Damnit. A Kobe jersey is a throwback? PGP.
I can’t make sense of the Steve Carleton/Nebraska and Paul Molitor/West Virginia connections. There’s just no explanation. Neither of them grew up, played college, or played professional sports in either state.
Nothing says Iowa like Broadway Joe.