A ridiculously obscure Sean Burke question

[deepbluejacket]

It's very obscure! And it's very ridiculous! And it may only be answerable by either Sean Burke or Hartford Whaler savants.

I am flipping through my 1992-93 Ultra (yes, people can still do that) and looking at the various photographs. Most, as you would expect, feature the 75th anniversary patches that every team wore in the 1991-92 season.

Then I reach Sean Burke. He's wearing a Whalers jersey and it's got the 75th anniversary patch on it. Only one problem - Burke didn't play for the Whalers in 1991-92. He wasn't traded until August of 1992.

Let me up the stakes a bit. Hartford changed its jersey in 1992-93 to include the royal navy color. Every other card of Burke has him in that jersey.

So what am I looking at? 1992-93 pre-season? But why would Hartford assign Burke a jersey with a 75th anniversary patch on it? This is the only 1992-93 issue of Sean Burke that I could (easily) find where he's wearing the 1991-92 jersey.

My scanner is broken, so if you want to see the card, go here:

https://www.comc.com/Cards/Hockey/1992-93/Fleer_Ultra_-_Base/68/Sean_Burke/171663

Thanks

 

[deepbluejacket]

Hmm, you know what? Must be a pre-season game. A few cards later is Tim Kerr. He's wearing the same 1991-92 jersey and he didn't play for the Whalers in 1992 either. And the opponent is clearly Ottawa, which wasn't in the league in 1991-92.

Still, kinda weird, Hartford!

 

[30ranfordfan]

I was going to suggest a photo shop job.... it's Burke's head on someone else's body (from the prior season). Something like that would be a possibility. No idea when the set was released - but if it was early in the season, how would they even have a Photo of him, playing for the Whalers, in time for cards ??

But then I took a look at another 92-93 card:

https://www.comc.com/Cards/Hockey/1992-93/Pinnacle_-_Base/295/Sean_Burke/168958

The gear is the same. Don't see how it could be a photo shop job.

I know once-upon-a-time NHL teams would reuse jerseys. Is it possible they traded for him in August, just stuck is name on an older jersey they had kicking around, and that's what was used in the preseason ?

 

[deepbluejacket]

It's possible.

My best guess is that Hartford wanted to save their big jersey reveal for the opener, so they still skated in last year's jerseys in the pre-season. Guys like Burke and Kerr may have been thrown in to old jerseys, or maybe new ones were made up.

What's strange is that later in the set when I get to the Senators, it appears those photos are from that same pre-season game - and the Senators have the 100th anniversary of the Cup patch on their jerseys, which was what every team wore in 1992-93.

Anyway, if I ever see a game used Kerr or Burke Whaler jersey in the old colors with the 75th anniversary patch, it may be legit. And damn rare.

 

[Ironman Indy]

As a Burke collector and Whaler fan yes it is Burke and pretty sure it was preseason. I have pretty much every Whalers Burke card issue and that is the only card wearing the original jersey. I actually checked years ago as it bothered me that was his only card with the "superior" jersey

For the record IIRC Fleer Ultra was one of the first releases that year and preseason photos would be likely in a lot of cases.

Your conclusion is the same one I reached. They had the jersey reveal at the beginning of the regular season and didn't want to give anything away in the preseason

God forbid if that jersey comes up for auction I may have to add it to the ole collection :speechless: