1963-64 NHL Detroit Red Wings # 17 Floyd Smith and 1964-65 CPHL Memphis Wings # 17 Bert Marshall Game Worn Jersey
This jersey was acquired from an original team member of the 1964-65 CPHL Memphis Wings. This was their first season in the Central Professional Hockey League after taking over for the Indianapolis Caps/Cincinnati Wings of 1963-64.
The first year red jerseys were unlike the white jerseys in that they had the "Winged Wheel" crest on the front as opposed to the white jerseys that had a "Winged Cotton Boll".
In fact these first year red jerseys were in fact handed down to the Memphis team from the parent NHL Detroit Red Wings. A photo of player # 17 Floyd Smith from the 1963-64 season clearly shows that this jersey was in fact his jersey during that season as all the nuances of the crest match up perfectly to the crest on his jersey.
The tag in the collar is very unique and states "Olympic Sport Goods Inc. Cleveland 15, Ohio". This would have been where the letters "MEMPHIS" would have been added on to the jersey. They would have added this tag to the collar as well. This tag has been a real revelation to all Detroit Red Wing jersey aficionados as "Olympic Sports in Detroit" not, Cleveland, is the noted supplier of all things Detroit Red Wings in the 1960's. This is the first time that any of them had ever seen such a tagging present in a Detroit related item.
The Detroit Red Wings had a long list of farm teams and affiliates in the 1950's and 60's. Most of them were given the monicker of "Wings" however some, such as the Edmonton Oil Kings and Edmonton Flyers did not.
Bert Marshall who went on to wear this jersey came up to the Memphis Wings in 1964-65 from the Edmonton Oil Kings junior team. He made his debut with the parent NHL Detroit Red Wings in the 1965-66 season. He played three seasons with Detroit before furthering his professional career as an NHL defenseman with the California Golden Seals and New York Islanders. He went on to become an assistant coach for the NY Islanders and then coached the Indianapolis Checkers of the CHL and the Colorado Rockies of the NHL.
The colour on this jersey is amazing and is a classic representation of an original six NHL jersey being worn first in the NHL before being handed down to one of their affiliate teams.