Canada's Worst Jersey?

Most of the reaction to the new Canadian Olympic hockey jersey seems quite positive. My personal reaction is it is quite sharp and classy, and will likely look even better in person. They certainly did not screw up, which is not an easy task.

You could not say the same back in 1977. Check out this jersey:


This jersey marked Canada's return from a self-imposed absence from international hockey in 1977. Canada wore these new jerseys at the 1977 World Ice Hockey Championships in Vienna, Austria.

This particular jersey was autographed by 24 members of that team, which you would think would make the jersey pretty valuable. The 1977 team was the first World Championships team to use NHL professionals. Players included Phil and Tony Esposito, Rod Gilbert, Gary Smith, Jim Rutherford, Walt McKechnie, Dallas Smith, Gilles Meloche, Jean Pronovost, Guy Charron and Ron Ellis.

Despite having the ink scribblings of some of hockey's top players of that time, the jersey actually failed to bring in a single bid in a recent auction. The starting bid was only $200.