Vintage (Pre-2000)

Authentic MLB jerseys from before 1987 are extremely difficult to come by due to the low demand relative to today. In 1987, Rawlings became the official MLB jersey manufacturer (excluding a handful of teams with existing jersey supplier contacts), and for the first time, there were authentic MLB jerseys sold in retail, albeit sparsely, and mostly in specialty outlets. MLB jerseys became much more accessible when Russell Athletic released their Diamond Collection authentic jerseys and replaced Rawlings to become the official MLB game jersey supplier in 1992. Still, several teams would continue to wear jerseys manufactured by other companies (Rawlings and Wilson for example) if they had existing contracts, but these jersey were not allowed to show any external manufacturer branding. Diamond Collection game jerseys remained the norm through the 1999 MLB season.