Very Important: Order one size up from what you would normally wear in a football jersey. These jerseys are cut exactly the way they were from that great time period in football.

Authentic AFL Raiders Jersey

Classic Cotton Yarn Material from Yesteryear

This is a customizable AFL classic throwback.

Choose any player/number you like

Please allow six to twelve weeks for delivery.

1960 Jim Otto Game Worn Oakland Raiders Rookie Jersey, Inaugural AFL Season! Though the Hall of Fame center is best remembered for the double-zeroes on his jersey, an odd number purportedly allowed by AFL brass due to the pun on his name (aught-oh), the more advanced AFL historian will recall that the University of Miami standout made his professional debut as number "50," digits worn only during that historic rookie season. And even the most casual fan knows that Otto's 1960 rookie season was likewise the debut of the American Football League and the Oakland Raiders franchise he would come to epitomize during fifteen seasons of faithful service. Inclusive of post-season play, Otto started 223 consecutive games over his decade and a half in the Bay area, second of all time for the center position.

The yellow detailing we encounter here has long since given way to silver in Raiders fashion, but it's interesting to note it was actually the Chicago Bears and Navy that inspired the presented look, as original coach Eddie Erdelatz had coached Navy and the Bears' rival San Francisco 49ers, and utilized Bears and Midshipmen manufacturer "King O'Shea" to produce Raiders uniforms.

Number "50" is applied to chest, shoulders and verso in black and yellow tackle twill while a 1.75" block lettered "Jim Otto" is applied directly to the jersey body at upper shoulders without a nameplate; exactly as it was in 1960. This is how you will get your one of a kind road Oakland Raiders jersey from 1960.

This is the only known Otto rookie and, in fact, the only known surviving jersey from the Raiders' inaugural season. LOA from Heritage Auctions. Letter of provenance from Raiders equipment manager.

These are custom jerseys that take time to properly complete. You are getting a unique AFL quality jersey just the way they were made back in the old days. Using cotton yarn  material that is often referred to as durene. Read on for an explanation between the two.

TO ALL MY CUSTOMERS:

Durene material is nothing more than a sales gimmick in todays market. We here at Yesteryear Sports have done a lot of research on this. And we have finally tracked down a reputable source who has been making football jerseys since the 60's.

This is the letter that was sent to me by my supplier and head jersey manufacturer:

"Technically, the cotton yarn we now use is not "durene". The product we used to buy as Durene cotton was simply a very fine grade of yarn. It was a government standard that had to be met in order to call it by that name. It was a finer gauge yarn, advertised as being softer & stretchier than normal gauge combed and/or carded cotton we use today. It was really a sales gimmick and ended up being used in sox, underwear , etc. It was really not that much different from today's products, just finer spun yarn. Like so many other things, it is still available but is very expensive which is why athletic apparel makers stopped using it.

The irony of the whole thing is that our material (and all the other manufacturers) was a 50/50 plaited knit fabric which means half the yarn was nylon on the outside surface and 50% cotton was on the inside next to the skin. This was for comfort & absorbancy. The result was that all you see is the nylon so the fabric looks exactly like any other fabric with nylon exterior. Actually, the cotton yarn we use now is more durable for football than Durene ever was.

Hope this gives you some insight into the history of Durene. It was a selling tool and 99% of people couldn't tell the difference."

Yesteryear Sports will never advertise any of our jerseys again as "durene". We did our research and took all of your input and put that to work to find out what all the uncertainty was among everyone. Well, we now know.