Jersey Relic Patch Sports Cards

The History + Game-Worn vs. Player-Worn vs. Not Associated Patches

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between jersey relic patches in sports cards that are labeled with different sorts of language? What is the difference between a patch said to be game-worn, player-worn, event-worn or not associated with any specific game, player or event? The history of patch sports cards can help us to understand…

History of Jersey Relic Patches

When jersey relics first started to be included in sports cards during the mid-90’s, in many ways it was a pretty revolutionary approach. Nowadays it seems like an obvious thing to include in a sports card, but when it first appeared it presented a new way of connecting the player to the sports fan.

Game-Worn/Game-Used

In early iterations of jersey patches, they were almost always labeled as game-worn or game-used. And this really was kind of the point of them. The idea of it not being game-worn would’ve been considered kinda strange.

Some releases even went so far as to share details as to which game the card was used in, especially if it was easily…