From Filthy to Fabulous: Following Knowshon Moreno’s Dirty Laundry

"Righteously filthy." I believe that's how I described, via Twitter, the game-worn Knowshon Moreno jersey Panini America acquired late during the 2010 NFL season. The dazzingly dirty memorabilia masterpiece was swiftly introduced to the production cycle for inclusion in 2010 National Treasures Football, but not before I could chronicle some of the steps.

“Righteously filthy.”

That’s how I initially described, via Twitter, the game-worn Knowshon Moreno jersey Panini America acquired late during the 2010 NFL season. The dazzlingly dirty memorabilia masterpiece was swiftly introduced to the production cycle for inclusion in 2010 National Treasures Football, but not before I could chronicle some of the process.

While it’s not at all uncommon for us to receive battle-tested NFL togs, it is rare to find one this gloriously grotesque. The Denver Broncos fan in me required more information, so I set out to discover exactly when Moreno so massively muddied this marvel. Turns out he wore it against the Oakland Raiders on Oct. 24, 2010, a dismal day for Denver that saw the Broncos lose to the archrival Raiders at home, 59-14.

Moreno, it should be noted, was wearing this very jersey — and contaminating it considerably with Mother Nature’s mile-high markings — while scoring both of Denver’s touchdowns that afternoon, the first on a 7-yard reception and the second on a 27-yard catch. It’s still the only time in Moreno’s brief career that the dynamic running back has recorded two receiving TDs in one game.

But enough about the history made in this jersey; let’s take a closer look at the grit gained while doing it. The following gallery (so dirty it should be rated NC-17) includes the mesmerizing jersey in various stages of disassembly as well as a few of the trading cards made from it. Stay tuned after the images for a video detailing the estimating and de-seaming process all of Panini America’s game-worn jerseys go through.

And now . . . the must-see video:

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13 Replies to “From Filthy to Fabulous: Following Knowshon Moreno’s Dirty Laundry”

  1. Pingback: Anonymous
  2. I think it’s great that you are doing this. The hobby is tired of plain white or plain color jersey cards. It makes you wonder if the jersey pieces were even worn in a game when they look so clean. The dirt and blood stains on the jersey piece are in some ways a more desirable thing to have on a card than an sticker autograph. Keep it up. Bigger, dirtier, bloodier swatches please.

  3. Great coverage on this! Because I’ve followed the blog I now leave my scanner lid open whenever I scan a Panini Jersey card just so I can see the authentication through the back of the card as the light passes underneath it. It’s reassuring to see each piece is labeled and comes from the player pictured on the card.

    Just a thought. It would be amazing if Panini could develop a way of creating a 6 fold accordion booklet card for the Moreno Name plate that didn’t require cutting the letters apart. Just an idea.

    Thanks again for the inside peek.

  4. I think it is great that you tracked down the info as to when and where the jersey was worn. I know it would be a logistical nightmare to do, I really think it would add to the cards to have that kind of info listed on them. It really added to my interest in owning one now…If i were to pull one of these cards now, I’d print out this article to have with it..

  5. great. now I want one. and I don’t even like Moreno. Upon seein gthis, I wanted to see if any of them were on ebay – I found an awesome one from the gallery- but it ended a week ago.

  6. Very cool, and very interesting. It must be hard though.. seeing some of the “especially” storied jerseys get cut up. I mean this one has some history too.. two receiving touchdowns in one game is no small feat! I guess what I’m trying to say is.. Thanks for doing the hard thing (and sometimes “especially” hard..) and cutting up these jerseys and sharing these little pieces of “gridiron glory” with everyone! You know, it might be cool if there was maybe an insert set or something highlighting specific games that the swatch would have been worn during. I mean, I know it would be hard to get specifics on EVERY jersey you produce, but how cool would it be to have like a Super Bowl XLV set, with like highlights of the player from the game on the back, with jerseys and autos from the game. Just a thought!

  7. Hello Mr. Hackler, I just got back into the hobby 6months ago since I stopped collecting 7 years ago when I was 16.

    First I would like to say this jersey is awesome and I have only ever pulled one grass stained jersey out of the 100+ I own.

    You know what I miss the most and was hoping to expect out of your 09 National Treasures product that I spent over $1500 on already?

    A simple date when the material was used. You guys only gotta take a little more time to add that little 10/24/10 in this case to the 200+ cards you produce from the jersey and it would add a WORLD of difference for the consumer. It makes it feel so much more personnel.

    You dont even gotta add who they played, just the date and we can find out for ourselves. Is there any reason you dont do this anymore? I really miss those days and won’t even buy high-end products due to it anymore. When I spend $450 on a 6 card gamble the least you can try to do is give us a date and much more on-card autos. I bought my first 2010 NT yesterday and was given 3 sticker rookies of guys i never heard of and 3 regular one color jerseys from decent players from who knows when they wore it.

    Besides that I do love all of your other products and only buy from your company. Dirty jerseys like this should be saved every year for NT with a date they we’re used if you are unable to add it to all of your products.

    Also, I was just looking at an Jersey/Ball card I got back in 2000. It showed a very small picture of the Ball AND the jersey with a date they we’re both used. Which is why I actually made this post. PLEASE make these things more personnel. Back of high-end autos would be great if you added a small picture of the player signing it.

    I really hope you take these ideas into consideration for next year, you don’t know how much more happier we would all be researching which game this was played in and seeing very small pictures on the back if possible.

    /end rant.

    Keep up the good work, besides all that the design of your products is beautiful.

    Thank You.

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