My latest pickup is this 2006 San Diego Chargers away jersey of Malcom Floyd that was worn in 7 games. Although it was on the pricier end of my collecting range, it was undersold and is definitely worth more than I paid for it.

This jersey spoke to me because I watched a lot of Chargers games on TV when Floyd played and he had an impressive career. The seller advertised it as being from the 2004 season because a 2004 tag is sewn into the collar. The problem is, Malcom Floyd wore #13 in 2004 and spent 2005 on the practice squad.

I fired up the image searches and found photos of Floyd from multiple games in 2006 that feature distinctive characteristics on the jersey. I sent the seller an offer that was accepted and I received the gamer in the mail today.

With the jersey in my hands for closer evaluation, I was able to photomatch it to 6 games from the 2006 season, with an assumed 7th game in between those dates.

Floyd put in some serious work in those games, catching 9 balls for 170 yards and 2 TDs (the 2nd and 4th TDs of his career). He also registered his first career 100-yard game in a wild shootout against Cincinnati that saw nearly 1,000 yards of total offense. The metric that puts it over the top for me is that Floyd wore this jersey during two highlights featured on “NFL Primetime,” one which even warranted Chris Berman to give Floyd a “whoop!” after he shook some defenders. All in all, I’m thrilled to have it in my collection.

9/11/06 at Oakland

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10/1/06 at Baltimore

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1 reception, 31 yards, TD

10/15/06 at San Francisco

No photomatch

10/22/06 at Kansas City

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1 reception, 19 yards

11/12/06 at Cincinnati

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5 receptions, 109 yards, TD

11/19/06 at Denver

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1 reception, 7 yards

12/3/06 at Buffalo

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1 reception, 4 yards

It’s been awhile since I’ve landed a game-used jersey, but I got back on the big board with this XFL gamer of Nate “Big Nate” Miller.

Miller played football at LSU and spent a few seasons as an offensive lineman in the NFL, seeing some playing time with the Falcons in 1997. After NFL teams stopped calling, Miller resurfaced in the XFL with the Los Angeles Xtreme. I photomatched this jersey to the 2001 XFL “Million Dollar Game”, making it the second game-worn jersey I own from the league’s lone championship game and my third LA Xtreme jersey. This would be the last jersey Miller ever wore in a pro football game.

According to his XFL player bio, “Big Nate” is an avid comic book collector. Maybe he’ll show up here one of these days?

The newest entry to my game-used memorabilia collection is this 2003 San Diego Chargers jersey worn by wide receiver Dondre Gilliam.

This jersey has a crazy story. Gilliam was a graduate of D-II Millersville University in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He was signed and waived by the Chargers 5 times in 2002 without logging a stat. Going into Week 4 of the 2003 season, the chargers found themselves down five receivers - including David Boston, Reche Caldwell, and Tim Dwight - so the Chargers gave Gilliam a call and started him that week against the Raiders. Gilliam was issued #10 because every other common receiver jersey number was taken.

In that game, Gilliam was in the huddle with Drew Brees, LaDainian Tomlinson, Antonio Gates, and Lorenzo Neal - indisputably among the top-20 all-time at their respective positions, and possibly even top-10 all-time. To make it even more crazy, Gilliam ran routes against Charles Woodson and Rod Woodson.

Gilliam posted 4 receptions for 67 yards, leading the team. The top receivers for the Raiders? Jerry Rice and Tim Brown. The Raiders won the matchup of legends in overtime, 34-31. More ridiculous footnotes: The game featured the first career reception for Antonio Gates and the only career touchdown reception for Drew Brees.

Gilliam went on to play three more games in this jersey, logging his final two career receptions from Doug Flutie, before the Chargers went back to full staff and waived him for good.

I don’t have definitive photomatches for this one given that I only have two game photos of Gilliam to work with, but it’s a slam dunk for a combination of reasons:

1. The jersey tag is from 2003

2. Photos from the Raiders game show the layout of his jersey lettering is a perfect match

3. The jersey shows the stitch outline of a removed patch worn that season and the placement matches the photos

4. The jersey has repairs so it was worn in multiple games

5. There’s no way the team issued Gilliam a new jersey part way through the season because he had little playing time and a constantly-uncertain roster status

All in all, this jersey tells quite a story and I’m happy to have it.

I recently purchased this 2015 San Jose State game-used football jersey of linebacker Christian Tago. The reason I grabbed this one is because Tago was a team leader who wore the jersey in 6 games that year, including the 2015 Cure Bowl, and tallied 57 tackles in it.

When I performed a photomatch search prior to making the purchase, I found definitive proof it was worn in the bowl game based on matching repair spots, but I was thrown off by the missing ‘C’ captain patch as well as the missing bowl game patch. Upon closer inspection under a bright flashlight in a dark room, I can see the stitch holes from the captain patch (see the last photo). There are no stitch marks for the bowl patch, however, so I’m guessing it was an iron-on. It’s hard to find game-used NCAA jerseys from the pre-NIL days that still contain a nameplate, so it’s surprising that the team kept the nameplate on but removed the captain patch. I’d love to know how jerseys like this first make it into private hands.

Tago was signed by the Falcons and Eagles out of college but never played a down in the NFL. He currently coaches linebackers at Antelope Valley College in California. Hoping to get this jersey to him someday.

9/19/15 at Oregon State

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9/26/15 vs Fresno State

No photomatch, but jersey style worn

10/17/15 vs San Diego State

No photomatch, but jersey style worn

10/24/15 vs New Mexico

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11/27/15 vs Boise State

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12/19/15 vs Georgia State (Cure Bowl)

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Last September I posted about how I purchased a ticket stub from the 2001 Lions @ Browns game in which Ty Detmer infamously threw 7 interceptions for the Lions - a feat that hasn’t been reached since and will probably never happen again. Well, wouldn’t you know it, I now own the jersey that Cleveland Browns linebacker Jamir Miller wore in that game in which he grabbed Detmer’s fourth INT of the day.

I found the listing on eBay, and the seller included a COA from a post-9/11 NFL auction that stated the jersey was worn in 2001 against the Bengals. The jersey has several repairs and is riddled with hit marks of various colors. Jamir Miller was a first-team All-Pro that year, so the usage was consistent with his hard-nosed style of play.

I zoomed in on the jersey and saw bright blue hit marks on the shoulders and immediately started to geek out. I scrolled Getty Images from the Browns/Lions game and found a definite match. Needless to say, I had to make the jersey mine.

I checked multiple images from the Browns/Bengals game and it was clear that Miller was wearing a fresh jersey. This demonstrates a lesson I’ve conveyed multiple times on this platform: When it comes to game-used memorabilia, don’t trust certificates of authenticity from the groups that originally release the jersey to the public even if they come from the teams themselves. Equipment managers most likely throw jerseys into storage closets and can easily mix up the provenance.

I was also able to photomatch this jersey to games against the Seahawks and Chargers, and the mileage it saw is pretty incredible:

Sacks: 3
Tackles: 17
Tackles for Loss: 5
INTs: 1
Players Tackled: LaDainian Tomlinson (for a 4-yard loss!), Ricky Watters, Doug Flutie, Matt Hasselbeck, James Stewart
Number of Times Featured in an NFL Primetime Highlight: 1

9/9/01 vs Seattle

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9/23/01 vs Detroit

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10/7/01 vs San Diego

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