I’m so excited to present the latest addition to my game-used jersey collection. I recently purchased this NFL Europe Frankfurt Galaxy jersey worn in World Bowl XII by linebacker Asa Francis.

I love this jersey for so many reasons:

* It’s an NFL Europe jersey, which was an NFL developmental league that existed from 1991-2007, and it’s difficult to find memorabilia (especially game-used) stateside.
* It was used in a World Bowl, which was the league’s championship game.
* Patches! It includes patches for World Bowl XII, the Frankfurt Galaxy, a couple corporate sponsors, and the Buffalo Bills. NFL Europe players whose rights were owned by an NFL team wore their team’s patch on their jerseys, and not every player in the league was affiliated with an NFL team.
* The jersey has three repairs and tons of dings and stains around the shoulders, demonstrating incredible use. It’s almost certain this jersey was worn in other games during the 2004 season.

Asa Francis was recruited to play at Auburn in 1997 but was dismissed from the team before playing a down. He transferred to the New Mexico Military Institute and wreaked havoc at the linebacker position, which ultimately led to a couple years in the Arena Football League. After leading the AF2 in sacks, the Bills signed Francis to their 80-man roster in 2004, subsequently sending him to Frankfurt before cutting him later that year.

Now to photo-matching. There are hardly any images online from World Bowl XII, but by some kind of miracle, one of the few photos that exists is Getty Image 52558487, which shows Francis trying to bring down a Berlin Thunder running back. In the photo, which again is miraculously positioned, you can see the white ding above the S on the back of the jersey along with a telltale loose thread in the Skoda Auto patch. I watched World Bowl XII on YouTube and Francis played a decent number of downs during the game.

For those of you wondering what a jersey like this costs, I got it on eBay for $178 total. That’s not nothing, but it shows that you can find some pretty incredible items even on a small budget.