This home white dureen gamer by Rawlings was worn by Walt McKechnie during the 1977-78 NHL season. The Toronto Maple Leafs made McKechnie the 6th overall selection in the 1963 NHL Amateur Draft. He made his NHL debut with the Minnesota North Stars in their inaugural season of 1967-68 and remained with the club for 4 years. In 1971-72, McKechnie became a member of the California Golden Seals, a team that he represented for 3 seasons. In 1974-75 Walt joined the Boston Bruins and played with them until a deal sent hm to Detroit later that season. McKechnie spent parts of 3 years with the Wings and then began the 1977-78 season with the Washington Capitals. After only 16 games, the Caps traded McKechnie to the Cleveland Barons where he finished out the 1977-78 season. Walt next spent parts of 2 years with the Maple Leafs, parts of 2 more with the Colorado Rockies and finished his career with 2 seasons in Detroit. His career best totals came in 1975-76, during his first go around with the Red Wings. Walt potted 26 goals and added 56 helpers for an impressive 82 points that season. On the international scene McKechnie represented team Canada in the 1977 World Championships.

After being traded to Cleveland on December 9th 1977, McKechnie played in 53 games for the Barons. Offered here is McKechnie’s home gamer from that, his lone season with the Cleveland Barons. Sewn into the collar of this gamer is the Rawlings tag. The game wear on this vintage size 50 dureen is solid and consists of stick and slash marks, board burns, board paint transfer and areas of fine pilling both inside and out. Shown above is a beautiful photo match of McKechnie wearing this exact jersey during a humbling 13-3 home loss to the Buffalo Sabres on February 25th 1978. The Cleveland Barons survived in the NHL for a mere two seasons, thus making their game worn jerseys both very rare and quite desirable. This stunning, well-worn photo matched example would become an instant cornerstone in any defunct or vintage game worn jersey collection, choice!