Just one season after replacing the departed Mark Johnson as the captain of the Hartford Whalers in 1984-85, the quintessential Hartford Whaler, Ron Francis, donned this jersey for the 1985-86season. At age 22, Francis was one of the youngest captain’s in NHL history. This fantastic jersey shows that he proved his leadership, grit, and determination in that first full year as captain of the Whalers. The home, white CCM mesh jersey displays two neck tags, a CCM manufacturer tag with “10” penned in black marker sewn over a “10 85” date tag below. Captain’s ‘C’ sewn appropriately on the left chest. The zigzag stitching is gone from the left side of the CCM tag. Neckline is stretched and stitching is broken all around the neckline. The front has excellent use with gashes on the crest, stick marks below the logo and all over the front hem including some blue marks in the lowest white stripe. There is one sizable team repair on the back of the left sleeve. Both sleeves have plenty of stick marks, board burns, paint transfers and slashes on the numbers. There is also reddish staining on the upper front left shoulder/arm area that could be blood or some other staining. The right sleeve has five repairs in the back elbow area. The fight strap is heavily corroded and has salt deposits. More excellent marks on the back numbers. Pilling present inside. A Hall of Fame jersey worn by Captain Class.