Barry Dean was selected in the 1st round, 2nd overall by the Kansas City Scouts in the 1975 NHL Entry Draft
Dean never signed in Kansas City after a contract dispute and was allowed to sign with the Phoenix Roadrunners of the WHA
The young winger spent just one season with the Roadrunners before heading to the NHL the following season with the Colorado Rockies when they relocated from Kansas City
He played in 71 games, scoring 9 goals and 25 assists and tallying up 110 penalty minutes
Dean’s career at the top level was ultimately brief as he spent just one season in the WHA (1975-1976) and three years in the NHL (1976-1979) before shuffling to the minors and then ultimately out of pro hockey by 1982
One of only two photos I’ve been able to find of Barry Dean in this blue Phoenix Roadrunners game worn jersey. There are two or three photos of him in the white jersey floating around out there.
Barry Dean wore this blue set, Rawlings tagged durene gamer during the WHA’s 1975-1976 season
The jersey shows several burns/snags/pulls and a small unrepaired hole in the right sleeve and a cut and fraying on the bottom of the left #1 sleeve number, with the left sleeve showing even more wear with a couple of very large burns, some pilling, and a huge 3-inch long snag in the left elbow
Dean’s jersey features the gorgeous Roadrunner inside the state outline crest and there are several stick marks and puckering/wash wear visible on it
Phoenix’s jerseys from this era also featured a unique threading on the Roadrunners mascot which stands out
To the left and just above the crest is a black smudge mark and another larger mark below it which looks like the round edge of a puck, while just below the crest and also on the left hand side is a series of pulls/snags that appear to have happened from the same slash
The neck tag denotes this jersey as a size 46 and is only half-sewn into the neck of the jersey and appears to have bloodstains on the Rawlings logo
There are a few marks in both shoulders, while the right shoulder has a couple of areas that appear to be bloodstains
The back of the sweater shows signs of the nameplate being removed with two small holes on either side of the collar of the jersey that are about 11 1/2 inches apart
The numbers shown a healthy amount of wash wear and fraying and scratching in the twill, as well as some loose threading and a few small marks within the numbers
Beneath the back #2 is a 3-4 inch long snag or burn with another smaller one just below it
The white and gold banding around the jersey has some pilling, staining, and a few small marks scattered about the front and back
Dean’s jersey shows a ton of wear on the back hem where there are multiple long burns or snags as well as a large yellow mark
There is a healthy amount of pilling on the interior, particularly on the back numbers and armpits of the sweater
The fight strap on this Rawlings gamer is a skinny one that has loose threads going in every direction and is capped off by a metal hook
