1996 Lithuania Basketball Grateful Dead Signed Shirt
Original vintage 1996 Lithuania Basketball Grateful Dead shirt, signed by the Lithuanian Olympic team. This is a true vintage shirt, not a modern reproduction. Condition is good for its age, with a few small holes on the front and no stains. The signatures are dark and clear with no fading. Sizes ran differently in the 1990s, so please use the measurements below rather than the tag size.
The Lithuania tie-dyes have their own history. At the 1988 Olympics the Soviet Union won gold with four Lithuanian starters on its roster. Lithuania regained independence in 1991 and sent its own team to the 1992 Games, where those players won bronze. They took bronze again in 1996. The team’s tie-dye shirts were produced by Not Fade Away Graphics of Woodstock, New York, the company behind Grateful Dead merchandising. This shirt carries the Not Fade Away Graphics copyright dated 1996 over the original 1992 Lithuania design by Martin Leifer.
Signed by the full 1996 Lithuanian Olympic roster. Eleven signatures on the front, one for every player on the bronze medal team, most inscribed with the signer’s jersey number.
#4 Rytis Vaišvila
#5 Mindaugas Žukauskas
#6 Eurelijus Žukauskas
#7 Tomas Pačėsas
#8 Saulius Štombergas
#9 Darius Lukminas
#10 Rimas Kurtinaitis
#11 Arvydas Sabonis
#12 Artūras Karnišovas
#13 Šarūnas Marčiulionis
#14 Gintaras Einikis
Sabonis and Marčiulionis are both Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees, in 2011 and 2014. The signatures are read from the jersey numbers written alongside them. The clearest are #13 Marčiulionis, #14 Einikis, #12 Karnišovas, #7 Pačėsas, #5 Mindaugas Žukauskas, #6 Eurelijus Žukauskas and #4 Vaišvila.
This shirt comes with documented provenance connecting it to Artūras Karnišovas and the Lithuanian Olympic basketball community. According to the accompanying correspondence from former owner MJ Anton, Anton’s mother served as Karnišovas’s legal host when he came to the United States to attend Seton Hall. Anton and Karnišovas became close friends. Anton also had a personal connection to Not Fade Away Graphics in Woodstock, New York, a company involved in Grateful Dead merchandising and the production of the Lithuania basketball tie-dyes.
Through these relationships, Anton kept a collection of items connected to the Lithuanian team after the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games. The pieces stayed in his personal collection for years until collector Scott Collett purchased this shirt in 2015. The included email correspondence documents the chain of ownership and the shirt’s personal connection to Anton, Karnišovas, Lithuanian Olympic basketball and the Grateful Dead merchandising community.
Pit to Pit: 22.5 inches
Collar to Hem: 29.75 inches
Tag Size: Large
Era: 1990s
Material: 100% Cotton
Color: Tie-Dye
Sku: 07172602
Vintage sizing varies across decades. Every shirt is measured by hand so you know exactly how it will fit.
- Lay your favorite shirt flat.
- Measure armpit to armpit for the pit-to-pit.
- Measure top to bottom for the collar-to-hem.
Calculated rates at checkout. Ships in 24 hours (domestic) / 48 hours (international). Same-Day, Next-Day, Overnight, and worldwide shipping available.
The most common reason for returns is sizing issues. Please take a moment to go over our sizing chart to make sure you know you’re buying a shirt that will fit. In the unfortunate circumstance you need to make a return, please contact us with your order # and let us know you’d like to start a return request. If you can’t find your order # no worries, we can look it up. Please ship your return within 14 days of receiving your order. Once delivered, we will issue store credit for the amount of item purchased.
