Retail Jersey History?

[Eric]

Hey everyone-

I was wondering if anyone out there in knew the history of retail football jerseys. I was thinking about how Sand Knit used to make fan jerseys in the 70s and thought someone might know how far back fans could buy jerseys of their favorite players.

Also, does anyone know if back in the day you had to buy the numbers that were available (of the stars) or if you could pick any number?

Any info would be appreciated.
Eric

[suave1477]

Re: Retail Jersey History?

Eric just in case you don't know the Mitchell and Ness story you might be interested in this as well other collectors to further update what you might have in your collection ESPECIALLY PHIL. EAGLES collectors.


About Mitchell & Ness


In 1904 Frank Mitchell, a tennis enthusiast, and Charles Ness, an avid golfer from Scotland, came together to establish Mitchell & Ness Sporting Goods. They originally specialized in stringing tennis rackets and producing custom-made golf clubs, but eventually started manufacturing uniforms for local baseball and football teams in the Philadelphia area. In 1917, Mitchell and Ness hired a young Italian native named Sisto (Jimmy) Capolino, who started out sweeping floors. 18 years later, Jimmy Capolino became the store manager.

Entering the Majors

Mitchell & Ness began producing uniforms for professional teams in 1933 when the Philadelphia Eagles entered the National Football League. They would go on to supply the Eagles with uniforms and equipment for the next thirty years. In 1938 they entered into baseball, producing uniforms for the Philadelphia Athletics, and later added the Phillies to their roster. By 1950 the Mitchell & Ness label could be found on uniforms for every level of play from high school to professional. In 1952, Jimmy Capolino purchased the store and brought his son Peter in to help out. 26 years later, Jimmy passed away and Peter took over the company. In the meantime, the focus had shifted from manufacturing to retail, with a concentration on field hockey and ski equipment.
An Idea is Born

With the store struggling to stay afloat from large-scale competition, Peter received a request that would forever change the company's direction. In 1985 a gentleman inquired about making repairs to his 1960 Pirates game-worn vest and 1949 St. Louis Browns game-worn shirt. This request sparked the idea to bring these vintage styles to the contemporary market. After much research and a lucky find of unused wool flannel, the first batch of baseball jerseys was produced and sold out overnight.
Mitchell & Ness Today

By 1991 Mitchell & Ness was manufacturing jerseys for fans and players alike with their Philadelphia Phillies Turn Back the Clock game gear. The Hardwood Classics basketball collection was introduced in 1999, followed closely with the Throwback Collection of NFL jerseys, and a collection of NHL-sanctioned vintage hockey sweaters. Today Mitchell & Ness offers professional league collections featuring over 1600 players, authentic-inspired and branded collections, and is the on-field outfitter of the Philadelphia Soul Arena Football Team. The company is known world-wide as the leader in authentic vintage sportswear.

[hblakewolf]

Re: Retail Jersey History?

Forum readers-
referencing the M & N info, I'm a bit confused.

There is a line about them "...adding the Phillies to their roster". I have an extensive collection of Phillies game worn flannels, and none were made by Mitchell and Ness. My collection dates back to 1949, and all have Wilson manufacturing tags sewn in. Did Wilson contract this piece of business to M & N?

Likewise, the company info also states that they were manufacturing the 1991 Phillies Turn Back the Clock uniforms. Again, I have Wally Backman's 1991 Phillies TBTC jersey and pants, both having red Rawlings tags, not M & N.

Can someone please add some insight.

Just curious........

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net


About Mitchell & Ness



Entering the Majors

Mitchell & Ness began producing uniforms for professional teams in 1933 when the Philadelphia Eagles entered the National Football League. They would go on to supply the Eagles with uniforms and equipment for the next thirty years. In 1938 they entered into baseball, producing uniforms for the Philadelphia Athletics, and later added the Phillies to their roster. By 1950 the Mitchell & Ness label could be found on uniforms for every level of play from high school to professional. In 1952, Jimmy Capolino purchased the store and brought his son Peter in to help out. 26 years later, Jimmy passed away and Peter took over the company. In the meantime, the focus had shifted from manufacturing to retail, with a concentration on field hockey and ski equipment.
An Idea is Born

With the store struggling to stay afloat from large-scale competition, Peter received a request that would forever change the company's direction. In 1985 a gentleman inquired about making repairs to his 1960 Pirates game-worn vest and 1949 St. Louis Browns game-worn shirt. This request sparked the idea to bring these vintage styles to the contemporary market. After much research and a lucky find of unused wool flannel, the first batch of baseball jerseys was produced and sold out overnight.
Mitchell & Ness Today

By 1991 Mitchell & Ness was manufacturing jerseys for fans and players alike with their Philadelphia Phillies Turn Back the Clock game gear. The Hardwood Classics basketball collection was introduced in 1999, followed closely with the Throwback Collection of NFL jerseys, and a collection of NHL-sanctioned vintage hockey sweaters. Today Mitchell & Ness offers professional league collections featuring over 1600 players, authentic-inspired and branded collections, and is the on-field outfitter of the Philadelphia Soul Arena Football Team. The company is known world-wide as the leader in authentic vintage sportswear.

[suave1477]

Re: Retail Jersey History?

Howard I can add some light to one of your questions about the Throwback part.

Mitchell and Ness is the most popular retailer of Throwback Jerseys. They make the old past stars and Vintage Jerseys to the exact specifications that the original was made. These were a huge hit in urban culture within the past 5 years. You will see many kids on the street and in videos wearing them. By the way they are expensive!!!

As far as them being used in MLB, they are contracted for some teams / games to be made for MLB. Also other companies have been contracted to make Throwback jerseys for games such as yours Rawlings and others

[hblakewolf]

Re: Retail Jersey History?

Suave-
Thanks for the refresher, however, I'm specifically seeking info on the 2 questions:

1. They claim to have made Phillies jerseys. My jerseys, as should be the case, are made by Wilson.

2. They claim to have made the Phillies 1991 TBTC. My 1991 TBTC was made by Rawlings and obtained directly from Wally Backman.

Any insight to these specific claims?

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

Howard I can add some light to one of your questions about the Throwback part.

Mitchell and Ness is the most popular retailer of Throwback Jerseys. They make the old past stars and Vintage Jerseys to the exact specifications that the original was made. These were a huge hit in urban culture within the past 5 years. You will see many kids on the street and in videos wearing them. By the way they are expensive!!!

As far as them being used in MLB, they are contracted for some teams / games to be made for MLB. Also other companies have been contracted to make Throwback jerseys for games such as yours Rawlings and others

[suave1477]

Re: Retail Jersey History?

Howard I do not know the reason for the Eagles wilson jersey as I do not collect those.

A fars them saying they made the Jersey for the phillies in 1991, actually they don't say that. If you read carefully what they are saying, which is by 1991 they were manufacturing Jerseys for there fans and players with philedelphia philles turn back the clock game gear. They are just stating that is when things took off for there business and that was a big seller for them on the RETAIL SIDE.
They never mentioned anything about making Jerseys for the Philles Turn back the clock games.

By 1991 Mitchell & Ness was manufacturing jerseys for fans and players alike with their Philadelphia Phillies Turn Back the Clock game gear. as the leader in

[trsent]

Re: Retail Jersey History?

There are some examples of Phillies and Eagles Mitchell & Ness jerseys currently on eBay:

MITCHELL & NESS STEVE VAN BUREN EAGLES THROWBACK JERSEY

Randall Cunningham Mitchell & Ness '92 Eagles Throwback

Eagles Mitchell and Ness Team Jacket - Rare

1950-64 Phillies home jersey by Mitchell and Ness

Phila PHILLIES Schmidt Mitchell & Ness Auth. Jersey 4XL

MITCHELL & NESS MLB PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES HAT 8 1/4

I hope this helps.

[hblakewolf]

Re: Retail Jersey History?

Suave-
After rereading, I understand what they are saying. What about the other statement, "In 1938 they entered into baseball, producing uniforms for the Philadelphia Athletics, and later added the Phillies to their roster. "

What's the deeper meaning on this?

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

Howard I do not know the reason for the Eagles wilson jersey as I do not collect those.

A fars them saying they made the Jersey for the phillies in 1991, actually they don't say that. If you read carefully what they are saying, which is by 1991 they were manufacturing Jerseys for there fans and players with philedelphia philles turn back the clock game gear. They are just stating that is when things took off for there business and that was a big seller for them on the RETAIL SIDE.
They never mentioned anything about making Jerseys for the Philles Turn back the clock games.

[suave1477]

Re: Retail Jersey History?

Howard as I said that part I do not know, but you can call them they are very customer friendly on the phone.

[hblakewolf]

Re: Retail Jersey History?

Suave-
Not a big deal, just more of a curiosity thing..........

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

Howard as I said that part I do not know, but you can call them they are very customer friendly on the phone.

[both-teams-played-hard]

Re: Retail Jersey History?

Mitchell and Ness distributed many jerseys of Philly sports teams from the 30s to the 70s. They did not make the jerseys. They applied letters, numbers and crests to the jerseys. They added their M&N tag in most cases. I have seen a M&N adjacent tag on jerseys made by Spanjian, MacGregor, Spalding and others. However, I have never seen a Wilson jersey with an adjacent Mitchell and Ness Tag. Not to say they never worked with Wilson.
Ironically, the "throwbacks" are not made by Mitchell and Ness. They are made by Powers Mfg of Waterloo, Iowa. They cut the textiles, weave the wool, sew the thread...Mitchell&Ness is STILL just a distributor.
In my opinion, Powers Mfg. is the most overlooked sports manufacturing company in history....

I think the original question was about the history of the "fan" jersey. Medalist Sand Knit made NFL replica jerseys (without NOBs) from the mid 70s to the 80s. It seems only superstar uniform numbers were available. These jerseys are very different from gamers (no extra length, single-ply shoulders). Medalist Sand Knit did make the gamers of many NFL teams during this time. When Sand Knit became MacGregor Sand Knit in 1985, the replicas became much better quality, but were still distinguishable from gamers (no NOB, etc.) I have only seen Macgregor Sand Knit NFL replicas with superstar numbers. The most popular would be the LA Raiders "#34".

[hblakewolf]

Re: Retail Jersey History?

BTPH-
As we are all aware, Philadelphia 76'ers jerseys were manufactured by Wilson with the Pearson Sporting Goods tag next to it, however, I agree with you......I'm not aware of a Phillies Wilson manufactured jersey with ANY other tag next to it.

Has anyone else seen such Phillies tagging?

I once had a 1987 road blue Phillies jersey with a Cosby tag sewn in the tail-how odd is this?

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

Mitchell and Ness distributed many jerseys of Philly sports teams from the 30s to the 70s. They did not make the jerseys. They applied letters, numbers and crests to the jerseys. They added their M&N tag in most cases. I have seen a M&N adjacent tag on jerseys made by Spanjian, MacGregor, Spalding and others. However, I have never seen a Wilson jersey with an adjacent Mitchell and Ness Tag. Not to say they never worked with Wilson.
Ironically, the "throwbacks" are not made by Mitchell and Ness. They are made by Powers Mfg of Waterloo, Iowa. They cut the textiles, weave the wool, sew the thread...Mitchell&Ness is STILL just a distributor.
In my opinion, Powers Mfg. is the most overlooked sports manufacturing company in history....

I think the original question was about the history of the "fan" jersey. Medalist Sand Knit made NFL replica jerseys (without NOBs) from the mid 70s to the 80s. It seems only superstar uniform numbers were available. These jerseys are very different from gamers (no extra length, single-ply shoulders). Medalist Sand Knit did make the gamers of many NFL teams during this time. When Sand Knit became MacGregor Sand Knit in 1985, the replicas became much better quality, but were still distinguishable from gamers (no NOB, etc.) I have only seen Macgregor Sand Knit NFL replicas with superstar numbers. The most popular would be the LA Raiders "#34".

[flaco1801]

Re: Retail Jersey History?

howard, i think they made a mistake. i can almost remember peter telling me they made for the Philadelphia Athletics.

[MooseDog]

Re: Retail Jersey History?

I was thinking about how Sand Knit used to make fan jerseys in the 70s and thought someone might know how far back fans could buy jerseys of their favorite players.

Also, does anyone know if back in the day you had to buy the numbers that were available (of the stars) or if you could pick any number?
Eric

Eric - I was an avid GU trader in the 1970s, though not much in football. I do remember pretty clearly though that the Sand Knit football jerseys were pre-made. Most of the stars of the day were available. However the retail SN jerseys did not have the "Made Exclusive" tag that the real team jerseys had. That didn't stop enterprising sorts to manufacture their own tags or pull tags off common players. This pretty much made me stop collecting football GU jerseys completely.

[G1X]

Re: Retail Jersey History?

To clarify BTPH's post that mentioned the single-ply shoulders on the replica Sand Knit jerseys, the Sand Knit game jerseys of that era also had single-ply mesh shoulders. This can be observed when looking closely at many photos, football cards, etc. Single-ply mesh shoulders can also be found on Russell game jerseys from the 1990s (I have a few Atlanta Falcons linemen in this style). Wanted to point this out so that no one would think that a 1970s Sand-Knit with single-ply shoulders is automatically a replica.

Back to Eric's question - there was an ad that used to run in the back of Street & Smith's Pro Football Annual in the early 1970s where you could order a catalogue for NFL replica jerseys. The catalogue did not identify any team nor did it contain photos. Instead, it meticulously described the jersey style and you had to pretty much figure out the team by the description. It got tricky on teams with similar styles such as the Rams and Cowboys blue jerseys of the very early 1970s.

You could order any name and number. I placed an order for a #88 blue Dallas Cowboys without a name. It was a decent replica and even had the appropriate spacing on the back for placing a nameplate. However, the numbers were on the shoulders instead of the sleeves, and it was fairly easy to discern that it differed from a real game jersey as outlined by BTPH in his post. My jersey contained Sand Knit tagging, but unlike the super star replicas (mentioned in previous posts) that were available at that time with the "exclusive" tagging, mine did not contain the "exclusive" tagging identifying the team.

Hope this information is helpful. Feel free to contact me at neet@erols.com if you need further information.

Mark Hayne