Today's Tidbit... Glory Days and the 1955 Champion Catalog
Today's Tidbit... Glory Days and the 1955 Champion Catalog
There was a time in the not-too-distant past when cotton T-shirts were the standard attire football players wore under their pads and during their off-season workouts. Most took particular pleasure in sweating in gray cotton T-shirts made by Champion, the top-of-the-line. Gray Champion shirts put your sweat on display, beginning with a slight darkening in the middle of the chest before spreading outward as the workout continued. The sweat outline of shoulder pads following a walkthrough or practice on a cool day was even more pleasing.
So, for those who recall gray Champion shirts playing a significant part in their glory days, the 1955 Champion catalog should bring back memories, even if your glory days came well after 1955.
According to the Champion website, Champion was the first to add hoods to sweatshirts in the 1930s. They pioneered the collegiate apparel market in 1934, working with Moe Sport Shop in Ann Arbor. (Moe also worked with Lloyd Olds to design the first black-and-white striped officials’ shirt.) Their patented Reverse Weave fabric reduced shrinkage from 1938 on, and they were the first to produce mesh jerseys and a sports bra. Champion was a big deal from a product performance standpoint and significantly influenced our adoption of the T-shirt and casual clothing culture we live in today.
Spalding, Rawlings, and other big firms had higher-quality catalogs in 1955 than Champion's, which tells us Champion was still a niche player at the time. The catalog is a slice in time for a firm that helped shape today's clothing culture.
The 1955 Champion catalog has the classic cotton T-shirts, gym shorts, crew-neck, and hooded sweatshirts the brand popularized. Champion products were worn by the best-trained and financed teams in America until the athletic world moved to synthetics for under and workout gear.
Already classic by 1955, Champion opened the catalog with its Gray Line. Their heavy-duty and standard gray T-shirts were the height of athletic fashion.
Likewise, Chapion's football warmups and hooded sweatshirts were 30-year-old products in 1955 but remained popular. With limited substitution football at the college and high school levels, substitute players often wore pullovers to keep themselves warm on the sideline. However, the hooded sweatshirts still had front pockets rather than the more familiar hand muff of later years.
Champion also made practice and game jerseys in 1955. Their light cotton game jerseys saw use in early-season games, replaced by their durene jerseys when the weather turned. Champion's cotton jerseys had Aridye numbers and stripes silkscreened or printed on the jerseys, making the jerseys machine washable and eliminating the dry cleaning expense required for wool jerseys or cotton jerseys with sewn-on numbers.
In addition to varsity football, Champion sold an extensive line targeted at physical education classes. They also sold cotton products in the wrestling, swimming, soccer, track, and basketball markets. Note that their basketball shorts were available in the ever-popular belt buckle and elastic styles.
A final bonus in the catalog is the jackets and sports shirts displayed on the back cover. Those sharp-looking jackets had to be worn by Wally Cleaver on Leave It To Beaver, and if not, they should have been.
Champion’s “C” logo arrived the year after this catalog and accompanied their products through the height of their popularity. Though no longer considered performance gear, decades of star performers perspired in Champion gear on their way to the top and following their arrival.
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