We must journey back to Alabama in the mid 1920s to find the birth date and place of the sweatshirt. The sweatshirt was a bi-product of a maker of male and female under-garments – the Russell company, founded in 1902.
Benjamin had a son, Bertie, who started playing football at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and complained about the football shirts of the time. They were made from wool and caused itchiness when they became damp making them very uncomfortable for the players.
Bertie came-up with the idea of making football shirts from the same material the company used to make the underwear. Knowing well the garments created at his father’s factory Bertie told his father that this would be a great way to make football shirts. Benjamin could see the idea might have legs and decided to try it out.
The idea was a success not just with the Alabama team but with many other football clubs..
The firm expanded production and looked for new customers marketing the product to baseball teams and athletics organisations.
{The Russell company was able to become the preferred sports shirt supply company by forming Russell Athletic in 1932.|In response to this success the Russell company formed Russell Athletic, an athletics association in 1932 which established the Russell brand in the sport.
Fast forward in time and the sweatshirt style has since become a very popular item of casual clothing being made by many fashion brands for example G Star Sweat.
