Mitchell & Ness Nostalgia Company

Vintage 1960's Reproduction 

Vintage Wool Baseball Pant

Mint Condition Baseball Pant w/o Hang Tags (Like New)

Size (Waist): 34"

Approximate Width (Waist Measurement): 34 Inches Completely Around

Approximate Inseam Length (crotch seam to bottom cuff) 25 1/2 Inches

Approximate Outseam Length (outer top waist to bottom cuff) 36 Inches

Material: 65% Acrylic / 35% Wool 

Front zip fly with button waist enclosure

2 back button pockets
 
Care: Hand wash, no chlorine bleach, hang dry

Major League Baseball Officially Licensed

Vintage MLB "Cooperstown Collection"


Mitchell & Ness Nostalgia Co., is an American sports-related clothing company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company was established in 1904 as a sports equipment manufacturer, remaining as the oldest sporting company in Philadelphia. After several years of making baseball and American football uniforms, the company switched direction in 1983, when it decided to recreate vintage jerseys.

Nowadays, Mitchell & Ness has license agreements with four of the major sports leagues of the United States (MLB, NBA, NFL, and MLS) to produce and commercialize vintage sports equipment and casual wear.

Some of Mitchell & Ness products include team uniforms (jerseys and shorts) and other casual wear such as t-shirts, tracksuits, jackets, hoodies, hats, knit caps, and other accessories (pennants). The company also has its own brand, "M&N".

In past years, Mitchell & Ness also had license agreements with the NHL and NCAA.

Mitchell & Ness's throwback uniforms were created to reproduce classic to very modern team and player sports jerseys which are either no longer available or hard to find. Mitchell & Ness began producing baseball (Cooperstown Collection) jerseys in 1988, although the company gained popularity in the international retail market ten years after with the introduction of the NBA "Hardwood Classics" line. The company later moved on to reproducing popular throwbacks of American football and NHL players.

Frank P. Mitchell, a former Amateur Athletic Union tennis and wrestling champion, and Charles M. Ness, an avid golfer born in Scotland, together founded "Mitchell & Ness Sporting Goods" in 1904.[5] Their original store made and strung hand-crafted tennis rackets and, using imported woods from Scotland, stolen from England, constructed custom-made golf clubs. In time, they expanded their business, selling uniforms to local baseball and American football teams.[1] When the Philadelphia Eagles entered the young National Football League (NFL) in 1933, Mitchell & Ness supplied the team jerseys and equipment. Mitchell & Ness would continue to outfit the Eagles through the 1963 season.[6]

The first time that the Mitchell & Ness label appeared on a major league baseball uniform, the Philadelphia Athletics, was in 1938. In the early 1940s, Mitchell & Ness began to supply Philadelphia's other major league baseball team, the Phillies. By the end of the decade, the Mitchell & Ness label was appearing on high school and college team uniforms throughout the Philadelphia area.

In the late 1970s, Mitchell & Ness had dropped the team business to concentrate on its retail operation. The store became a leading outlet for field hockey equipment and ski gear. Mitchell & Ness almost went bankrupt in 1983. Owner Peter Capolino told the Detroit Free Press, "By 1983 all the expansion I had done had gone to hell. I fired 100 people, closed two warehouses. I reduced the company to a little store at 13th and Walnut Streets (in Philadelphia). It was down to just me and my wife."[7]

In 1983, a customer walked into the store and asked if Mitchell & Ness could repair his 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates game-worn vest, and his 1949 St. Louis Browns game-worn shirt. They were both made of wool flannel as all baseball uniforms had been during that era. Mitchell & Ness found that it could do it, and with the realization that Mitchell & Ness was capable of this task, an idea was born: Reproduce historically accurate wool-flannel baseball uniforms.[8] Mitchell & Ness recruited history buffs and sports gurus most notably Capolino's friend Bob Downes. They dug through old newspapers, periodicals, books, programs, and old film footage. They consulted vintage uniform collectors throughout the country and visited the archives at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.[9]

Major League Baseball (MLB) teams had stopped wearing wool flannel jerseys by 1972 to wear double-knit polyester jerseys. In a dusty warehouse in North Philadelphia, Mitchell & Ness discovered rolls of old baseball flannel from 50 years earlier. They were still carefully wrapped, untouched, and in like-new condition ready to be cut and sewn.[9] The flannel was sewn. The lettering and patches were recreated and applied. The jerseys were completed, and they were offered for sale. The first shirts sold almost overnight. So did the second batch of a dozen or more. In time, Mitchell & Ness attracted customers from across the United States. Sports Illustrated wrote a flattering piece about Mitchell & Ness in June 1987.[2][8] The New York Times wrote about the company two years later.[6]

In 1999, Mitchell & Ness expanded into the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA), when it introduced its Hardwood Classics collection of basketball jerseys. Football followed a year later with the Mitchell & Ness Throwback Collection. In 2002, the National Hockey League (NHL) granted Mitchell & Ness rights to remake vintage hockey sweaters.

Mitchell & Ness now has on file every MLB uniform worn since the founding of the original Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1869.

In 2007, Adidas purchased Mitchell & Ness in order to get into the retro-apparel style market.[10] On May 29, 2008, the Philadelphia Phillies announced that they had signed Mitchell & Ness as a naming-rights partner of its clothes store at the Phillies' Citizens Bank Park. The Mitchell & Ness Alley Store is in Ashburn Alley beyond left-center field.[11]

On January 24, 2011, the Reading Phillies, AA affiliate of the Phillies announced that they had signed Mitchell & Ness as a naming-rights partner of its apparel store at the R-Phils' FirstEnergy Stadium. On March 23, 2012, Jonathan Yuska was brought on as Head of Mitchell and Ness. In May 2016, Adidas sold Mitchell & Ness to "Juggernaut Capital Partners", a Washington, D.C. based private equity firm.

Owner Peter Capolino reported to Sports Illustrated that Mitchell & Ness had annual sales revenue of $1.5 million per-year in 1998.[13] Revenues rose to $2.2 million in 1999[14] and were $2.8 million in 2000.[15] Sales were more than $5 million in 2001 according to ESPN.com[14] while Capolino reported annual sales of $4.5 million in 2001 to USA Today.[16] Sales rose to $23 million in 2002.


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"Vintage 1960's Mitchell & Ness SAM McDOWELL Cleveland Indians Jersey Vest MINT!"

Samuel Edward Thomas McDowell (born September 21, 1942 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a starting pitcher from 1961 to 1975, most notably for the Cleveland Indians. A six-time All-Star, McDowell led the American League in strikeouts five times. Tall (6 feet, 5 inches) and powerful, his left-handed fastball was delivered with an unusually calm pitching motion which led to his memorable nickname, Sudden Sam.

Career summary
McDowell finished with 2,453 career strikeouts and an average of 8.86 strikeouts per nine innings pitched, ranking him ninth all-time as of 2011.[14] At the time of his retirement, his strikeout rate was bested by only two pitchers: Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax. His ratio of 7.03 hits allowed per nine innings also places him ninth all-time as of 2011.[15] He ranks eighth all time on the list of career ten or more strikeout games with 74, tied with Bob Gibson.[16] His 2,159 strikeouts as an Indian place him second all time on the team's career list, behind Bob Feller.[6] In four All-Star appearances, McDowell struck out twelve NL All-Stars over eight innings, and was the losing pitcher (in relief) in the 1965 game.

1960-61: Major league debut
Prior to the 1960 season, McDowell signed with the Indians for a $75,000 bonus.[1] After spending 1960 with the Class-D Lakeland Indians, he was promoted to the Triple-A Salt Lake City Bees of the Pacific Coast League. He finished the year there with a record of 13-10 and a 4.42 earned run average.

This was enough to earn him a promotion to the majors in September, and one week before his 19th birthday he made his MLB debut for the Indians. Starting against the Minnesota Twins, McDowell pitched 6.2 scoreless innings, giving up just three hits. However, in a harbinger of things to come, he also walked five batters before being relieved by Frank Funk. Funk gave up three runs in the 9th inning to lose the game, 3-2.[2] McDowell did not pitch again in 1961.

1962-63: Struggle to establish himself
McDowell started the next season in Salt Lake City, but was quickly called up in mid-April for a start against the New York Yankees. His second start was not as good as his first: although the Indians won 9-3, McDowell did not make it out of the fifth inning, once again walking five batters and failing to qualify for a win.[3] McDowell remained with the Indians as a swingman until the end of May, when he was sent back to the minors with a 6.04 ERA and 24 walks in 25.1 innings. After posting a 2.02 ERA in 6 games, he was recalled in July. The results were similar, as he finished with an ERA of 6.06 and 70 walks (a rate of 7.2 BB/9), but also 70 strikeouts in 87.2 innings.

McDowell's 1963 season represented something of an improvement over 1962. He started out well, pitching his first major league complete game on April 16 against the Washington Senators. McDowell gave up just two hits while striking out 13, but his control continued to be an issue as he also walked seven hitters.[4] Although he improved his ERA to 4.85 and his BB/9 to 6.1 while increasing his K/9 to 8.7, McDowell was sent down to the Indians top farm club (now the Jacksonville Suns) at the end of June and spent the rest of the season there. He also threw seven wild pitches, ninth-most in the league, despite only pitching 65 innings.

1964: Breakout season
In 1964, the Indians again switched farm teams, this time assigning McDowell to the Portland Beavers. McDowell started out the season on fire, winning all eight of his decisions in only nine starts, including a no-hitter, with an impressive ERA of 1.18. Perhaps more impressively for Sam, he struck out 102 batters while walking just 24 in 76 innings. Once again, he was called up to the majors. It would be the last time McDowell would spend in the minor leagues.

After winning a game in relief on May 31, McDowell pitched a complete game on June 2 against the Chicago White Sox, beating the White Sox 3-2. In a sign that his control might be coming around, he walked just three in the game while striking out 14.

He continued to show flashes of brilliance during the season, finishing with a record of 11-6 with an ERA of 2.70, seventh-best in the American League. He also led the league in K/9 with 9.2, striking out 177 in 173.1 innings. His strikeout total was good for eighth in the AL. His BB/9 also continued to improve, dropping to 5.2, although he still walked an even 100 hitters, the fourth-highest total in the league.

1965: All-Star
In 1965, McDowell was selected to the All-Star team in 1965, the first of six such selections over his career. He pitched two innings in the 1965 All-Star Game and wound up taking the loss for the AL.[5] At the end of the year, "Sudden Sam" was at the top of several American League leader lists, including ERA (2.18), strikeouts (325), K/9 (10.7), Hits per nine innings (5.9) and home runs per nine innings (0.3). The strikeout total stands as the second-highest in franchise history to Bob Feller's 348 in 1946.[6] His 273 innings pitched were second only to the Yankees' Mel Stottlemyre. He also finished 17th in the voting for Most Valuable Player. His control was perhaps the only flaw on his excellent season, as he also led the league in most walks allowed with 132, even though his BB/9 rate continued to drop, to 4.4.

The Indians were also improving, as they finished the season with their first winning record since 1959, with McDowell leading the way. Together with Sonny Siebert, Sam was the first American League starting pitcher duo to post K/9 rates over 9.[citation needed] The Indians pitching staff as a whole led the AL with 1156 strikeouts, leading the league for the first of what would be five straight seasons.

1966-67: Bumps in the road
McDowell slumped somewhat in 1966. Although he started hot, he missed several games due to arm problems during the year.[1] While he led the league in strikeouts for the second straight season, his total dropped to 225, as he managed just 194.1 innings. He posted a 2.87 ERA but won only nine games against eight losses. Of those nine wins, five were shutouts, a total that also led the league. He also made his second All-Star team, although he did not appear in the game.

In 1967, although he didn't miss any time, McDowell's numbers continued to decline. He won 13 games while losing 15, and he led the league in walks allowed, earned runs allowed, and wild pitches while posting a below-average 3.85 ERA. He also failed to lead the league in K/9 for the first time since becoming a full-time major leaguer, finishing second to teammate Luis Tiant with a 9.0 rate. The team as a whole set a record by striking out 1189 batters.[7] One of his few personal highlights came not as a pitcher, but as a batter, as he hit his first major league home run on May 21 off Boston Red Sox pitcher Bucky Brandon.[1]

1968-69: Returning to form
In 1968, the last season before the lowering of the pitcher's mound to 10 inches above ground, Major League Baseball went through what is often called the "Year of the Pitcher". Fittingly, it was also the year McDowell began to return to his pre-1966 form. He posted a career-best 1.81 ERA, second to Luis Tiant, who posted a 1.60 mark. He also returned to his place atop the leader boards in strikeouts (283) and K/9 (9.5). While he led the league in walks allowed with 110, he posted his best BB/9 rate to date with a 3.7. McDowell's own record was 15-14.

In 1969, McDowell won 18 games, his best total thus far, while losing 14. He continued to lead the league in strikeouts (279) and K/9 (8.8). Although it was the first season McDowell had posted a strikeout rate of less than 9, he also posted a career-low BB/9 at 3.2, and for the first time did not lead the league in total walks allowed without missing time due to injuries or time in the minors, finishing sixth with 102. His 18 complete games were the third-most in the AL, and his four shutouts were fourth-most. He also was selected to the All-Star Game for the fourth time, striking out four batters in two innings, including Roberto Clemente.[8] On June 27, he notched his 1,500th career strikeout.[1]

1970: Pitcher of the Year
In 1970, McDowell put together some impressive totals. For the first and only time in his career, he reached the 20-win mark, posting a record of 20-12. He also led the American League in innings pitched, topping the 300 mark (also for the first and only time) at 305. He reached the 300-strikeout mark as well for the first time since 1965 at 304, just barely missing out on a K/9 rate of 9.0, although he led the league in both those categories again. He also threw a career-high 19 complete games, second in the league to Mike Cuellar, giving him 37 complete games in the last two seasons. All this, combined with a fifth-best 2.92 ERA, led to his selection as "AL Pitcher of the Year" by The Sporting News.

However, there were still some warning signs, as McDowell's BB/9 jumped back up to 3.9, and he led the league in walks allowed with 131. He led the league in wild pitches again with 17, the first time he had done so since 1967. He also gave up a career-high 25 home runs. During a July 6 game against the Senators, McDowell became the last left-handed player to earn a fielding chance at second base.[9]

1971: End of the line in Cleveland
1971 started on a rocky note for the newly minted Pitcher of the Year. He held out during spring training, hoping for a six-figure contract.[1] The contract he did sign was voided by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn because it contained illegal incentive clauses, and McDowell decided to leave the team again.[1] He eventually returned to the team, only to be suspended again later in the season.[1]

Among all the turmoil, McDowell's performance suffered. His record slipped to 13-17, and his ERA jumped to 3.40. His K/9 was just 8.0, lowest since 1962, although it was still second in the league. However, his control problems returned full-force, as he walked a career-high 153 batters in just 214.2 innings for a BB/9 of 6.4, also his worst since 1962. At the end of the season, McDowell demanded a trade, and Indians general manager Gabe Paul obliged.[1] On November 29, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for pitcher Gaylord Perry and shortstop Frank Duffy.


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