Negro Leagues Legacy | Wool Collection | Outerwear
New York Black Yankees 1940 Authentic Wool & Leather Varsity Jacket
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AN AUTHENTIC REPRODUCTION WORTHY OF A HISTORIC BASEBALL CLUB
History: The New York Black Yankees started as an independent team in 1932. They barnstormed in those first years, sometimes playing doubleheaders in different states on successive days. They joined the Negro National League in 1936. In the 40s, they played home games at Yankee Stadium when the American League Yankees were on the road. To honor the legendary squad, we reproduced an authentic letterman jacket worn by the Black Yankees in 1940. It’s period-correct to the last detail, from the tan leather sleeves to the 100% wool body and felt lettering on the front. In partnership with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM), we are proud to offer this authentic wool & leather varsity jacket. A portion of proceeds from this product will support the NLBM in Kansas City. For more information about the museum, visit www.nlbm
Product Details
Navy wool body
Brown cowhide sleeves
Pendelton Wool
Vintage knit wool rib at cuff and hem
Felt and chenille ‘NY' on chest
Front entry pockets
Inside pocket
Metal zipper front
Black quilted lining
Body: 100% Wool
Sleeves: 100% Leather
Lining: 100% Polyester
Dry clean only
Made in USA
Returns
Free Shipping on Orders $100+
Shipping: Ebbets Field in-stock items typically ship within 5 business days. Pre-order items will ship within the time frame indicated on the product page at the time of purchase. If your order contains both in-stock and pre-order items, it will ship separately as the items are ready.
Returns: Most items are eligible for return or exchange within 30 days of receiving your order, as long as they’re unworn, unwashed, and in re-sellable condition (shipping rates apply). If an item was marked Final Sale at purchase, however, it is not available for return, exchange, or refund.
“
Road Kings of Resilience
”
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The Ghost Team of the Bronx
In 1940, the New York Black Yankees represented both a place and a paradox. Though they bore the city’s name and occasionally its most iconic ballpark, they were a team with no true home. Their stadium? Whatever field would have them. Their fans? Whoever happened to be watching. But their purpose was unmistakable—to prove that greatness wasn’t confined to the major leagues.
A Season on the Move
That year, the Black Yankees crisscrossed the Northeast with bats in hand and dignity intact. They wore wool uniforms and leather jackets not for style, but survival—shielding themselves from cold nights, long train rides, and a country still unwilling to embrace their excellence. They didn’t just barnstorm. They stormed expectations.
Symbols in Stitching
The 1940 varsity jacket, with its bold “NY” and contrasting wool-leather build, wasn’t handed out lightly. It was earned. It was worn by players who’d likely never see their names on a baseball card, but who played with a swagger that made them unforgettable in the towns they passed through.
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“A team with no home field, but a country full of stories.”
A Team That Deserved More
The Black Yankees never hoisted a league pennant. No champagne. No ticker-tape parade. But their legacy isn’t built on banners—it’s built on endurance without applause. Their rosters held names like James “Red” Moore, whose glove work made scouts reconsider what they’d been told about “natural talent,” and George Crowe, a multi-sport phenomenon who would later break racial lines in both pro basketball and Major League Baseball.
They traveled underfunded, with stitched-up gear and borrowed time, yet their commitment to excellence never dropped beneath professional. This was a team that often stepped into a stadium with half the budget, no newspaper buzz, and the weight of invisibility—and still showed up crisp, locked in, and ready to play.
In an era when white teams had schedules and clubhouses, the Black Yankees had bus fumes and double-headers. Often playing two games in different cities in the same day, they became known not for dominating standings but for outlasting circumstance. The scoreboard rarely told the full story.
The Cultural Weight
To wear a Black Yankees jacket is to remember something that wasn’t supposed to last.
The New York Black Yankees operated within a system designed to make them disappear. No major media. No nationally syndicated radio. And yet, they played in Yankee Stadium. They stood on the same dirt, beneath the same lights—but not under the same spotlight. That’s the paradox that defines their legacy: visibility without recognition.
Every mile traveled, every lineup card scribbled, every inning played without press coverage—that was protest. Silent, dignified, sharp. The Black Yankees didn’t just barnstorm; they embodied resistance. The wool they wore, the satin they’d eventually don—those weren’t just uniforms. They were armor in a culture of erasure.
What This Jacket Represents
This isn’t nostalgia.
This is documentary you can wear.
The 1940 Authentic Wool & Leather Varsity Jacket doesn’t just replicate a design—it resurrects a memory. The felt “NY” on the chest? That’s not branding. That’s a flag flown by men who never got their due. The leather sleeves and wool body? A fusion of grit and grace, just like the players themselves.
To put on this jacket is to declare: I know they existed. And I won’t let you forget.
Product Detaiks
Navy wool body
Brown cowhide sleeves
Pendelton Wool
Vintage knit wool rib at cuff and hem
Felt and chenille ‘NY' on chest
Front entry pockets
Inside pocket
Metal zipper front
Black quilted lining
Body: 100% Wool
Sleeves: 100% Leather
Lining: 100% Polyester
Dry clean only
Made in USA
