From the Ballpark to the Streets Varsity and team jackets became a staple of baseball culture in the 1930s and 40s. Originally issued to players for warmth on cold spring days, these jackets quickly turned into symbols of team identity and pride. Negro Leagues Legacy For Black baseball teams barred from Major League play, jackets carried added weight. Crests and lettering weren’t only decorative — they were statements of dignity, resilience, and belonging. A Birmingham Black Barons or New York Black Yankees jacket wasn’t just outerwear. It was proof of a team’s place in the game, stitched against a backdrop of exclusion. Brooklyn and Beyond By the 1940s and 50s, teams like the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants pushed the varsity jacket into wider American culture. With wool bodies, leather sleeves, and felt patches, the look became iconic — bridging the worlds of sport, college life, and street fashion. Modern Resonance Today, authentic reproductions by Ebbets Field Flannels keep that story alive. Each jacket honors a team, a city, and an era when baseball was more than entertainment — it was community, rivalry, and hope. Wearing one connects collectors to the roots of the game and the players who shaped it.