There’s no denying the fact that, when it comes to sporting gear, retro is huge. Go to any sports-apparel store and you’ll find them stocked with jerseys celebrating teams from yesteryear. Brands like American Needle and Mitchell and Ness have made their names by embracing our love of retro jerseys, sweaters, jackets and caps.
And, now, we have a line of gear celebrating the Edmonton Trappers — the AAA team that brought so many future Major Leaguers together in Rossdale. A new line of retro gear (yes, that sentence does read a little bit weird, doesn’t it?) has been launched by City of Champs clothing. The line debuted this weekend with an event at RE/MAX Field, with crested home and away Trappers jerseys celebrating former players Tim Salmon and Jason Giambi. There are also t-shirts that celebrate Homer, the former Trappers mascot, caps and other Trappers gear.
The clothing line is a result of the merger of City of Champs, a clothing line owned by Sean Hill, and Ross Flats, a line owned by Reed Clarke, who is also the CEO of Sport Edmonton. Clarke bought the rights to the defunct Trappers trademarks when he was an MBA student, and started making clothing which he admits “didn’t do justice to the name.”
But, with the merger, the crested jerseys are as sharp as anything you’d find from the retro kings like Mitchell and Ness. The white home Trappers jerseys, with teal numbers, and the black-and-teal Sunday jerseys, have their details all sewn on — no heat-pressing, here.
While Hill and Clarke have kicked off the new line with gear that pays homage to the Trappers of the 1990s, plans are in place for a line of ’80s Trappers gear. They’re looking at featuring Ron Kittle and Devon White, well-loved Trappers of that era. Of course, Blue Jays fans remember White as the team’s Gold Glove-winning centre fielder who won two World Series. (As as a side note, “Devo” is the best defensive centre fielder I’ve ever seen play live; he had an uncanny ability to make chasing down balls in the gap seems as routine as getting to a lazy fly ball.)
Plans are in the works for our city’s current ball club, the Edmonton Riverhawks, to don the retro Trappers gear for a home game this season.
