1910'S PRINCETON A.G. SPALDING SWEATER

Today's post will showcase what's probably the oldest sweater in the RIVETED archives.... so far .This 1910's Princeton Spalding Bros.football sweater still has its early tag .This particular one was used up to the early 1920's.

  

 Albert Goodwill Spalding was a renowned Boston Red Stockings pitcher [Cubs] when he retired from the game,then he persuaded his younger brother Walter to manufacture sporting goods.. A.G. Spalding and his brother opened their business in 1876 ,with an $800 loan from their mother. Spalding got its start by manufacturing baseballs gloves,but the big break came when he paid the National League to use his balls, so that he might advertise them as the "offical" league ball. Soon, his company was making golf clubs, football ,tennis rackets, basketballs, and anything else remotely connected to sport. .The brothers opened A. G. Spalding & Bros., the Chicago sporting goods store that would grow into a chain over the next 25 years.1887 was the year the company manufactured the first American football. In 1899, the company allowed other retailers to order directly from the their catalog. The new policy mandated quality, fixed retail prices, a fair profit to retailers, and consumer satisfaction. By 1901, the chain had grown from three to 14 stores. "Quality First" became the organization's slogan.....