industry textile founded 1902 ; 114 years ago 1902 founder benjamin russell headquarters bowling green ky usa area served north america europe products sports uniforms parent russell brands llc . website russellathletic.com russell athletic is an american athletics brand it is the main brand of eponymous american company and its manufacturer and marketer russell brands llc . . founded in 1902 the company produces uniforms for a wide range of sports such as american football basketball baseball softball and volleyball . with over a hundred years of experience since its founding it supplied jersey uniforms and apparel for many professional sports teams of the major leagues in the united states of america in the past . russell today has its focus on universities i.e. varsity and minor leagues . 1 contents 1 history 1.1 founding 1.2 expansion 1.3 acquisition 1.4 international operations 1.5 globetrotters 2 sponsorships 2.1 current sponsorships 2.1.1 american football 2.1.2 baseball 2.1.3 basketball 2.1.4 colleges 2.2 past sponsorships 2.2.1 american football 2.2.2 baseball 2.2.3 formula one 3 references 4 external links history edit founding edit the company was founded by benjamin russell in alexander city alabama in 1902 . 2 the original mill produced women s undershirts and children s undergarments . the mills beginning capacity was 150 garments daily . during the 1910s russell manufacturing co. become an established business . by 1925 long underwear sweaters athletic shirts and women s bloomers were added to the production of women s vests making a more complete product line . 1932 saw how russell acquired southern manufacturing company which gave the company access to athletic team apparel . this was the beginning of the russell athletic division s cutting and sewing operations . later in 1938 russell began making woven athletic garments including basketball baseball and football pants and jackets . expansion edit in 1941 founder benjamin russell died on the 16th of december and the reins of the company were passed to his son benjamin c. russell . during world war ii russell s athletic division sold primarily to the military . shirts drawers t shirts athletic garments and special outer garments were made for the army and navy . benjamin c. russell died in 1945 and was succeeded as president by his brother thomas d. russell . after the war the company embarked on further expansion and development throughout its knitting weaving dyeing finishing and cutting departments . during the 1960s the athletic division was the largest marketer and manufacturer of athletic apparel and uniforms in the country . in 1962 russell manufacturing company s name was changed to russell mills inc. in 1973 russell mills name was changed to russell corporation and the company expanded manufacturing across the southern usa also to latin america and scotland . in 1992 russell athletic dealt a five year contract to serve as the exclusive producer and marketer of athletic uniforms for most major league baseball mlb teams . the contract also stipulated that the company held the exclusive right to manufacture and market replicas of major league uniforms t shirts and shorts . 2 the contract was extended after that period to 1999 ; after which there was no exclusive uniform supplier to mlb but continued to supply uniforms to some mlb teams through the end of the 2004 season when majestic athletic became the exclusive supplier to uniforms to mlb which continues to this day . acquisition edit on april 17 2006 berkshire hathaway agreed to purchase 100 % of russell . finally on august 1 2006 russell shareholders approved the sale of their firm to berkshire hathaway for 18.00 per share in cash . the acquisition was successfully completed on the following day . russell s brands joined fruit of the loom in the berkshire hathaway family of products . 2 international operations edit over the last decade russell athletic has expanded under licence of russell brands to a number of markets around the world focusing on their signature authentic american sportswear and the story behind the invention of the sweatshirt . the largest market outside the usa is russell athletic europe which is operated by future brands ltd in london a subsidiary of the batra group . following their success in europe russell athletic also operates in australia japan and south africa under licence of russell brands . currently russell athletic has a team of well known brand ambassadors representing the brand in their local markets ranging from olympic swimmers stephanie rice and ellie faulkner to number of professional rugby union and rugby league players in the england and south africa such as sailosi tagicakibau cheslin kolbe shaun lunt ryan atkins and stevie ward and professional health ambassadors and yoga ambassadors such as samantha laura kaye . 3 in early 2015 russell athletic europe visited one of their factories and filmed the process of the making of a t shirt out of this footage they created a successful time lapse video called the t shirt how it s made globetrotters edit on october 2010 russell athletic signed with the famous team and entertainment show the harlem globetrotters to provide them official uniforms practice and travel gear . the deal was to run through the end of 2013 . 4 5 sponsorships edit current sponsorships edit american football edit arena football league all teams baseball edit little league baseball all teams basketball edit harlem globetrotters 4 5 colleges edit carrol fighting saints coastal carolina chanticleers ohio bobcats georgia tech yellow jackets west texas a & m pomona pitzer samford bulldogs western kentucky hilltoppers johnson c. smith golden bulls southern miss golden eagles lincoln lions prairie view a & m panthers past sponsorships edit american football edit many teams of the nfl wore uniforms provided by russell athletic during the 1990s they are 6 buffalo bills cleveland browns kansas city chiefs indianapolis colts dallas cowboys miami dolphins philadelphia eagles atlanta falcons san francisco 49ers new york giants detroit lions houston oilers green bay packers new england patriots los angeles st. louis rams washington redskins new orleans saints minnesota vikings baseball edit mlb all teams 1992 97 7 formula one edit mtv simtek ford 1994 95 references edit company profile russell website a b c russell corporation history in reference for business website http www.russellathletic.eu samantha kaye a b russell signs a deal with the globetrotters businesswire.com a b russell athletic to dress world famous harlem globetrotters sportspro.com 22 october 2010 russell sponsorships in the 90s european site russell history in reference for business website external links edit usa website europe website south africa website australia website japan website batra group website russell brands llc . v t e berkshire hathaway board of directors warren buffett chairman and ceo charlie munger howard graham buffett susan decker bill gates david gottesman charlotte guyman donald keough thomas murphy ronald olson walter scott jr. insurance applied underwriters berkshire hathaway assurance berkshire hathaway homestate companies kansas bankers surety company berkshire hathaway specialty insurance boatus central states indemnity gateway underwriters agency geico gen re medical protective national indemnity company guard insurance seaworthy insurance company united states liability insurance group materials and construction acme brick benjamin moore & co. charter brokerage clayton homes international metalworking companies johns manville lubrizol marmon marmon herrington procor union tank car company mitek mouser electronics precision castparts corp. shaw industries tti furniture cort business services jordan s furniture larson juhl nebraska furniture mart rc willey home furnishings star furniture apparel brooks sports fruit of the loom russell vanity fair fechheimer brothers garanimals h.h. brown shoe group acme boots justin brands louis transportation berkshire hathaway automotive burlington northern santa fe corporation flightsafety international forest river marquis jet mclane netjets netjets europe utlx xtra lease food ctb international international dairy queen dairy queen karmelkorn orange julius kraft heinz the pampered chef see s candies media the buffalo news business wire bh media bristol herald courier culpeper star exponent the daily nonpareil danville register & bee dothan eagle eden daily news the eagle enterprise ledger grand island independent hickory daily record independent tribune jackson county floridan kearney hub martinsville bulletin the morning news nelson county times news & record news & messenger north platte telegraph omaha world herald opelika auburn news the press of atlantic city roanoke times richmond times dispatch star herald statesville record & landmark the daily progress the free lance star the mcdowell news the news & advance the news herald the news virginian the reidsville review tulsa world waco tribune herald winston salem journal york news times wplg jewelry ben bridge jeweler borsheim s fine jewelry helzberg diamonds richline group scott fetzer campbell hausfeld ginsu kirby world book encyclopedia energy midamerican energy company nv energy pacificorp northern powergrid calenergy generation kern river gas transmission company northern natural gas homeservices of america other duracell oriental trading company related articles blue chip stamps wesco financial owned assets category retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title russell athletic brand & oldid 737798329 categories companies based in alexander city alabamaberkshire hathawaysporting goods manufacturers of the united statescompanies established in 1902sportswear brands navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages fran ais edit links this page was last modified on 5 september 2016 at 03 21 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view