issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints . please improve the article by adding information on neglected viewpoints or discuss the issue on the talk page . february 2012 this article s tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on wikipedia . see wikipedia s guide to writing better articles for suggestions . february 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . february 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message mitchell & ness nostalgia co. type subsidiary founded 1904 as mitchell & ness headquarters 1201 chestnut street philadelphia pennsylvania key people peter capolino founder sean mckinney ceo website www.mitchellandness.com mitchell & ness nostalgia co. is an american sports clothing company located in philadelphia pennsylvania . the company was established in 1904 and is the oldest sporting goods company in philadelphia . by license agreements with major league baseball the national basketball association national football league national hockey league and the collegiate licensing company the company has been producing vintage sports goods such as jerseys jackets hats and wool felt historic pennants . contents 1 company history 2 sales history 3 popular products 4 philadelphia sports 5 merchandising licensed manufacturer 5.1 jerseys jackets and accessories 5.2 jackets only 6 references 7 external links company history edit mitchell & ness sporting goods first opened its doors in philadelphia in 1904 . 1 frank p. mitchell a former aau tennis and wrestling champ and charles m. ness an avid golfer born in scotland together founded mitchell & ness sporting goods in 1904 . their original store made and strung hand crafted tennis rackets and using imported woods from scotland stolen from england constructed custom made golf clubs . in time they expanded their business selling uniforms to local baseball and football teams . when the philadelphia eagles entered the young national football league in 1933 m & n supplied the team jerseys and equipment . mitchell & ness would continue to outfit the eagles through the 1963 season . the first time that the mitchell & ness label appeared on a major league baseball uniform the philadelphia athletics was in 1938 . in the early 1940s m & n began to supply philadelphia s other major league baseball team the phillies . by the end of the decade the mitchell & ness label was appearing on high school and college team uniforms throughout the philadelphia area . in the late 1970s mitchell & ness had dropped the team business to concentrate on its retail operation . the store became a leading outlet for field hockey equipment and ski gear . mitchell & ness almost went bankrupt in 1983 . owner peter capolino told the detroit free press by 1983 all the expansion i had done had gone to hell . i fired 100 people closed two warehouses . i reduced the company to a little store at 13th and walnut streets in philadelphia . it was down to just me and my wife . 2 in 1985 a customer walked into the store and asked if m & n could repair his 1960 pirates game worn vest and his 1949 st louis browns game worn shirt . they were both made of wool flannel as all baseball uniforms had been . mitchell & ness found that it could do it and with the realization that m & n was capable of this task an idea was born reproduce historically accurate wool flannel baseball uniforms . mitchell & ness recruited history buffs and sports gurus most notably capolino s friend bob downes . they dug through old newspapers periodicals books programs and old film footage . they consulted vintage uniform collectors throughout the country and visited the archives at the baseball hall of fame in cooperstown ny . major league baseball teams had stopped wearing wool flannel jerseys by 1972 . teams now wear double knit polyester jerseys . in a dusty warehouse in north philadelphia mitchell & ness discovered rolls of old baseball flannel from 50 years earlier . they were still carefully wrapped untouched and in like new condition ready to be cut and sewn . the flannel was sewn . the lettering and patches were recreated and applied . the jerseys were completed and they were offered for sale . the first shirts sold almost overnight . so did the second batch of a dozen or more . in time mitchell & ness attracted customers from across the united states . sports illustrated wrote a flattering piece about m & n in june 1987 . the new york times wrote about the company two years later . since these first vintage jerseys m & n has expanded its offerings . the company is careful to research each item before beginning even the first stage of the manufacturing process . in 1999 m & n expanded into the history of the nba when it introduced its hardwood classics collection of basketball jerseys . football followed a year later with the m & n throwback collection . in 2002 the nhl granted m & n rights to remake vintage hockey sweaters . mitchell & ness now has on file every mlb uniform worn since the founding of the original cincinnati red stockings in 1869 the national league in 1876 and the american league in 1901 along with tables of every uniform number worn by every mlb player in baseball history . m & n researchers periodically make research trips to the hockey hall of fame in toronto the naismith basketball hall of fame in springfield massachusetts and the baseball hall of fame in cooperstown . the company owns game worn jerseys and sweaters and maintains extensive archives . mitchell & ness even has a full time historian on staff . in 2007 adidas purchased mitchell & ness in order to get into the retro apparel style market . 3 on may 29 2008 the philadelphia phillies announced that they had signed mitchell & ness as a naming rights partner of its clothes store at the phillies citizens bank park . the mitchell & ness alley store is in ashburn alley beyond left center field . 4 on january 24 2011 the reading phillies a.a. affiliate of the philadelphia phillies announced that they had signed mitchel & ness as a naming rights partner of its apparel store at the r phils firstenergy stadium . the mitchell & ness r phils team store is located near the vist financial plaza and weston center winning smiles stage and will be accessible year round . on march 23 2012 jonathan yuska was brought on as head of mitchell and ness . sales history edit owner peter capolino reported to sports illustrated that mitchell & ness had annual sales revenue of 1.5 million per year in 1998 . 5 revenues rose to 2.2 million in 1999 6 and were 2.8 million in 2000 . 7 sales were more than 5 million in 2001 according to espn.com 6 while mr. capolino reported annual sales of 4.5 million in 2001 to usa today . 8 sales rose to 23 million in 2002 . 7 popular products edit mitchell & ness throwback jerseys were created to reproduce classic to very modern team and player sports jerseys which are either no longer available or hard to find . mitchell & ness began producing baseball cooperstown collection jerseys in 1988 although the company gained popularity in the international retail market ten years after with the introduction of the nba hardwood classics line . the company later moved on to reproducing popular throwbacks of hall of fame football throwbacks and nhl vintage hockey players . mitchell & ness also received a significant boost from numerous celebrities as well as athletes wearing throwback jerseys on t.v and music videos . usa today reported that as of may 2002 the most popular nba players for mitchell & ness were michael jordan & julius erving followed by magic johnson wilt chamberlain jerry west and larry bird . 9 philadelphia sports edit mitchell & ness has involved itself with philadelphia sports history and projects . the company sponsored a turn back the clock alumni game on november 21 2003 between players from the 1988 temple owls and 1985 villanova wildcats at the liacouras center on the campus of temple university in north philadelphia . 10 mitchell & ness is partnering with the betsy ross house to present an exhibition opening may 22 play ball a history of baseball in philadelphia . 11 merchandising licensed manufacturer edit the following is a list of the vintage products made and commercialized by the company jerseys jackets and accessories edit mlb all teams nba all teams nfl all teams nhl all teams jackets only edit ncaa all teams not vintage jerseys licensed references edit al hunter jr. jersey story philadelphia daily news february 4 2002 . michael rosenberg new twist makes old jerseys fashionable detroit free press april 29 2003 . adidas buys throwback jersey maker mitchell & ness . philadelphia business journal . retrieved 2013 04 30 . philadelphia phillies 2008 05 29 . press release phillies announce new mitchell & ness alley store at citizens bank park . mlb.com . retrieved 2009 04 06 . style file vintage jerseys sports illustrated june 3 2002 page 18 . a b darren rovell old school is still cool with today s star athletes espn sports business http www.espn.com may 8 2002 a b douglas century in hip hop unitas and chamberlain live again new york times january 5 2003 . michael hiestand sports gear so out of style it s in style usa today august 20 2002 . kelly carter celebs live sporting life via vintage team jerseys usa today may 14 2002 page 2d . owls turn back the clock for alumni hoops battle with villanova . temple athletics men s basketball . cbs college sports network . 2003 11 11 . retrieved 2009 04 06 . strauss robert 2009 04 03 . baseball all around ; our phab phils are back and you can get into the game at museums murals and more . . philadelphia inquirer . retrieved 2009 04 06 . dead link external links edit official mitchell & ness website philadelphia portal retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title mitchell % 26 ness & oldid 743620594 categories manufacturing companies based in philadelphiasports in philadelphiaclothing brands of the united statessportswear brandsclothing companies of the united stateship hop fashioncompanies established in 1904culture of philadelphiahidden categories all articles with dead external linksarticles with dead external links from october 2010articles needing more viewpoints from february 2012wikipedia articles needing style editing from february 2012all articles needing style editingarticles needing additional references from february 2012all articles needing additional references navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more 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