Mitchell & Ness

Mitchell & Ness

Authentic. Premium. Legendary. Those are the words Mitchell & Ness stands for. And how! This sports brand is legendary in every way. It is known for its retro collections for the biggest sports leagues in the world. Think of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB). It is no coincidence that Mitchell & Ness is so celebrated for its vintage clothing style. The brand has now been around for more than a century. Authentic and legendary, that much is certain.

History

At the start of the last century, in 1904, two sportsmen join forces. In Philadelphia, Frank Mitchell (tennis player and wrestling champion) and Charles Ness (golfer) start Mitchell & Ness Sporting Goods. At first they make handcrafted tennis rackets and handmade golf clubs. That way, they stay close to their roots. It takes a while before they turn to sportswear. When local baseball and football teams come to them for uniforms, the two men are won over.

The leap to bigger things comes at the end of the 1930s. That is when the first Mitchell & Ness label appears on an official MLB uniform. Here, too, they stay close to home, because the Philadelphia teams are the first to be outfitted with custom-made sportswear. The partnership with the Philadelphia Eagles will even last thirty years. Their work expands to high school and college teams. A big market in the United States, which means growth for Mitchell & Ness.

Mitchell & Ness, too, found out that a venture into a new market can be your undoing. Well, almost. In the 1970s, the brand takes a new direction: stores selling hockey products and ski equipment. Although things go well at first, it turns out not to be a big success. And that is putting it mildly, because the brand is on the brink of bankruptcy. The owner at the time, Capolino, lays off a hundred employees and closes several outlets. Just one store remains, where he works with his wife. He has worked for Mitchell & Ness since he was thirteen, so on top of a bankruptcy, it would be a personal tragedy for Capolino, an owner who worked his way up.

Even at a low point, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. The same goes for Mitchell & Ness, in the form of a special request from a customer, to be precise. In 1985, someone asks to have an old jersey and a worn-out club jacket repaired. They are special items to the customer, because they were worn during MLB games in 1949 and 1960. You could fulfill a request like that and leave it at that, but Capolino sees an opportunity. A chance to change everything and breathe new life into Mitchell & Ness. Making authentic baseball clothing that is historically accurate. Every button and zipper, the logo and every seam; everything has to be right.

Repairing the clothes is a success, but it also brings a new challenge. First, they have to work out exactly what all the old uniforms are supposed to look like. Old newspapers, books, programs and footage are combed through. Visiting museums and archives, gathering details and buying up collector’s items are all part of the search. What stands out is that the old jerseys are made of wool and flannel. A problem, because where do you still find this material?

In an old, dusty warehouse. That is where more than 1,000 meters of fabric on rolls is found. Old baseball wool flannel, already fifty years old at that point! Luckily for Mitchell & Ness, it has been carefully stored, so the quality is as good as new. Time to get to work, then. Once the first jerseys are finished and the letters and patches are in place, sales can begin. And they go well. “Selling like hotcakes,” that well. The second batch goes just as fast, and Mitchell & Ness seems to be saved from ruin.

Customers from all over the country come to Mitchell & Ness. Major media such as Sports Illustrated and The New York Times write glowing articles about the brand. Wearing sportswear seems like a fashion trend, but it will grow into a timeless clothing style that is still booming today. In 1988, Mitchell & Ness makes the first Authentic Collection for MLB, and in the 1990s the NBA, NFL and NHL follow.

Booming Basketball Business

The floodgates are open. The vintage jerseys of NBA teams show up more and more in music videos and are worn by the biggest stars. Especially in hip-hop culture, the popularity of Mitchell & Ness is unprecedented. Rappers like Fabulous, Jay-Z and P. Diddy are seen everywhere in the still-growing brand. Outkast, too, works various Atlanta-related items into their throwback videos.

Funnily enough, the sports world follows the trend. Former basketball player Kenyon Martin is a self-proclaimed fan, and former NBA star Allen Iverson (Philadelphia 76ers, among others) shines on the cover of a sports magazine in Mitchell & Ness in 1999. The Hardwood Classics collection is a legendary clothing line with vintage basketball items. Think of jerseys with the name of former top basketball player Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets) on the back, or slam dunk legend Julius Erving (Philadelphia 76ers) proudly displayed on your back.

The collection expands

Mitchell & Ness will never again hit a low point like the one in the 1980s. When the retro jersey trend starts to lose popularity, the brand broadens its horizons. In the early 2000s, the collection is ready to expand. The recognizable vintage style stays, of course, and jackets and caps are designed in collaboration with the sports leagues. It is a logical step for the brand that once started the throwback trend.

And it does not stop at jerseys, jackets and caps. Mitchell & Ness knows what the public wants and offers an accessible and affordable collection that does justice to history. Honoring sports legends and keeping history alive is what the brand feels responsible for. The current clothing line makes that possible, for example with hoodies, shirts, pants and shorts.

Trends change, tastes differ, and Mitchell & Ness notices that too. Where people often used to choose team shirts, now it is mainly the player who comes first. You don’t have to be a Golden State Warriors fan to want to wear a Curry jersey. And whether you prefer to see LeBron James with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Miami Heat or the Los Angeles Lakers, a piece of clothing with his name on it is always a good choice.

What is special is that Mitchell & Ness gets full cooperation in making its collections as accurate as possible. No other brand comes closer to the original designs. So when Mitchell & Ness announces it wants to make a Michael Jordan collection, the Basketball Hall of Fame sends over his actual rookie jersey. No book or photo album can compare with an authentic piece. The sports nerds at Mitchell & Ness are ecstatic when they receive the jersey worn by Michael “Air” Jordan.

Still, designing at the sports brand sometimes causes problems too. Striving to stay as close to reality as possible is a challenge. For example, when you make a line of shorts for the NBA and find out they have too few pockets. Adding pockets to the designs is out of the question. Simply not an option. It has to stay authentic. And that is exactly what the public and the customers love so much. The shorts sell anyway, with or without pockets.

The power of nostalgia, reliving the old days or celebrating history. That is exactly what makes Mitchell & Ness such a respected and relevant brand. Quality and authenticity always come first. With a vision like that, no one can ignore you, because besides making great clothes, you also contribute to the history of the sport. You give others the chance to make childhood dreams come true. Boys and girls who could once only dream of a shirt can now buy one after all, as full-grown adults.

Twenty years or so from now, today’s sports uniforms will no doubt be ready for a new collection at Mitchell & Ness. Even the uniforms you think are hideous. The ones where you can’t understand why the designer chose them. In a few years, you will look back on those uniforms with nostalgia too. That is just part of sports jerseys: even the ugly ones are part of someone’s youth.

Future

And it is clear that this collection will come one day. Mitchell & Ness still has plenty of great things in store. The brand keeps expanding. A store recently opened in London, as did a pop-up store in Los Angeles, and the shops at sports stadiums are more than happy to sell the vintage look of Mitchell & Ness.

Besides its large following of fans and customers, the brand is praised for the thinking behind its retro clothing lines. And for what they have added to the industry. In February 2020, for example, Capolino was inducted into the Sporting Goods Hall of Fame. His vision, and above all the fact that he was the first at so many things, means that he and Mitchell & Ness simply could not be left out.

A great honor, but that does not mean the brand is done. There are plenty of great collaborations in the works. The music and basketball worlds go hand in hand; everyone knows that. Now these worlds come together in an NBA Remix clothing collection (limited edition). The biggest hip-hop artists design jerseys, T-shirts, hoodies and shorts for their hometown NBA teams. Think of DJ Khaled (Miami Heat), Schoolboy Q (Los Angeles Lakers) and E40 (Golden State Warriors).

Mitchell & Ness at Burned Sports

Of course, Burned Sports has an extensive Mitchell & Ness collection for you. How could it be otherwise? A brand so well known for authenticity and quality deserves a prominent place in the store and the webshop. Its connection with basketball, and the NBA in particular, cannot be missing from the Burned Sports range.

Relive the old days with the special jerseys from the Hardwood Classics Swingman collection by Mitchell & Ness. At Burned Sports you will find the legends, such as Hakeem Olajuwon for the Houston Rockets and Julius Erving for the Philadelphia 76ers. The star of the moment, top basketball player Stephen Curry, also has his own Swingman design in the form of a jersey for the Golden State Warriors. Burned Sports also sells various Hardwood Classics shorts. Think, for example, of the yellow splendor of the Los Angeles Lakers (1996-1997 season) and the green shorts of NBA team the Boston Celtics.

Besides the classics, Burned Sports offers hoodies and pants from the biggest basketball clubs. Exactly in line with Mitchell & Ness: authentic and original. Pants from the Atlanta Hawks, among others, a black hoodie from the San Antonio Spurs, or the Toronto Raptors logo on the front of your hoodie. For the full range, visit the webshop or one of the stores.