It's been awhile since I last posted, but I have been busy shooting features that are just now starting to run. Last week I visited the Haggar clothing offices in Dallas to photograph a replica of a Pro Football Hall of Fame Jacket. Each jacket is tailor made for each player. They told us that the largest jacket they've made was a size 60 and that only 151 have been produced since 1982 when it was introduced. Read more about the story at the Star-Telegram here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/08/05/2387788/smith-trades-blue-silver-for-gold.html
Below is a note from the granddaughter, Jamie Maitland, of Vic Maitland, the founding executive Director of the NFL Alumni and creator of the now iconic gold jacket.
"The story of the Gold Jacket begins in 1978, when former NFL Alumni President Bill Dudley first suggested the general idea of a special jacket to honor distinguished figures in football. Bill shared that initial thought with Victor “Vic” Maitland, the founding Executive Director of the NFL Alumni.
From that moment forward, Vic created the jacket as it exists in its earliest form. Drawing on his background in advertising and design, he transformed the idea from a simple suggestion into a fully realized concept. Vic selected the color gold, shaped the design and appearance of the garment, incorporated the NFL Alumni emblem he had created, and produced the first completed prototype. Every defining feature of the original piece—its color, look, emblem, and presentation—originated through Vic’s creative direction.
Vic traveled to Canton to formally present this finished gold jacket concept to the Hall of Fame. At the time, the Hall did not adopt it—not because of the jacket itself, but because the prototype featured the NFL Alumni logo rather than the Hall’s own emblem. Vic continued advancing the initiative on behalf of the Alumni. He worked directly with Haggar Clothing in Dallas to produce the first gold jackets using his design. To finish those early pieces, Vic’s wife, Bonnie Katherine Maitland, sewed the Alumni patches onto the jackets by hand.
After collecting sizes from the enshrinees, Vic attended the enshrinement dinner the night before the 1978 ceremony. During the program, he introduced the jackets publicly for the first time, presenting them directly to several Hall of Famers. Their enthusiastic response—and the visibility of the jackets the following day—helped establish the beginning of a tradition that would ultimately grow into one of football’s most recognizable symbols.
The original Gold Jacket—its color, cut, emblem placement, and first public debut—was created by Vic Maitland, building on Bill Dudley’s initial spark and executed through the NFL Alumni’s national headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, a building owned and operated by Vic Maitland during his tenure as Executive Director."
Haggar's Senior Vice President of Marketing and and Merchandising Jon Ragsdale,(cq) poses for a portrait a replica of a Pro Football Hall of Fame jacket in Dallas, Tx., Wednesday, July 28, 2010. Special to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram / Brandon Wade
Detail photo of the NFL Alumni patch and Haggar's tag stitched onto the sleeve of a replica Pro Football Hall of Fame jacket in Dallas, Tx., Wednesday, July 28, 2010. Special to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram / Brandon Wade