Simply put, a throwback jersey, sometimes called "retro" or "vintage," is a replication of a team’s jersey from the past. But, as any sports fan or sports apparel enthusiast will tell you, a throwback, made with care, is so more than a retro look...

A Throwback Jersey is an Homage to Our Pasts

We superfans can’t help it, we come by it naturally. Fanhood, like eye color or a propensity for spicy foods, often runs in our blood. Growing up, Sunday feasts were completed and cleaned up in time for one o’clock kickoff. In the fall, we watched, as the days grew shorter and the pennant drew closer, every pitch of every inning and guessed the lineup before the game ever started.

Because children especially are prone to obsession when it comes to sports, there’s no shortage of fans who once collected the cards, the pencils, and the posters to hang on our walls. The throwback jerseys we wear today are an homage to those early years of fanhood, or perhaps even our way of honoring the days before our time, when our future fandom resided warmly in the hearts of our predecessors.

A Throwback Jersey is a Mark of True Fandom

Not to suggest that true fans can be identified solely by the clothes on their backs, but if circumstances ever require you to pick out the most fanatic of all the fans in your section, look for the one in the throwback.

Throwbacks contain history and real fans know the history of their teams through and through.

A Throwback Jersey is Timeless

There’s a subtle difference between out-of-date and vintage. In sports apparel the tipping point is generally when a sports figure retires, or is close to retirement and has played the bulk of their career on one team (though of course there are exceptions). Ovechkin's name will always be at home on the back of a Washington Capital's jersey. Chipper Jones will always be an Atlanta Brave. One of the best qualities of a throwback jersey is that, because of its vintage nature, it is timeless. The player won’t be traded next season or cut from the team. It’s a piece of forever sports apparel you can proudly wear season after season.

What Makes a Quality Throwback Jersey?

On the market today, you’ll find an assortment of jerseys of all different qualities being marketed as “throwbacks.” Indeed, all of these jerseys are inspired by uniforms of the past, but throwbacks made to look and feel like the jerseys worn on the field (or ice) can be hard to find.

Here are some tips for finding the real deal:

1. Make sure the jersey is made with high quality materials authentic to the time. Some jersey sellers will screen print name bars and numbers onto jerseys. Remember that an authentic throwback jersey will have fabric name bars stitched onto the jersey.
2. Pay attention to stitching.  If it's sloppy, your jersey could be a counterfeit. For a truly authentic throwback, seek out the highest quality stitching.
3. Entrust your jersey order to the tried-and-true jersey experts. 

Shop our authentic custom throwback jerseys here.