One of the Coolest Jersey Tags of All Time - Brooks Robinson Sporting Goods

After my recent post about the Orioles 1971 -1972 Orange Uniforms, ESPN writer / Uni Watch blogger / clothing label aficionado Paul Lukas sent me this amazing picture of the tag that would have been found on those uniforms :


I really like the Orioles original logo on the top left and #5 himself on the bottom right.

As mentioned in Bill Henderson's MLB Game Worn Jerseys of the Double-Knit Era, the Orange Uniform was produced by Powers Manufacturing and sold to the Orioles by Brooks Robinson Sporting Goods.


The interesting thing about the picture of the tag / label is that it actually comes from another very rare uniform - the Baltimore Claws ABA team according to the person who sent the picture to Paul.

In 1975 the Memphis Sounds moved to Baltimore, where they were going to be called the Hustlers, but then were renamed the Claws. The team only played 3 exhibition games in the Fall of 1975 before the team folded due to financial troubles. Remember the ABA has a detailed account of the teams short history if you'd like to learn more.

The jerseys they wore during those exhibition games were simply their old Memphis Sounds jeresys with "Claws" sewn over "Sounds" as clearly seen in the picture below:



Even though they only played 3 preseason games, the uniform did make the cover of Sports Illustrated (from the same game shown pictured above):


Lets pan out a little and get a better look:


Since these are the old Memphis Sounds jerseys, the tag did not come from these preseason jerseys. The tag comes from a prototype jersey pictured on the Remember the ABA site:


Its almost impossible to see any detail, but the white tag at the bottom of the jersey appears to be the same as the image that Paul sent.

Getting back to Brooks Robinson Sporting Goods, it looks like they also produced "souvenir" jerseys as these pictures from Hunt Auctions show:



Unfortunately the scans are small, but it does look like these jerseys are carrying the Brooks Robinson label.

Another great item that was included in this auction was a Brooks Robinson Sporting Goods jacket:


I would love to have that jacket!

Unfortunately for Brooks, the Sporting Goods business was not good to him. Of course it didn't help that the Orioles shelved the Halloween uniforms and the Claws never did need any jerseys, but in the end, the Sporting Goods company almost drove him to bankruptcy.

According to this sidebar item in the March 23, 2009 Sports Illustrated about athletes going broke, Brooks was on the verge of bankruptcy due to his investments in the sporting goods company

and a restaurant


before he became a partner with Ron Shapiro at Professional Management Associates, as mentioned in this Info World article from December 1981:


Unfortunately Brooks Robinson's Sporting Goods company is no longer in business, but they sure did come up with some great (and extremely rare!) items.

Thanks again to Paul for passing along this great looking label!

UPDATE: According to the comments below from Bruce Genther who was the uniform designer and art director for Brooks Robinson Sporting Goods, the maroon Baltimore jersey pictured above was actually a road jersey for the University of Baltimore, not the Baltimore Claws, which means that the tag pictured at the top of the post is most likely from a University of Baltimore jersey, not a Claws jersey.

Bruce - thanks for setting the record straight!