When I began my research on this very important topic, “what is the meaning of a lettered varsity jacket?” I was amazed at how many people knew nothing about this prestigious part of our American culture. I will cover various bits of information today related to the varsity letter jacket. I will examine the birth of the letterman jacket, as well as the appearance, style, decorations, history and traditions of the letterman jacket. The birth of the letterman jacket came with the advent of organized sports which created the need for uniforms. There was an additional need for identification that was met through the use of emblems or lettering. In 1865, the Harvard baseball team added the Old English ‘H’ as its first college letter. The ‘H’ was embroidered on the gray flannel shirt. The football team began using the ‘H’ in 1875. It is interesting to note that for 25 years after the letter’s introduction in 1865, it was the practice of the team captain to allow certain players who played in the higher games majors (Yale or Princeton) to keep the ‘H’ shirts as prizes. If a player did not play in an important game, the player had to return the jersey at the end of the season. Awarding the ‘H’ jersey may have been the birth of the varsity letter as an award.
A letteree, in US sports, performing arts, or academics, is a high school or college student who has achieved a specified level of participation and/or performance on a varsity athletic team, marching band, or other activities school sponsored. The term comes from the practice of awarding each entrant with a cloth “letter”, usually the initial(s) of the school, to attach to a “letter sweater” or “letter jacket” intended to display said award. . In some cases, the sweater or jacket itself may also be bestowed, especially for the initial bestowal on a certain person.
Traditionally, the athletic letter is associated with elite athletes, although in recent decades there has been a movement to make the letter award more accessible to all students by removing performance requirements. In the case of a marching band, drum line, or escort member, a letterman is usually awarded to a senior or section leader. Today, to distinguish “signs” from other team participants, schools often set a minimum level of participation in a team’s events and/or a minimum level of performance for a letter to be awarded. A common threshold in football and basketball is participation at a given level, often half, of all quarters in a season. (To meet this standard in a ten-game season, one would have to have been involved in at least twenty of the forty quarters played.)
In individual sports such as tennis and golf, the threshold for letters is generally participation in half or sometimes two-thirds of all matches played. Frequently, other team members who do not meet the requirements for a letter receive a certificate of participation or other prize that is considered to be of less value than a letter. Some schools continue to base awarding letters based on performance, on team sports that call for a set number of points, steals, baskets, or tackles, depending on position and sport. In individual sports, letters are often determined according to qualification for state meets or tournaments. In the performing arts, letters are awarded according to performance. Students who are selected for state choir or receive high scores in a major instrumental competition may receive letters or musicians who place first or second in their instrumental section. Students who participate in academic clubs may also receive this award if the requirements are met; which academic clubs may be awarded this award is at the discretion of the school. In some schools, general “academic letters” are awarded on the basis of GPA, usually students with a GPA of 3.8 or higher. a qualified entrant in women’s basketball or other women’s sports is properly referred to as a man of letters, as would a qualified female entrant on a co-ed sports team.
A letterman jacket is a jacket traditionally worn by high school and college students in the United States to represent school and team pride, as well as to display personal awards earned in athletics, academics, or activities. Letterman jackets are also known as “Varsity Jackets” in some places. The body (i.e. torso) is usually of boiled wool and the sleeves of leather with banded cuffs and waist. Letter jackets are usually produced in the school colors with the body of the jacket in the school’s primary color and the sleeves in the secondary color. They usually feature a banded collar for men or a hood for women. The letter jacket derives its name from the chenille varsity letter patch on the left chest, which is almost always the first letter or initials of the high school or college the jacket is from. Because the jacket is intended as a display for the prize on the card, the colors on the jacket match those on the card, not the other way around. The owner’s name usually appears in chenille (matching the lettering) or embroidered on the jacket itself. The owner’s graduation year is usually listed on matching chenille. The location of the name and the year of graduation depends on the school tradition. The year is most often sewn on the right sleeve or just above the right pocket. Lettermen who play on a championship team are often issued a large patch commemorating their championship worn on the back of the jacket.
The letterman sweater was first worn regularly by the 1891 “Nine” (baseball) and was black with a small crimson ‘H’ on the left chest. Lettered sweaters were a predecessor to lettered jackets. The print was usually quite large and centered (if the sweater was a jumper); stripes on one sleeve designated the number of letters won, with a star indicating the team’s captain. Letterman jackets are almost never purchased before a student has earned a letter. In schools where only varsity letters are awarded, this is usually in the students’ junior or senior year. At schools where junior varsity letters are awarded, recipients of the junior varsity letter may also purchase the jacket, although the letter is placed just above the left pocket, leaving room for (hopefully) a future team letter. academic.
Some schools may award letter jackets to letter winners at the award ceremony, but more often the school only provides the letter.
In the United States and Canada, a male athlete may give the letter to his girlfriend as a token of his love, this is considered a sign of a truly intimate relationship as the jacket is an honor. In the event of a breakup, it is customary for the girl to return the jacket as a sign of rejection.
Works Cited
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letterman
http://mountolympusawards.com/publications/varsityletter.htm
