CLICK ON THE JERSEY FOR THE "SUPER-SIZED" IMAGE
"Here is a photo of Les Duff's 1963-65 (two seasons) Red home sweater. (click on the jersey above to see the sweater "super-sized") You will note the label. King-O'Shea of Chicago (a Wilson Sporting Goods subsidiary) was the actual manufacturer while Ruby's Sporting Goods was the dealer that outfitted the Amerks in those days. I worked for Ruby's from 1967-88. The jersey is made from a Nylon/Durene Cotton plaited fabric and features the tackle-twill four-color Americans' shield crest. King-O'Shea made many uniforms in the 1950s and 1960s. Ruby's was the Rochester-area dealer for King-O'Shea and used them for the Amerk sweaters from 1959-60 throught 1964-65. From 1965-66 through 1968-69 Ruby's got the Amerk sweaters from the former General Athletic Manufacturing Co. of Greenville, Ohio. The Amerks purchased their sweaters in two-year increments. So I know this is not a 1966 sweater. The '66 sweaters featured slightly wider Red stripes on the shield crest. I've seen pictures of the 1966 road Red jersey from a game at Cleveland and it also has the wider Red stripes on the crest. This sweater was sold at auction on November 20, 2008 for $3,062. When new it went for approximately $24.95 each complete including lettering. That's a pretty good price for a 45-year old jersey. For comparison, a Rawlings-manufactured A.H.L. Cleveland Barons sweater from the same era went for only $2,000. The Amerks always did beat the Barons, even in sweater auctions! I think this photo will make a great addition to the booster club web site. Not just because of my association with Ruby's but this style of Amerks jersey and it's corresponding White sweater with Red trimmed in Royal numbers are my all-time favorite Rochester Americans hockey sweaters. There's just such a simple, regal elegance about these sweaters that make the design timeless. If it were up to me, the team would be wearing this style today. To me this will always be the true Amerk sweaters. Now for a little background on the Amerks' 1971-72 "Vancouver" sweater. The Amerks wore locally- manufactured Champion Products sweaters beginning with the 1969-70 season. The '69-'70 sweaters were the first to feature the V-Neck design, all imprinted stripes, stars, crest and numbers. Those sweaters also were the first to have the now-famous script "Americans" running through the middle of the crest. And they were the first sweaters to be made from Nylon Mesh material. The original Amerks striped sweaters were made from a Wool Blend, following a long-standing hockey tradition. Beginning in 1959-60 the Amerks (and the rest of pro hockey) went to the Nylon/Durene Cotton plaited fabric that Rochester would wear for the next ten years. The Champion mesh sweaters were made at Champion's Geneseo plant. A lady who worked for Champion in Geneseo still works for American Classic Outfitters in Perry. ACO took over the old Champion plant and hired many former Champion workers. ACO reportedly still has all of Champion's old patterns. The first set of Champion mesh sweaters used a very lightweight mesh material that did not hold up from scraping along the chicken wire and the stick hits it received. So Champion made a new set out of their heavier Nylon Mesh that was then used in football jerseys. Player names appeared on the home White sweaters midway through the 1973-74 season. They used the mesh fabric through the 1977-78 season when the Amerks began purchasing the sweaters through Stall and Dean of Brockton, Mass. All graphics and numbers returned to tackle twill and these sweaters marked the introduction of the single star on the shoulders. I helped trainer Nate Agnello design this sweater and we "borrowed" the single star from the WHA Houston Aeros. Beginning in 1981-82 the entire American Hockey League got their sweaters direct from C-C-M." ... by TERRY PROCTOR ---------------------- Terry grew up in Hemlock, New York and began working for Ruby's Sporting Goods in 1967. His first assignment at Ruby's was to go to the Holley-Messmer lettering plant at 165 N. Water St. and pick up the Amerks' new sweaters for the season. He saw his first Amerks game in 1959. He worked at Ruby's until 1988. Terry also was the Rochester Zeniths basketball team public address announcer, 1978 through 1981.. and the announcer for the pro softball Rochester Express from 1979-81.