What is the meaning of a Varsity Letterman jacket?

When I started my research on this very important topic, “what is the meaning of a varsity letter player jacket”. I was amazed at how many people knew nothing about this prestigious part of our American culture. Today I will cover several pieces of information related to the varsity letter player 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 that created the need for uniforms. There was an additional need for identifications that was met by the use of emblems or lettering. In 1865, the Harvard baseball team added the Old English “H” as its first varsity 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 during the 25 years after the letter was introduced in 1865, it was the practice of the team captain to allow certain players to play in the major games ( Yale or Princeton) to keep the ‘H’ shirts as a prize. If a player did not play in an important match, 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 US academic, 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 college athletic team, marching band, or other sponsored activities. the school. The term comes from the practice of giving each participant a cloth “letter”, which is usually the initial or initials of the school, to place on a “letter sweater” or a “letter jacket” intended to display such prize. In some cases, the sweater or jacket can also be awarded, especially for the initial prize to a certain person.

Traditionally, 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 member of the color guard, a lawyer is generally awarded to a senior or section leader. Today, to distinguish “lawyers” from other team participants, schools often set a minimum level of participation in team 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 set level, often half, of all quarters in a season. (To meet this standard in a ten-game season, one would have to have participated 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. Often times, other team members who do not meet the requirements of a letter receive a certificate of participation or other award that is considered of less value than a letter. Some schools still base letter awarding based on performance on team sports that require a certain number of points, steals, baskets or tackles, depending on position and sport. In individual sports, the letters are often determined according to the qualification for state competitions or tournaments. In the performing arts, letters are awarded based on performance. Students who are selected for the state choir or who receive high scores in a major instrumental competition may receive lyrics or musicians who achieve first or second place in their instrumental section. Students participating in academic clubs can also receive this award if the requirements are met, which academic clubs may be awarded this award 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 participant in women’s basketball or other women’s sports is called properly literate, as is a qualified female participant in a mixed 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 (that is, the torso) is usually made of boiled wool and the sleeves of leather with bands at the wrists and waist. Lettered jackets are generally produced in school colors with the body of the jacket in the primary school color and the sleeves in the secondary color. They usually have a banded collar for men or a hood for women. The lettered jacket derives its name from the varsity letter chenille patch on his left chest, which is almost always the first letter or initials of the high school or college the jacket came from. Because the jacket is intended to display the award of the letter, the colors of the jacket match those of the letter, not the other way around. The owner’s name usually appears in chenille (matching the letter) or is embroidered on the jacket itself. The owner’s graduation year is usually shown on matching chenille. The location of the name and the year of graduation depends on the school tradition. The year is usually sewn on the right sleeve or just above the right pocket. Lawyers who play on a championship team often receive a large patch commemorating their championship that is worn on the back of their jacket.

The letterman sweater was first regularly worn by the 1891 “Nine” (baseball) and was black with a small crimson “H” on the left chest. Letter sweaters were a predecessor to letter jackets. The print used to be quite large and centered (if the sweater was a pullover); the stripes on one sleeve designated the number of letters won, with a star indicating the team captain. Letterman jackets are almost never purchased before a student has won a letter. In schools where only varsity letters are awarded, this is usually in the students’ third or fourth year. In schools where junior varsity letters are awarded, recipients of junior varsity letters can also purchase the jacket, although the letter is placed just above the left pocket, leaving room for a (hopefully) future varsity letter.

Some schools may award letter jackets to letter winners at the award ceremony, but most of the time the school only provides the letter.

In the United States and Canada, a male athlete could give his girlfriend the letter as a token of their love, this is considered a sign of a truly intimate relationship, as the Jacket is an honor. In the event of a break, it is customary for the girl to return the jacket as a sign of rejection.

Cited works

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letterman

http://mountolympusawards.com/publications/varsityletter.htm

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