Brand #12: Sportswear

Circulation: Common

Era: Late 1960s to 1990

Information: Aside from their ever-evolving tag design and heavy circulation not much is known about Sportswear. I had to resort to advanced internet technology to discover more info. How? By inputting the RN# that appears on the first tag above (41253) in to the FTC database (a technique I learned from a post written by the savvy members of our forum.) That RN is registered to Granite Knitwear Inc. which I then plugged in to Google who connected it to another familiar t-shirt brand called CalCru.

If you have any info on Sportswear please comment below.

• View the previous Anvil brand.
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Brand #11: Anvil

Circulation: Common

Era: Late 1970s to Present

Information: The roots of Anvil can be traced back to a 130 year old brand of men’s undergarments known as BVD. In 1976 the BVD trademark was sold to Fruit of the Loom so the company began a operating as Anvil Knitwear. They consider themselves one of the catalysts in the evolution of the t-shirt.

If you have any info on Anvil please comment below.

• View the previous Velva Sheen brand.
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Brand #10: Velva Sheen

Circulation: Common

Era: 1930s to Present

Information: Velva Sheen was conceived in 1936 as a humble garment operation under the direction of Oscar Schroeder. Velva differentiated itself from other knitwear companies by offering “lettered” garments which were detailed with custom text. As the t-shirt evolved the lettering was replaced by pioneering methods of printing with ink. After 20 years of hard work Oscar sold the business to Robert and William Reilly who continued to expand the operation. In the late 1970s and throughout the 80s Velva specialized in garments with standard in-house designs that were customized for souvenir shops, universities, companies, etc. Velva then leveraged their infrastructure to print and distribute custom merchandise by complimenting it with licensing agreements. Yep, those Mickey Mouse tees with “Florida” written beside him were the result of Velva’s formula.

In 1994 Velva Sheen was acquired by Brazos Sportswear which filled for bankruptcy in 1999 – yet strangely Velva Sheen tees are back in production. Apparently the trademark was scooped in 2009 by the Topwin Corporation who offer a vintage inspired blank complete with a tag bearing the original logo (far right).

If you have any info on Velva Sheen please comment below.

• View the previous Healthknit brand.
• See what the members of our forum had to say about Velva Sheen.
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Brand #9: Healthknit

Circulation: Common

Era: 1950s to late 1980s

Information: Originating in Knoxville Tennessee the Healthknit brand was trademarked in 1950 as a manufacturer of men’s, boy’s and children’s under garments and pajamas. During the company’s formative years t-shirts were still considered underwear so production flourished when plain white tees evolved in to common outerwear. Healthknit continued to ramp up tee production when screen printing erupted in the 1970s and 80s. However, the brand vanished by 1990 which may have been due to a transaction with Delta Apparel inc. who is the current owner of the trademark.

If you have any info on Healthknit please comment below.

• View the previous Bantam brand.
• Check out our forum discussions on tags.
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Brand #8: Bantams, Bantam

Circulation: Fairly Common

Era: Late 1970s to late 1980s

Information: The original Bantams tag (far left) featured two roosters who appear to be engaged in a cock fight. At some point in the early 80s the tag was revamped to feature a single rooster and the “s” was dropped from the name. Perhaps one rooster killed the other during the viscous battle? We can only assume given there’s no information about the vintage Bantam(s) brand anywhere. What we do know is that the term ‘bantam’ originated from the city of Bantam which was a major seaport in Indonesia that supplied small poultry to European sailors.

If you have any info on Bantam please comment below.

• View the previous SSI brand.
• Check out our forum discussions on tags.
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Brand #7: SSI (S.S.I.)

Circulation: Common

Era: 1980s to mid 1990s

Information: SSI (Shirt Shed Inc) began in the attic of a married couples convenience store in 1978. What started as humble heat transfers sold from motorcycle races and country fairs bloomed in to a t-shirt empire. While other blank brands battled over bands SSI carved out their own niche in the world of entertainment by associating themselves with movie, tv, sports and video games prints. It appears as though SSI was the successor to 3D Eblem brand with regards to licensed Harley Davidson prints. In 1991 the brand merged with Signal knitwear and by the mid 90s it vanished.

I believe there’s only two incarnations of the tag, which are both white based and feature the same logo. One was folded and fastened underneath itself (above, left) the other tag (above, far right) was taller, more narrow and a plastic like material which wasn’t folded.

If you have any info on SSI please comment below.

• View the previous The Knits brand.
• Check out our forum discussions on tags.
• View the entire gallery of vintage labels.