Supply and Demand: Acquiring a 1950s U.S. Air Force Baseball Uniform

What does one write about as a follow-up to an article (see: “Talk to me, Goose!” A 1950s-Vintage U.S.A.F. Uniform Touches Down) that essentially covered the details surrounding the acquisition of two mid-1950s United States Air Force baseball uniforms? I could bore readers to the point of yawn-induced tears rattling off the finer details surrounding the construction and design of the second of the pair of uniforms that were acquired together earlier this year. Perhaps a better route would be to discuss the (non-existent) finer points of not having a shred of detail surrounding the veteran to whom this group of baseball uniforms once belonged? One glance at the front of the uniform’s jersey (the focus of this article) is the most-telling aspect as to why this opening paragraph is a blatant example of the author reaching for something, ANYTHING to discuss for this article.

Apart from the bright, contrasting colors, the front of the jersey is otherwise quite plain.

Richly-contrasting colors are part of what grabbed our interest and motivated us to acquire these uniforms (apart from their military use). As with the Goose AB’s red and cream two-toned jersey, this uniform set featured a two-color scheme that was not quite as elaborate. The jersey’s green shell is set apart with cream-colored raglan sleeves with a wide green banded collar that extends down to form the placket. The entirely blank front panel gives the uniform an otherwise bland appearance (in contrast to the Goose Air Base jersey). Across the back, however, is a different story.

The back of the jersey is where the magic appears as the white athletic felt lettering reveals the USAF command that the baseball team represented.

Representative of what a typical industrial baseball league team would wear, this jersey’s lettering is formed into an arch shape with the remaining letters (that didn’t fit over the top) forming a line that closes the open bottom of the shape. In creamy white athletic felt lettering, “28 TH SUPPLY SQD” that, as far as can be determined, refers to the U.S. Air Force command that was represented by the team. Unfamiliarity with the USAF’s historical command structure poses a challenge with researching the unit in order to determine where the squadron was assigned in the mid-1950s. Left to make an educated guess as to the unit specifics, the 28th was either connected to the 28th Mission Support Group, 28th Military Airlift or the 28th Bombardment Group. Further research into the unit identity is forthcoming and ongoing.

White athletic felt lettering on the jersey’s back.

White athletic felt lettering “SQD” (squadron) on the jersey’s back.

No doubt that collectors wouldn’t consider a supply unit as possessing the same level of interest that a front-line combat unit’s baseball team. Regardless, this (along with the Goose Bay) uniform is a fantastic addition to the Chevrons and Diamonds collection.

Powers Athletic Wear label, size 40 tag and what appears to be a vintage dry-cleaning tag appear inside the jersey’s collar.

Due to these both being stored within the same USAF-issued B4 garment bag that the seller (from whom these were obtained) purchased at an estate sale, it seems reasonable to assume that they originated from the same Air Force veteran. A thorough examination of both uniform sets yielded no names or personal identification stenciled markings. Inside the collar of the 28th Supply Squadron jersey is the only marking a white fabric strip with an ink-stamped, five-character alpha-numeric that is stapled directly above the manufacturer’s label. With all of the military baseball uniforms that we have seen over the past decade, this is the first with the “Power’s Athletic Wear” label.

The Powers Manufacturing Company in Waterloo, Iowa. Note the lettering of “Athletic Wear” is very similar to what appears on the uniform label (Image source: Google Maps).

Dating this uniform may seem to be a routine exercise of confirmation considering the verifiable age of the other uniform (that was grouped together in the Air Force garment bag), but it is a task that can further help in positively identifying the unit and possibly, the original owner associated with it. After a few moments of online searching the details of the uniform’s tag, we discovered the location of the manufacturer and found that the company was still in operation.  We reached out to Powers seeking confirmation and requested further details surrounding the uniform’s age. It is possible that the 28th Supply Squadron sourced their teams’ uniforms directly from the manufacturer due to their home air base’s (Ellsworth Air Force Base, Rapid City, South Dakota) close proximity to the manufacturer or their distributor.

Showing the collar and raglan sleeve seam.

This jersey has green plastic cat eye, two-hole buttons on a wide placket.

Adding two vintage U.S. Air Force uniforms to the stable in one fell swoop has filled in a gaping hole in the collection and addresses the (“what, no Air Force?”) questions that arise at public showings. As of publication, we are still researching to positively identify the command and hopefully, the ball-playing airman who wore these uniforms on the diamond.

References:

• 28th Logistics Readiness Squadron
• 28th Logistic Support Squadron