Ebbets Field has a rich history in baseball — and New York in particular. The stadium in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn was home to the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1913 to 1957 as well as the Brooklyn Eagles of the Negro Leagues.
It was also the inspiration for Ebbets Field Flannels, which was founded in 1988 and purchased by Lids in 2022. The company manufactures vintage athletic apparel, reproduction baseball hats and wool flannel jerseys primarily for teams that no longer exist such as the Homestead Grays and the New York Black Yankees.
On Tuesday, the company is being rebranded and evolving its mix beyond historic jerseys to more of a baseball-inspired men’s sportswear line. The first drop will be centered around the Homestead Grays, one of the Negro League’s most popular teams, and its star catcher, Josh Gibson, whose stats were officially integrated into the MLB last year.
The Black Yankees bomber jacket.
Courtesy of Ebbets Field
Sunny Chang, design director, said the rebrand is intended to “get back to what made Ebbets super successful. It has always offered a lot of authentic replica pieces of history of baseball first, and then eventually everything else in sports, from the NHL to football to basketball. So our job is to continue to tell that story for a customer that loves it but is wanting more.”
The goal, he said, is “to pull in a customer who loves fashion but is not a die-hard sports fan.” For example, “if you love the Brooklyn Eagles, how can we take that logo and sentiment and apply it to garments like a jacket or work shirt and tell the story in a way that makes sense.”
The Homestead Grays will be a key focus of Ebbets Field’s new collection.
courtesy of Ebbets Field
The result is a new collection that includes outerwear, jerseys, shirts and hats inspired by vintage sports uniforms but reimagined as menswear staples such as hoodies and chore jackets, some of which are embellished with felt appliqués, chenille embroidery and vintage screen prints.
Chang described the pieces as “a little more wearable and something the modern gentleman can wear every day.”
Sunny Chang
Courtesy of Ebbets Field
One example is a Brooklyn Eagles cap in cotton twill rather than wool and a program inspired by the uniforms worn by the grounds crew that includes an Eisenhower-style jacket with logos from the Homestead Grays. There are also varsity jackets with leather sleeves that will retail for $595, a satin varsity jacket for $328, a crewneck sweatshirt for $138, a mesh T for $108 and short-sleeve Ts for $54 to $58.
But despite the rebrand, Ebbets is not giving up on its baseball roots. On April 15, the company will drop a Jackie Robinson capsule featuring the original flannels he wore with the Kansas City Monarchs before joining the Dodgers in 1947. “You can see the originals in a museum and we’re trying to evolve that for a new generation,” Chang said.
A piece from the Jackie Robinson capsule launching in April.
Courtesy of Ebbets Field
Following that will be a Roberto Clemente collection in June.
Since the company was purchased by Lids, online chatter centered around the fact that Ebbets Field had moved away from its history in authentic replica products to center more on hats, the hallmark of its parent company.
Chang said that when the company relaunches, many of its historically popular pieces will return. “We’re bringing a lot of old stuff back,” he said. “We haven’t replenished it in a while and we know our customers come to us for that.”
The collections will be offered on the company’s website as well as the Baseball Hall of Fame and other select baseball-themed museums.
