Sweatshirt
Shirt made from thick cloth material
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A sweatshirt is a long-sleeved pullover shirt or jacket fashioned out of thick, usually cotton, cloth material.[1][2] Sweatshirts are almost exclusively casual attire and hence not as formal as some sweaters. Sweatshirts may or may not have a hood. A sweatshirt with a hood is now usually referred to as a hoodie, although more formal media may still use the term "hooded sweatshirt".
History
In 1920, Benjamin Russell Jr., a quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide Football team, was tired of the constant chafing and itching caused by their wool football uniforms.[3] He worked with his father, whose company Russell Manufacturing Company made women's and children's knit garments, to come up with a better option.[4] They created a thick cotton practice jersey that was a modification of a ladies' union suit top.[5] These loose, collarless pullovers were the first sweatshirts. A new division of the company, focusing solely on the production of sweatshirts, became the Russell Athletic Company.
In Australia, the sweatshirt is sometimes referred to as a 'Sloppy Joe'.[6][7]
