High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms T-Shirt (Heavyweight) - Vintage Defunct Baseball Teams - North Carolina

High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms T-Shirt (Heavyweight) - Vintage Defunct Baseball Teams - North CarolinaThomasville fielded its first professional team, the Chair Makers, in 1937, a direct nod to the city's furniture manufacturing economy. After stints as the Tommies and the Thomasville Dodgers, the franchise was renamed in 1948 at the suggestion of longtime player manager Jimmy Grudzis, who worked with High Point Enterprise sports editor Bill Curry to come up with a name that would represent both High Point and Thomasville. The result, Hi Toms, stuck.

Thomasville fielded its first professional team, the Chair Makers, in 1937, a direct nod to the city's furniture-manufacturing economy. After stints as the Tommies and the Thomasville Dodgers, the franchise was renamed in 1948 at the suggestion of longtime player-manager Jimmy Grudzis, who worked with High Point Enterprise sports editor Bill Curry to come up with a name that would represent both High Point and Thomasville. The result, Hi-Toms, stuck.

A year later, in 1949, a seventeen-year-old third baseman named Eddie Mathews arrived at Finch Field and hit .363 with 17 home runs in just 63 games, helping the Hi-Toms win the North Carolina State League championship. Mathews went on to hit 512 career home runs and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1978.

The Hi-Toms joined the Carolina League in 1954 as a Cincinnati Reds affiliate. In 1955 they posted the best regular-season record in franchise history, only to lose the league championship to the Danville Leafs in a six-game series, Danville's third Carolina League title. The Hi-Toms switched to a Philadelphia Phillies affiliation in 1957 and 1958 before the franchise folded after that season.

Finch Field itself was built in 1935 by Thomasville Furniture Industries as a recreation ground for its employees, and team scorecards from the Hi-Toms' mid-1950s heyday featured a sly, top-hatted cartoon tomcat swinging a bat over the ballpark, an image this design borrows directly from.

Retro Baseball Revival celebrates historic baseball teams with unique apparel, honoring their legacy and bringing history to one-of-a-kind clothing with our old school retro baseball tees from defunct Minor League Baseball teams. All of our high quality apparel is designed, printed, and shipped within the USA. This collection features 100% original designs based on the history and nicknames of historic minor league teams.

Our standard tees are classic, heavyweight t-shirts that are durable and thick. They are looser fitting and run true to size.

Size Guide: True to size

• Brand: Gildan | Product ID: 5000
• Made with medium fabric (5.3 oz/yd² (180 g/m²)) consisting of 100% cotton for year-round comfort that is sustainable and highly durable.
• The classic fit of this shirt ensures a comfy, relaxed wear while the crew neckline adds that neat, timeless look that can blend into any occasion, casual or semi-formal.
• The tear-away label means a scratch-free experience with no irritation or discomfort whatsoever.
• Made using 100% US cotton that is ethically grown and harvested. Gildan is also a proud member of the US Cotton Trust Protocol ensuring ethical and sustainable means of production. This blank tee is certified by Oeko-Tex for safety and quality assurance.
• Non-chlorine: bleach as needed; Do not iron; Do not dryclean; Machine wash: cold (max 30C or 90F); Tumble dry: low heat.