1997 Men's Rugby Jackets

How one team stole the (fashion) show at this year's Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony

By Ed Gardner on behalf of the 1997 Men’s Rugby Team

The athletes and coaches inducted into the 2022 Sports Hall of Fame are now a part of Western history. But the 1997 men’s rugby team, who were among the inductees, will also be remembered for our style. Sporting eye-catching purple blazers during Homecoming celebrations, we expressed just how proud we are as Western alumni.

 

Planning for the event started nearly a year earlier when we gathered for a holiday get-together at an Irish pub in Toronto. We decided we should put together a Hall of Fame nomination for what we felt was a very special team - the 1997 Men’s Rugby team. When we found out our nomination was successful our wheels immediately started turning as to how we could make the Hall of Fame tour an unforgettable experience.  

 

For those of you that haven’t been on a rugby tour before, there are two key ingredients for success: great people and a great kit (or uniform)!  

 

Fortunately, our 1997 team had the first element well covered, so our focus quickly shifted to a “great kit.” After a little research about the event (300 people in suits, dresses, and formal wear), we realized that our original plan of swimsuits and tank tops probably wouldn’t work. That’s when we knew that it had to be blazers! 

 

It couldn’t be just any old blazer. Our goal was to make a blazer as cool and special as that 1997 team (yes, we’re biased). This was not an easy task! With only five months to design, manufacture, and ship the blazers we knew that we had to move quickly. Ideas came fast and furious from the team – some helpful, some less so, and all entertaining.   

The final product (all colours matched to the Western pantone guidelines, of course):

-       Purple exterior with a sublimated Western Mustang logo pattern

-       Thin silver trim to accentuate our middle-aged muscles (or lack thereof)

-       Special text pattern under the collar for those special moments when it’s time for the collars to go up; and finally,

-       An inside pattern consisting of newspaper articles from the fall of 1997, documenting our undefeated season (sheesh!)

Maybe one day you’ll get to see one of these blazers for yourself in person – but to give you a sense as to just how awesome they are, we’re pretty sure that Coach Gerry “Slats” Slattery (OUA Coach of the Year) hasn’t taken his off yet. In fact, when asked if he was ever going to take it off, Slats said, “I’m going to be buried in it!”