About

This Waco Army Flying School’s Sports Team tee is made from an 8oz cotton and is cut for a classic 50s boxy fit. The binder neck is designed to maintain the shape of the neckline over time and repeated washes.

Released alongside the Cleveland Birdies Coach Jacket and Ringer Tee, honoring ballplayer “Birdie” Tebbett.

Despite holding a deferment from the draft, Birdie voluntarily joined military service with the Army Air Corps in August 1942, following a parade of professional ballplayers into the armed forces - and was assigned to Waco Army Flying School when Waco Army Air Field welcomed its first basic training pilots.

Tebbetts lost three years of his baseball career to military service but was able to hone his skills as player-manager for the Waco Army Flying School’s Baseball Team.

After graduating, Birdie was sent to Tinian and Saipan, the sights of some of the Pacific Theatres' most intense battles as they held strategic military importance due to their close proximity to Japan. In order to build up the morale of the troops, a series of baseball games, featuring Major League and minor league players, were played on those islands. The Seabees cut ball fields into the sides of hills and bleachers were created out of bomb crates to accommodate the games, where Tebbetts managed the 58th Wingmen, based at West Field, Tinian.

  • Cotton Fabric, 8 oz.
  • Cotton Sewing Thread
  • Print on Front
  • Made in Japan