Go Team! LS&Co.’s Sporty History

With the excitement of the summer games in Paris in full swing, it's a perfect time to rewind the clock and highlight Levi Strauss & Co.'s own sports heritage throughout the decades. From organizing an employee baseball team in the late 19th century to sponsoring professional athletes, LS&Co. and sports go hand in hand. Read on for a few highlights.

Building a Team Culture

In the 1880s, LS&Co. kicked off what would begin a long relationship with the world of sports by creating an inaugural employee baseball team that participated in tournaments throughout the city. A medal in our Archives commemorates the company baseball team's victory over rival dry goods house Murphy, Grant and Company on September 9, 1886 - the same year the company introduced its famous Two Horse trademark.

LS&Co. carried its baseball team into the early 20th century. Named "Elesco" - a phonetic rendering of the company's initials - the team was comprised of members from all parts of the company, from the stocking basement to the sales floor.

LS&Co. employees continued to participate in team sports over half a century later, playing with teammates from throughout the company at events across the U.S. and the globe. Employees at the Warsaw, Virginia, factory faced off in baseball games in the 1970s with rival companies like B&B Builders. In El Paso, Texas, employees joined players across the border in Mexico to form a team that won the Municipal Basketball Championship in Cuidad, Juarez.

In the 1980s and later, LS&Co. sponsored a variety of employee and community sports teams. Employees formed women's volleyball and co-ed relay teams in the Philippines, while employees in New Mexico played baseball on a team dubbed the Levi's® Blues. In Europe, Levi's® employee and community teams played basketball and soccer in places like Holland.

Outfitting Athletes Across the Globe

In the late 1970s, LS&Co. established an Activewear Division and began outfitting athletes at international sports festivals and games. LS&Co. designed stylish kits for the Mexican National Team at the 1978 World Cup. The cool green jerseys with a V-neck in contrasting white trim featured a red Levi's® batwing on the top right. Echoing colors from the Mexican flag, the fitted long sleeve shirts included red and white stripes. "[The] green, red and white jersey transcended nationalism and class," reported one sportswriter.

LS&Co. became the official outfitter of the U.S. team during the 1980 and 1984 Summer and Winter Games. The U.S. entourage was dressed in head-to-toe Levi's® fits, including cowboy hats and orange Tag boots, to kick off the Winter Games at the Parade of Nations during the Opening Ceremonies at Lake Placid, New York, in 1980. And after the U.S. Hockey Team's "Miracle on Ice" win, the American players dressed in Levi's® blue velour suits, holding up their arms in victory as the American flag rose above Soviet red and Finnish blue.

In 1984, LS&Co. returned as the official outfitter for Team U.S.A., creating uniforms for 800 athletes and dozens of torch carriers in the 11,000-mile cross-country journey to the Los Angeles Coliseum.

More recently, in 2018, we partnered with USA Cycling BMX Freestyle team member Hannah Roberts and pro-skateboarder Zion Wright for the "More Than Medals" campaign.

Teaming Up With the Professionals

In addition to outfitting the professionals, LS&Co. has also been a long-time sponsor of professional teams such as our hometown baseball club, the San Francisco Giants. Employees and fans cheered the team to three world championships in 2010, 2012 and 2014. Tiffany & Co. Giants championship rings in Tiffany's signature blue boxes sit among the sports-related artifacts in our Archives.

In 2013, the company got into American football in a serious way, scoring the naming rights to the new home of the San Francisco 49ers football team. Employees cheered the announcement of the newly named Levi's® Stadium at our annual Community Day event, where players from that year's roster also signed a football to mark the milestone - another artifact in our Archives. Levi's® 49er jackets, in black denim with 49er gold sleeves, debuted for the inaugural 2014 season.

By 2016, the Levi's® brand was firmly at the center of sports culture, stepping up its collaborations with major sports leagues like the NFL, NBA and MLB. You can see the brand's presence in the sporting world on full display today through this summer's Levi's® x Starter and Levi's® x McLaren Racing collections, highlighting just how much sports are woven into the fabric of our company.

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