Letterman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the term with respect to high school or college athletics. For other uses, see Letterman (disambiguation).

A letterman, in U.S. sports, is a high school or college athlete who has met a specified level of participation on a varsity athletic team or in choir or band (or in other activities: see below).

The term comes from the practice of awarding each such participant a cloth "letter", which is usually the school's initial or initials, for placement on a "letter sweater" or "letter jacket" intended for the display of such an award. In some instances, the sweater or jacket itself may also be awarded, especially for the initial award to a given individual.

In order to distinguish "lettermen" from other team participants, schools often establish a minimum level of participation in a team's matches in order for a letter to be awarded. A common threshold in football and basketball is participation in a set level, often half, of all quarters in a season. (To meet this standard in a ten game season, one would have to have participated in at least twenty of the forty quarters played.) In individual sports such as tennis and golf, the threshold for lettering is generally participation in one half or sometimes one third of all matches contested. Frequently, other members of the team who fail to meet requirements for a letter are awarded a certificate of participation or other award considered to be of lesser value than a letter.

This term is not gender-specific; a qualifying participant in women's basketball or other women's sports is properly referred to as a letterman, as would be a qualifying female participant on a co-educational sports team.

In recent decades this concept has been extended to other competitions which are not technically sports, and "letters" are now often awarded for participation in events such as band and debate or high academic performance.

[edit] Letterman jacket

A letter jacket is a jacket traditionally worn by high school and college students in the United States to represent school and team pride. The body (i.e., torso) is usually of wool (especially melton cloth) and the sleeves, of leather, with the wearer's name stitched on the breast, and the sport(s) and/or activities(s) in which the wearer participates stitched on one arm.

Letter jackets are usually produced in the school colors. The letter jacket derives its name from the letter or letters on its left breast, which are almost always the initials of the high school or college the jacket came from. For example, a letter jacket from Jesuit College Prep would have a large J on the left breast.

Letterman jackets are also known as "Varsity Jackets" in some places.

Letter sweaters were a predecessor to letter jackets. The letter was usually quite large and centered (if the sweater was a pullover); stripes on one sleeve designated the number of letters won, with a star indicating a team captain.