Beginning back in the 1930′s, The Texas Prison Rodeo was started up as a diversion and entertainment for employees and inmates of the Huntsville Unit of the Texas Dept. of Corrections. Every Sunday in October crowds would pack the prison arena to see the inmates ride bulls and wild horses, try to milk wild cows, rope goats, even attempt pig poking. Over the years the rodeo started drawing some of the largest crowds of any sport in the entire state of Texas. Crowds would often grow to as large as 100,000 spectators to check out the competition. The Prison Rodeo’s undeniable popularity even started to attract top music promoters, bringing in big Country & Western stars such as Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Ernest Tubb, and Willie Nelson to perform to captive audiences.

Some of the more dangerous competitions that the stripers competed in were driving chariots hitched up to wild Brahma bulls, and an event called “Hard Money” where the prisoners tried to snag bags of money tied to wild bulls horns while wearing red shirts.

Although the rodeo certainly brought in big crowds and brought in a lot of money for the prison coffers, there had to have been a certain sadness in the fact that many of these inmates had never even ridden an animal, or had even seen a rodeo for that matter. In October 1986, the final chutes were shut down on the last Huntsville Prison Rodeo, citing very costly renovations to the viewing stands that the prison system couldn’t afford to replace.

Filed under: History, Sports, Texas by Stephen : 2 Comments »

There is no denying the unmistakable burnt orange that belongs to the University of Texas…but did you ever wonder where this unique color originated?

Legend has it that revered Coach Darrell Royal chose the colors because they helped his players conceal the football when they ran the triple option. Another version of the story is that back in 1885 a couple of students decided that the UT baseball team was going to need a boost of confidence playing against Southwestern University in Georgetown. They ran to the nearest store and bought up all the orange and white ribbon that was available, the largest supply of colors that the store had on hand. This orange and white color combo stayed in play for years but didn’t become official until May of 1900 when the school had a big vote of students, faculty, and alumni. The Board of Regents final outcome was: orange and white 562 votes, orange and maroon 310, blue alone 203, and various other colors ended up getting about 15 votes a piece.

Over the next couple years, many shades of orange were tried out until the Board of Regents finally decided on the Burnt Orange a.k.a Texas Orange in June 1967.

Want to support your team by wearing something unique to the next game?  Try our shirt builder on the Hamilton Shirt site and search for your teams colors: Hamilton Shirts Made to Measure Shirt Builder.

Filed under: History, Sports, Texas by Stephen : 1 Comment »

Filed under: Sports, Texas by Stephen : No Comments »

Have football on the brain these days? So do we. David Hamilton recently came across these instructional videos from the legendary former coach of UT, Darrell Royal. Not only can you pick up tips on learning how to tackle, but Darrell Royals words of wisdom can also be applied to the world at large. Well known for using the quotes “you dance with the one that brung ya” stressing loyalty, and “working on our blocking and tackling” meaning you just basically keep on keepin’ on. These are very wise words for everyone, and they can be especially applicable to todays unpredictable ups and downs.

(more…)

Filed under: Sports, Texas by Stephen : No Comments »

Filed under: History, Houston, Sports by Stephen : No Comments »

Legendary Texan and Baseball Hall of Famer, Nolan Ryan, is well known for both his sportsmanship and his all American Texan style.  His sheer number of baseball records broken is staggering;

Ryan played in more seasons (27) than any other player in modern major league history. Ryan ranks first all-time in strikeouts (5,714), fewest hits allowed per nine innings (6.56), and no-hitters (7). He is also fifth in innings pitched (5,386), second in games started (773), seventh in shutouts (61) and is tied for 14th in wins (324). Opposing hitters hit only .204 against Ryan during his career, though they had a .309 on base percentage against him. He also limited hitters to a .298 slugging percentage. Ryan had 15 or more strikeouts in a game 27 times, second only to Randy Johnson, who has 29. His lengthy career spanned generations, as he struck out seven pairs of fathers and sons during his career.

Since his retirement, Ryan has stayed very active with his involvement in baseball here in Texas.  As the current President of the Texas Rangers, Ryan has been also been involved in banking, writing books, a TV spokesperson, he’s even been a restaurateur.  Here in Pearland, Tx. there is even a Nolan Ryan Junior High School as well as Nolan Ryan Highway, Texas State Highway 288!

Filed under: Sports, Style, Texas by Stephen : 1 Comment »

Here’s a surprising prediction for you…Table Tennis a.k.a Ping Pong is going to be arriving onto your radar real soon.  It’s an unexpected trend that is popping up in all sorts of places, so mark my words, table tennis clubs are going to be all the rage. Trust me.

Up in New York City a popular new club called SPIN has recently opened, with future franchises planned to set up shop across the country.  The facility is part bar, part restaurant, part serious sports club, SPIN is a new type of recreation that looks like a total blast.  I’ve done a little research into what’s happening here in Houston as far as the local Table Tennis scene, and I’ve come up with a few options:

• The Houston Table Tennis Association
• USA Table Tennis Association
• Bach Viet Table Tennis Club
• The Chinese Community Center of Houston
• In Austin, Austin Table Tennis Club

Filed under: Houston, Sports by Stephen : Comments Off

Our longest tenured shirt cutter, this week’s ‘Employee of the Moment’ is Justo Casia.   Hailing originally from Guatemala, Justo has been here in Houston, Texas for over 18 years.  As a shirt cutter, Justo is responsible for cutting fabric into the various parts needed to sew a shirt.  Justo’s first step is to place the client’s paper shirt pattern on top of the fabric.   The pattern pieces (front, back, yoke, sleeve, etc.) must be placed in a way to ensure pattern matching across the garment (yoke to sleeve, pocket to front, front to back, etc.).  Justo then hand cuts the fabric by tracing the pattern pieces with his blade.  Constantly improving with over 17 years of experience, Justo is a highly skilled shirt cutter.

A real family man, in his free time he loves to spend time with three children, ages 1 to 12.  Justo is also a big fan of exercise and likes to make tracks around the running trails in Houston’s Memorial Park.  Justo claims he is excellent at memorizing poems, with the spanish poem “Yo te bendigo, vida” (I may bless you) by Carlos Monsivais being his favorite.  We’d like to hear that poem one day…but with that knife in his hand,  we’ll just leave that for another day…

Filed under: Houston, Sports by Stephen : No Comments »

Beginning his career cutting shirts while still in high school, Sam Danna has really worked his way through the Hamilton Shirts ranks.  Now in charge of our Houston workshop and all of our production, Sam is a shirt-making pro with over 34 years of experience.  Making sure the finished products are of the finest caliber,  Sam guarantees that all of our shirts are of the utmost quality.

In his free time Sam uses his eye for excellence to perfect his golf game.  An accomplished golfer with a 12-15 handicap, in his downtime he loves to practice his game at  The Greatwood Country Club.  His favorite places to golf are the Concan Country Club here in the Texas Hill Country Frio River Valley, or the ultimate once in a lifetime experience of Pebble Beach.

Here Sam (right) picks up some pointers from Jim Hamilton, circa 1986.

Filed under: Hamilton Shirts, Houston, Sports, Style by Stephen : 1 Comment »

Amateur sports have played a huge part in Texas culture, instilling pride in communities and providing an outlet for social gatherings for far distant towns.  Back in 1888, the very first Texas League of Professional Baseball Clubs was founded,  including such teams as the Paris Red Peppers, the Plainview Ponies, the Vernon Red Dusters and the Houston Buffalos. In these early years the league struggled to stay together, with wars, finances, and travel being the biggest roadblocks.  Teams at this time had to travel by one or two day wagon excursions, as state train tracks were just being built!    These leagues thrived by eventually splitting into the Texas League and the South Texas League.  By the 1940’s these local teams were then being organized into minor leagues and over time eventually became the baseball that we know today.

Filed under: History, Sports, Texas by Stephen : No Comments »