The Lodi Melon Rollers, based in Lodi, California, were the city's first professional baseball team, playing in the California State League in 1904 and 1905. The name is a small masterpiece of local truth: before Lodi became synonymous with wine grapes, it was one of California's great watermelon shipping centers, sending trainloads of melons out of San Joaquin County every summer, and the image of workers rolling melons up into boxcars gave the ballclub the name the papers used for it from the start.
The Melon Rollers came and went quickly, as most small-market clubs of the outlaw-league era did, and Lodi would wait six decades for professional baseball to return. When it finally did, with the Lodi Crushers of 1966, the new name honored the grape industry that had replaced melons at the heart of the local economy, making Lodi likely the only city in baseball history whose two team names track its agricultural succession.
In the first half of the 1900s, professional baseball reached into towns of every size across America, with leagues rising and folding year to year as cities looked for entertainment in the era before television, and few names anywhere said more about their town in two words than the Melon Rollers.
Retro Baseball Revival celebrates historic baseball teams with unique apparel, honoring their legacy and bringing history to one-of-a-kind clothing with our old school retro baseball tees from defunct Minor League Baseball teams. All of our high quality apparel is designed, printed, and shipped within the USA. This collection features 100% original designs based on the history and nicknames of historic minor league teams.
Our premium lightweight shirts are the hugely popular Bella+Canvas brand 3001 tees. They are much lighter and thinner feeling than a traditional heavyweight tee. They also are more form fitting and feel more snug. These are generally 90% to 100% cotton, although please note that heather colors in this item are 52% cotton.
Size Guide: Fit is true to size or a little snug. Considering ordering one size up if you are normally between sizes.
Brand: Bella Canvas | Product ID: 3001
- Made with 100% Airlume combed and ring-spun cotton, a lightweight fabric (4.2 oz/yd² (142 g/m²)) that is easy to layer, breathable. Perfect for active and leisure wear.
- The retail fit that is perfect for casual and semi-formal settings. The crew neckline adds a classic, neat style that's perfect for accessorizing.
- Bella+Canvas manufactures all its products in the US and internationally in humane, no-sweat-shop, sustainable way and is part of the Fair Labor Association as well as Platinum WRAP certified.
- The tear-away label minimizes skin irritations.
- Fabric blends: Ash and Heather Prism colors - 99% cotton, 1% polyester; Heather and Solid Blend colors - 52% cotton, 48% polyester; Athletic Heather and Black Heather - 90% cotton, 10% polyester.
