Five years ago, two men sat in a car stuck in traffic on Chicago’s 290 expressway. They were on their way home from selling t shirts at Wrigley Field.
They sold t shirts on the streets of Wrigleyville as a full time job. This t shirt company didn’t have an official name. In fact, one could barely call it a company at all. It was a group of guys with a $100 City of Chicago Vendor’s License, hawking shirts on the street corners with a duffel bag and a sign. During those days, they only sold a cheap, generic “Wrigleyville” shirt and a stupid “Huck Fouston” shirt.
You couldn’t blame them; It was a way to make money and spend time around the Chicago Cubs.
It was during that time stuck in traffic that the famed, “Cardinals take it in their Pujols” shirt was conceived. Their “business” was soon revolutionized. In a short time, the struggle of moving $5 “Wrigleyville” shirts turned into emptying bags of $15 “Cardinals Take it in their Pujols” shirts.
Soon, everyone wanted the shirt. Even St. Louis Cardinal fans would even buy them. Other vendors starting copying it. Online shops made different versions based off the idea. It was the most popular shirt sold around Wrigley. The business consumed their lives. Their small 3 bedroom apartment was completely covered by shirts, all to be sold to rich Cubbie fans at an inflated price. New ideas for shirts followed and, soon, the crew sold at least 5 different shirts.
It was the perfect business.
Every game day, the crew would roll out of bed, hung over as all hell from the night before, grab their duffel bag, fill it with about 40 shirts, and hit the streets. They would only sell before and after the game. They would return home with a wad of cash, go out, get hammered, buy girls drinks, pass out, and wake up and do it all over again.
It was as if Chicago Cubs were their personal ATMs.
As years went by, the group broke up. The city instituted new laws making it harder to sell around the “Friendly Confines”. Some of the guys got over it, and got new jobs. Some kept selling. But, all of them have stories to tell about the time they owned the streets around Wrigley Field.
The impact that the shirt made was amazing. A group of Chicago college kids, put themselves on the map. They saw a fan wearing it in the stands during the 2006 World Series. Officials at Busch Stadium (where the Cardinals play) will not allow you to wear in into the stadium. Mia Hamm, Mike Ditka, Shane Battier, Horatio Sanz, Rex Grossman, Derek Lee, and that dude Derrick from the Real World all bought a “Cardinals take it in their Pujols” shirt.
It was a true testament of how a great idea can reach the masses.
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imgross’ Webmaster Phelps was one of the original members of that t shirt selling crew. He was in that car that was stuck in traffic. A group of the members of the original t shirt crew have developed a sports novelty t shirt website. It is called crosstowntees.com. The creators of imgross fully endorse, and support the work that those individuals do.
Go to their site. Check out some of the shirts.
Phelps, you had such a promising future. What happened?
porn.