The History of Jockey®
2005 - Jockey Person to Person®
In 2005, Jockey brought their legendary quality and innovation to the Direct Selling industry with the
introduction of the Jockey Person to Person®. Founded by Chairman and CEO, Debra S. Waller, Donna Wolf Steigerwaldt's
daughter, to provide women with the opportunity to enjoy a rich family life while making their dreams come true. Jockey
Person to Person® is swiftly becoming the comfort career of choice for women everywhere!
1982 - Jockey for Her
In 1982, women won the right to wear Jockey underwear as we introduced our first complete line of
women's intimates. Under the leadership of our first woman CEO Donna Wolf Steigerwaldt, Harry H. Wolf, Sr.'s daughter, the
new JOCKEY FOR HER line turned out to be the company's most successful venture since the creation of the first brief in
1934.
1960 - Underwear: The final frontier
Our continuing mission was to deliver Jockey underwear to every person on earth. But when we submitted
this design to NASA, we began to reach for the stars. This special astronaut underwear included special elastic straps
around the cuffs to minimize "creeping" in a weightless environment.
1950 - Fashion under where?
It was a revolutionary idea: looks are important where men's underwear is concerned. Jockey challenged
men with slogans like, "Why not have fun with your underwear?" And, fashion underwear was born. Looks were no
longer irrelevant as men chose colors and even animal stripe patterns for their underwear.
1941-1945 - World War II
Jockey quickly joined the war effort. Our famous "Jockey Boy" logo promoted war bonds, and
Jockey factories churned out underwear and parachutes for the Allied troops.
1935 - "Brief success"
Jockey briefs sold out in every store almost immediately, so our "Mascu-liner" airplane flew
special deliveries of "masuline support" Jockey briefs to desperate retailers. Our "brief"
success has lasted more then 70 years. To this day, the brief is the most popular style of men's underwear in the United
States.
1934 - The worlds first brief
We changed the world's underwear in 1934 when one of our designers created a strange, new kind of
underwear called "the brief". Unlike any underwear at that time, it provided men the "masculine
support" available at that time only through the use of an athletic supporter, sometimes called a "jock
strap". To discretely describe the function of the new-fangled underwear, we called the Jockey (JOCK-ey) brief.
Today, Jockey is a recognized trademark in over 120 countries.
1930 - The Depression: Wolf at the door
Like many other companies, ours was fighting for its life as the hardships of the Great Depression
intensified. During the darkest hour, the company solicited advice from Harry H. Wolf, Sr., a nationally known expert in
engineering and finance. Mr. Wolf's financial acumen and reorganization of the company saved it - just in time for it to
fulfill its destiny.
1909 - The midnight inspiration
In 1909 one of our designers awoke in the middle of the night with a striking new underwear concept.
Afraid that he might lose the inspiration, he woke his wife, and together they made a prototype. The finished product
eventally known as the KENOSHA KLOSED KROTCH, offered a convenient diagonal opening in place of the bulky, bunching
drop-seat common to union suits. The new design revolutionized the union suit business.
1900 - Jockey's first underwear
At the dawn of the 20th century, the Coopers brought their legendary quality to underwear for the first
time. To keep up with consumer demand in 1902, Coopers was forced to build a new underwear factory - the largest in the
world up to that time.
1876 - Sew it began
Samuel T. Cooper, a retired minister, decided to help when he discovered that lumberjacks were suffering from
blisters and infections caused by their shoddy wool socks. He started his own hosiery business in a converted livery
stable. Business boomed when consumers found that quality was not just a slogan at S. T. Cooper and Sons - it was a
commitment.