Brian Hieggelke

With spring comes Chicago's annual civil war some call baseball. In all other sporting seasons, we are a city united, whether in support, derision or neglect. But baseball means a celebration of the great divides: North Side versus South Side, yuppies versus joe sixpacks, winners versus losers (sorry, Cubbies). So how's a stylish fellow supposed to take his side? Too many knuckleheads you want no part of will be sporting the off-the-rack colors sold at ballparks and sporting-goods stores this summer. Send those to your out-of-town cousins and go throwback when in-country. Mitchell & Ness has been in business since 1904; these days they're known as the top manufacturer of carefully crafted replica jerseys still made the way they were back in the day. Like vintage wine, quality jerseys don't come cheap: expect to drop $200-$300 to take one of these home. We're partial to the 1959 Luis Aparicio edition, as well as the 1919 White Sox double-zero number. But if you're cheering for the other guys, the Mr. Cub 1969 top ain't bad either.

Available online at mitchellandness.com or, we're told, at Grand Stand, 600 West 35th, and Wrigleyville, 101 Eastern, Bensenville. We'll give you one guess as to which store carries which team.

(2007-03-27)

Also by Brian Hieggelke

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Even the casual dance music observer's likely familiar with the career of Chicago's Felix Stallings, Jr. After a decade as one of the leading forces in Chicago house's second wave, his "Kittenz and Thee Glitz," one of the seminal dance music records of the decade, not only shot his star into mainstream orbit, but made Miss Kitten and Tommie Sunshine household names as well
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Who are the 100 Most Famous Chicagoans?
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Life without Newspapers
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Designer Toothpaste?
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