FREDERICKTOWN, Ohio – The blue corduroy jacket has been the symbol of the National FFA Organization for 93 years. The jacket, combined with either a scarf or a tie and appropriate black bottoms, completed the uniform known as FFA Official Dress.

Official Dress for those in FFA has evolved over time, but the blue and gold corduroy jacket has remained constant. And Fredericktown is known as the birthplace of the iconic FFA jacket.

Fredericktown is village in Knox County with about 2,700 residents.

FFA got its start in 1928 when 33 students from 18 states established the national organization during the National Livestock Judging Contests in Kansas City, Mo. Dress code at that time was nothing more than a simple cloth shirt, small tie and a Garrison cap with “FFA” sewn on it.

Five years later, Fredericktown High School agriculture educator J.H. “Gus” Lintner made plans to take his concert band to the National FFA Convention that year in Kansas City. The band sported blue corduroy jackets that were envied by other FFA members.

Lintner had spotted the jackets in the window of a store in Fredericktown. Lintner felt that the blue corduroy jackets would be perfect for the occasion.

“The blue corduroy jacket was hanging on a mannequin in the front window of a haberdashery store in town,” Lintner said in an interview with a local newsman at that time. “We were preparing to go to Kansas and march in October, and it was cold at that time and I knew the students wouldn’t be happy marching in light garments. Besides, the parents were going to have to provide them an outer garment to wear so why not the blue jacket.”

The jacket that Lintner spotted had a bulldog emblem on the back of it, so he took a painted copy of the FFA design (complete with the depiction of an ear of corn, plow, rising sun and the words “Vocational Agriculture”) and met with a sales representative from University Lettering Company in Van Wert, Ohio. University Lettering Company was the maker of the jacket that Lintner spotted in that haberdashery window.

Lintner had the first FFA blue jacket made at a cost of $5.50. He approved of the newly created jacket and arranged for the company to make a jacket for each member of the Fredericktown FFA chapter.

The blue jackets were worn by the Fredericktown High School band in Kansas that year and became an instant hit. So popular were the jackets that they were adopted as the Official Dress of FFA members everywhere.

There have been changes to FFA Official Dress since 1928. Some articles of clothing have been updated. For example, the FFA tie has seen many different design changes over the years, as did the hats, but the blue jacket went unaltered. The only change in the jacket came in the 1950s when the jackets replaced the snap buttons with zippers.

The National FFA was originally established as a male-only organization. But in 1969, a vote at the National FFA Convention that year was pivotal, allowing girls to fully participate in competitions, hold office, and wear the iconic blue FFA jacket, with the option of wearing a solid-color gold or dark shade skirt.

In 1988, the wording of the emblem was changed from “Vocational Agriculture” to “Agricultural Education.” Still, the blue jacket wasn’t altered one bit.

The jacket underwent restoration from 2003 to 2005 to establish a new standard of blue, restore the design and color of the emblem, improve the fit and comfort, and increase its durability. Prior to 2003, the jacket had more of a purple hue and the gold had more of an orange tint. 

In 2016, the FFA manual was adjusted once again. This time it dropped the requirement for girls to wear skirts and gave them the option to wear pants in addition to being permitted to wear religious attire while in uniform. 

Fredericktown’s role in the history of the FFA jacket received official recognition in 2018 when an Ohio Historical Marker was unveiled at Fredericktown High School. The marker commemorates Fredericktown’s connection to the blue corduroy FFA jacket and recognizes the role played by Lintner and the local FFA chapter.

Universal Lettering Company, which helped create the first-ever FFA jacket, is still producing FFA jackets to this day.

“There are 35 separate sewing operations into making every FFA jacket,” said Cory Hoops, Universal Lettering Company manager. “We attach the front emblem and back emblems first, then we attach the belts and pockets. We prepare the zippers then add sleeves, hem the bottoms, attach the cuffs and collars, back tack the high stress areas of the pockets, trim and inspect each jacket. The jackets then head to the front lettering department where we add the name, office and year of the individual.

“The jackets then go through back lettering which is done by a Chenille embroidery machine which chain stitches the state and chapter. The jacket is then trimmed, folded and shipped.”

Approximately 50,000 FFA jackets are produced at Universal Lettering Company each year.

“It’s emotional for me and my staff when we get to see the kids interact with others at their shows or even when they come to our company through a tour,” Hoops said. “It’s just a great feeling knowing we play a part in the FFA history.”

Each FFA jacket is crafted from 100 percent U.S. cotton, specifically national blue corduroy, and features a concealed zipper, slash welt pockets, adjustable brass buckle tab waist, and embroidered emblems in national blue and corn gold.