Blake Hall
When Mark Doyle started Rags of Honor back in 2013, he knew at least one thing: that he was going to employ homeless veterans, get them working, and back on their feet. What he didn’t know, is that just three years later he and his fellow vet employees would be making apparel for not only the National Football League, but for the World Series champion Chicago Cubs — something his town had been famously waiting on for 108 years.
And when Wrigley’s ball-playing residents officially earned their spot in baseball’s “Fall Classic” by beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS, Doyle and his crew had the game fired up and streaming, as they got down to work.
One of the Navy vets, Dion West, the director of operations in the company, told WGN that he’d been waiting for the team to break through since he was a little kid.
“Seeing them progress into a team that can actually win something, and we got that chance to do something, you know past the regular season, it’s very good. I have no problem standing up 24 hours to get shirts out for them.”
More from WGN:
More than two dozen veterans now work there full time, and there’s plenty of work to do: the Cubs World Series t-shirts has been the biggest order in the company’s history. Around 10,000 have been printed so far with another 8,000 to come if the team wins.
“Ever since I’ve been working here with my brothers in arms and doing what we do, I mean, I smile more,” said veteran Luis Arroyo. He said his life has changed during the year and a half he’s been working for the company.
“I have my own place a vehicle I feel empowered again,” Arroyo said.
The military community can grab Cubs gear and loads more sports team apparel at a significant discount by clicking the following links: