This 1970s varsity jacket from Ingersoll, Ont., was found in an Australian thrift shop

Michelle Both · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 19, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

It's a enigma Australian Joe Winkler acceptable retired to solve.

After picking up a vintage varsity overgarment that stood out to him astatine his local thrift store, known arsenic an "op shop" down under, he wanted to cognize wherever it came from.

"We don't truly person those benignant of varsity benignant letterman jackets oregon immoderate successful Australia truthful much," Winkler said, who lives successful Melbourne, Australia. "The terms tag wasn't excessively steep. And truthful I bought it."

LISTEN: Australia antheral sets retired to find archetypal proprietor of second-hand jacket

The letterman's jacket is made of yellowish leather and blue mohair, and features the embroidered sanction "Wally" on the chest, and the crest of a 1970s-era broomball nine from Ingersoll, Ont. 

"I had nary thought what state it was from oregon if it was adjacent real," helium said. "I'd ne'er heard of broomball."

It turns retired that Ingersoll isn't excessively hard to find. "There's lone 1 Ingersoll successful the world, basically. So, it narrowed it down beauteous easily. I discovered that indispensable person been from this municipality successful Canada," helium said.

Winkler took his hunt a measurement further and posted to a Facebook radical for Ingersoll locals, a 16,000 km travel from wherever helium bought the jacket. Once his station was approved, helium went to slumber and, with the clip difference, woke up to astir 100 comments. 

It didn't instrumentality agelong for "Wally's" family and friends to spot the station and assistance lick the enigma that it erstwhile belonged to the late Wallace Clayton. 

"From everything that radical said, helium seemed similar a fantastic bloke," Winkler said. "It's conscionable awesome to see."

'I was truly shocked,' says Wally's son

For Brad Clayton, seeing his Dad's overgarment popular up connected Facebook brought backmost a flood of memories. "He was a bully dada for sure," helium said. His Dad died successful January 2011. 

"I was truly shocked to archer you the truth," helium said. He donated immoderate of his Dad's belongings to a Goodwill second-hand shop in Ingersoll aft his Dad died. The overgarment was excessively tiny for him oregon helium astir apt would person kept it, helium said.

He remembers his dada playing broomball connected Sunday mornings erstwhile helium was young, and having immoderate beers with different players aft the crippled was over. Once Brad turned 15, helium joined successful the amusive arsenic a referee. 

"It was a time for those guys to get retired and bask themselves," helium said. "I thought I was important due to the fact that I was refereeing these older guys and that was benignant of cool."

'Enjoyed the relationship arsenic overmuch arsenic the game' 

It's thing Allan Juett remembers, too. 

The 79-year-old from Ingersoll played broomball with Wallace for years, including in 1977 and 1978, connected the aforesaid squad arsenic Wally.  The broomball club had astir 30 members. 

"We would get caller jackets astir apt each 5 oregon six years, and everybody bought their own, truthful we could show off that we beryllium to the club," Juett said. "[We] made tons of friends and enjoyed the relationship arsenic overmuch arsenic the game."

"[We] made tons of friends and enjoyed the relationship arsenic overmuch arsenic the game."- Allan Juett, erstwhile Ingersoll broomball player

"Wally Clayton was a large guy," helium added. "He's gone now. Most of the guys from those years [are]."

Knowing the overgarment ended up in Australia and that someone took the clip to way down its history is amazing, he said. "You wonderment however thing similar that could happen."

LISTEN: Wallace Clayton's lad "shocked" to spot overgarment resurface abroad

How it got to Australia is inactive a mystery, but determination are immoderate clues. 

"I've got a mates of probable ideas here," said Scott Louch, main operating serviceman with Goodwill Industries. Vintage varsity-style jackets are highly collectible, helium said. 

Scenario one: It was donated to Goodwill and sold in-store to idiosyncratic visiting from Australia.

Scenario two: More likely, it was purchased successful Goodwill by a reseller, listed connected eBay, and sold to idiosyncratic successful Australia, helium said. 

Scenario three: Also a anticipation it was sold by Goodwill online done their e-commerce part and sent overseas. 

"Those would beryllium the astir probable ways it would marque it to Australia," Louch said. "We bash vessel each implicit the satellite each day, truthful it's surely not uncommon." 

For Brad, helium thinks the full happening is "terrific," knowing idiosyncratic other tin marque usage of it and deterioration it, a portion of his household history.