In 1922, the Melville Corporation released a line of shoes and opened the first of what would eventually become a chain of 1400 retail stores named for Scottish golfer Thomas McCann (for reasons still unknown after hours upon hours of research). In its heyday, Thom McAn was a well-known mall brand favored by athletes.

That's right. Although namesake McCann’s roots were in golf (if the legend of the elusive Mr. McCann is to be believed), the brand enjoyed a mysteriously loyal following among professional baseball players.

Exhibit A: Roger Maris.

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The year was 1964. Irv Noren, a former Yankee playing for Kansas City, asked Brooklyn labor leader Big Julie Isaacson to make Maris feel at home in New York after being traded to the Yankees. Big Julie, a Runyonesque character if ever there was one, was apparently shocked by the hayseed-like attire Maris was sporting when he stepped off the plane -- particularly his white Thom McAn shoes. According to David Halberstam’s book, October, 1964, Big Julie told Maris that New York Yankees didn’t dress that way, and that his shoes would be more appropriate for crooner Pat Boone.

The following day, when Big Julie picked Maris up to go apartment hunting, Maris insisted they stop first at the nearest Thom McAn store, where he proceeded to buy 2 more pairs of the shoes that had caused Julie such consternation.

The point? No one tells Roger Maris how to dress.

Exhibit B: Mickey Mantle

Here’s a famous quote from ex-Yankee PR man Marty Appel: “I had the honor to know Mickey Mantle on a personal level and he was a special man. He liked me, and he used to give me the gift certificates he would receive for going on radio and television shows. I still have each and every one of them. If I ever need $10 off on Thom McAn shoes, I know I’m set.”