25 products

San Antonio Vintage Sports Apparel — Jerseys, Tees & Hats for the Alamo City

25 pieces of San Antonio sports history. Brahmas, Gunslingers, Riders, Wings & more. Free name & number on most jerseys. Sizes S–5XL.

Royal Retros carries 25 active pieces of San Antonio throwback apparel — jerseys, T-shirts, hoodies, hats and mini helmets, drawn from ten different teams the Alamo City has fielded across nine decades of pro and semi-pro sports. Prices run $29.99 for a T-shirt or hat up to $119.99 for a tackle-twill UFL jersey; most throwback jerseys land between $84.99 and $119.99, and hoodies run $59.99. Free name & number customization comes standard on most jerseys, and jersey sizing runs up to 5XL. This isn't a generic "San Antonio" flag T-shirt rack — it's the current UFL Brahmas playing today, the notoriously broke USFL Gunslingers, the WLAF's Riders, a one-season WFL club, a 1995 CFL import that played the Alamodome, and a run of minor-league hockey, arena football, minor-league football and ABA-era basketball pieces nobody else stocks. Ten teams, six sports, and nine decades of alternative sports history, all searchable from one page. This page covers San Antonio specifically — for the wider state, including Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and Beaumont, shop the full Texas collection.

Shop by Design and Aesthetic

San Antonio's nicknames — the Alamo City, River City, Military City USA — show up more in attitude than in printed text on this catalog, but the colorways tell the same story: a city that's worn a lot of different uniforms. Group the active lineup by look and there are three clear lanes.

Modern Gray & Charcoal

The San Antonio Brahmas' current UFL line runs a clean gray-and-charcoal palette — a gray tackle-twill jersey, a charcoal pullover hoodie, and tees in iron grey, dark grey heather and a yellow accent color. It's the most wearable, least "costume-y" look in the catalog, built for someone who wants to rep the city's current team without dressing head-to-toe in team script.

Throwback Brights

Go back a decade or three and the colors get louder. The Gunslingers' USFL jersey comes in white or blue with a kelly green hoodie and tee to match; the Riders' WLAF jersey is brown and white, a color combination almost nobody else in the vintage-jersey business carries; the Wings' WFL jersey is blue and white with a Columbia-blue heather tee; and the CFL club's 1995 jersey comes in teal and white with an aqua and maroon tee lineup. These are the pieces that get a "wait, what team is that?" from strangers.

Bold Black, Red & Silver

The city's basketball and arena-football history skews darker — a black-and-red ABA jersey, black and red tees for the Toros and the Force, and a red, cardinal and silver lineup on the 2019 AAF gear. It's the closest thing this catalog has to a streetwear-black section, and it pairs as easily with jeans as any of it does with game-day gear.

None of these colorways are printed marketing copy — they're pulled straight from the actual product options on this page, which is part of why this catalog reads differently from a flag-and-cactus souvenir rack. A city built around the Riverwalk, the Spanish missions and one of the country's largest concentrations of military bases has never had a single sports identity, and the apparel reflects that — gray-and-charcoal for the team playing right now, brights for the leagues that came and went in a hurry, and dark neutrals for the eras in between. That range is also why this catalog works as everyday streetwear rather than a one-week-a-year novelty purchase: there's a version of San Antonio pride here for someone who wants a loud throwback and a version for someone who just wants a clean gray hoodie with the city's current team on it.

Discover San Antonio's Teams

San Antonio has fielded more short-lived pro football, hockey, basketball and arena-football teams than almost any city its size in Texas. Here's a quick introduction to each — the full history lives on each team's own page.

San Antonio Brahmas — the city's current officially licensed UFL football franchise, playing today under the merged USFL/XFL banner and the only team on this page with a season happening right now. Jerseys, tees, a hoodie and a helmet tee. Shop the Brahmas.

San Antonio Gunslingers — the notoriously undercapitalized 1984–85 officially licensed USFL team, run out of a trailer in the Alamo Stadium parking lot and the only USFL franchise ever to have its membership formally revoked by the league. A tackle-twill jersey, a hoodie, a hat and a tee. Shop the Gunslingers.

San Antonio Riders — a 1991–92 World League of American Football (WLAF) franchise, the NFL's first attempt at spring international football and a direct forerunner of NFL Europe. A jersey, a hat and a tee in the catalog's rare brown-and-white colorway. Shop the Riders.

San Antonio Wings — a 1975 World Football League franchise that arrived just as the WFL itself was collapsing, folding along with the league partway through its second and final season. A mini helmet, a jersey and a tee. Shop the Wings.

San Antonio CFL — the market's entry in the Canadian Football League's brief 1993–1995 US expansion, playing its lone 1995 season at the newly opened Alamodome before the CFL abandoned the American experiment entirely. A mini helmet, a jersey and a tee. Shop San Antonio CFL football.

San Antonio AAF — the city's 2019 Alliance of American Football entry, one of just eight teams before the league folded midway through its first and only season. A jersey and a tee. Shop San Antonio AAF football.

San Antonio Dragons — an International Hockey League club that played the Freeman Coliseum for two seasons in 1996–97 and 1997–98, sharing the city with a rival minor-league hockey team before both sides' finances gave out. A jersey, offered in black or white and in a goalie cut. Shop San Antonio hockey.

San Antonio Force — a single-season 1992 Arena Football League club that set the league record for the lowest field-goal percentage in a season and became the first arena team ever shut out in a game. A tee. Shop Arena Football League.

San Antonio Toros — a Continental Football League minor-league club from the mid-to-late 1960s, part of a pro football tier that operated below the NFL and AFL. A tee. Shop minor-league football.

San Antonio ABA — a design celebrating San Antonio's American Basketball Association-era roots, from the years pro basketball first arrived in the city. A jersey, in black or red. Shop ABA.

Wear It Off Game Day

Most of this catalog is built to be worn without an actual current season attached to it — there's no in-season Gunslingers, Wings or Riders team to root for, so those jerseys and tees function as streetwear first. The gray-and-charcoal Brahmas pieces pair the way any modern athletic gear does — jeans, joggers, sneakers, no explanation needed, and the charcoal hoodie works as a plain layering piece as easily as it works as fan gear. The brighter throwbacks (Gunslingers kelly green, Riders brown, Wings sky blue, CFL teal) read as a statement piece on their own — worn open over a plain tee, or as the tee itself under a jacket in cooler months. Pair the brown Riders tee with denim and boots for something that leans more Texas than football. The black-and-red ABA, Toros and Force pieces are the easiest of the bunch to mix into an all-black rotation, and the cardinal-and-silver AAF gear reads closer to a modern streetwear drop than a 2019 startup-league relic. A mini helmet from the CFL or Wings lineup works as a desk or shelf piece rather than something you wear, but it's the same idea in a different format — a conversation starter that doesn't need a game on TV to make sense. None of it requires shoulder pads or a stadium to make sense — it's built the same way any other graphic tee or pullover is, just with a better story attached.

Sizes & Customization

Jerseys run true to size, Small through 5XL, across every team in this catalog — Brahmas, Gunslingers, Riders, Wings, the CFL club, the AAF team, the Dragons and the ABA design all offer the full range, with a size chart on every product page. Free name & number customization is available on most jerseys — add any name and number at no extra charge, or order a blank throwback. Custom jerseys are made to order and final sale.

T-shirts vary more by style: most run S through 5XL, but the Riders tee tops out at 2XL and several Brahmas tees (the DynastyDry, Helmet T-Shirt and Long Sleeve styles) cap at 4XL — check the size chart on each product page before you order. Hoodies range from S–5XL on the Gunslingers style to S–3XL on the Brahmas hoodie. Hats are one-size-fits-most adjustable or unstructured styles. Mini helmets ship in a single adult display size and aren't wearable equipment. This page carries mini helmets for the CFL and Wings franchises only; no USFL or XFL mini helmets are sold here.

Materials and construction vary by product — tackle-twill and cotton/poly-blend styles are represented across this catalog, with fleece on the hoodies. Check each product page for the exact fabric and construction before you order.

Why Royal Retros

  • The deepest San Antonio throwback catalog anywhere — 25 active pieces across ten teams and six eras, including franchises no other retailer stocks.
  • Officially licensed UFL and USFL product — the San Antonio Brahmas and San Antonio Gunslingers gear on this page is officially licensed; everything else is a heritage tribute piece for a team that no longer takes the field.
  • Free name & number customization on most jerseys.
  • Inclusive sizing, up to 5XL on jerseys and most tees.
  • Coverage of teams no one else carries — from a one-season 1992 arena football club to a 2026 UFL roster, this catalog spans more San Antonio sports history than any single-league retailer can match.
  • Part of the larger Texas catalog — for Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Beaumont and the rest of the state, shop the full Texas collection.

Buying FAQ

How does San Antonio throwback apparel fit?

True to size on jerseys, with a size chart on every product page. T-shirts and hoodies vary by style — check the chart before you order, especially on the Riders tee (tops out at 2XL) and the Brahmas hoodie (tops out at 3XL).

Can I customize the name and number?

Yes — free on most jerseys. Add any name and number at checkout, or order a blank version of the same jersey.

Are these officially licensed?

It depends on the team. The San Antonio Brahmas (UFL) and San Antonio Gunslingers (USFL) product on this page is officially licensed. Everything else — the Riders, Wings, the CFL club, the AAF team, the Dragons, the Force, the Toros and the ABA design — is an unlicensed heritage tribute reproduction, not endorsed by or affiliated with any league, team or rights holder.

What's the difference between replica and custom jerseys?

Replica jerseys are pre-made in stock sizes. Custom jerseys are made to order with your choice of name and number, take longer to ship, and are final sale.

What are shipping and returns like?

Standard US shipping on all orders. Stock items follow our standard returns policy; made-to-order custom jerseys are final sale. Full details are on our returns page.

Which San Antonio team is still active today?

Only one: the San Antonio Brahmas, playing in the UFL right now. Every other team on this page — the Gunslingers, Riders, Wings, the 1995 CFL club, the 2019 AAF team, the Dragons, the Force and the Toros — is a defunct or historic franchise.

Do you carry full team uniforms, or just apparel?

Apparel — jerseys, T-shirts, hoodies, hats and mini helmets. This is fan gear built for everyday wear, not game-worn equipment.

How do I tell which era a jersey is from?

Each product title names the team and, where it matters, the league — "USFL," "WLAF," "WFL," and so on — since several San Antonio nicknames have been reused across different decades and different sports. The team callouts above list the exact years each franchise played.

Do these make good gifts?

Yes — a lot of customers buy these for someone who grew up in San Antonio or spent time stationed there and wants a piece of the city's sports history that isn't a generic tourist shirt. Free name-and-number customization on most jerseys makes it easy to personalize a gift beyond just the team name.

Why Has San Antonio Cycled Through So Many Pro Leagues?

San Antonio keeps drawing new pro and semi-pro leagues because it's a large media market without a permanent NFL or MLB-level tenant, which makes it an attractive test case for every startup league that needs a big city willing to gamble on an unproven format. That's the same logic that brought the USFL's Gunslingers in 1984, the WLAF's Riders in 1991, the CFL's US expansion in 1995 and the AAF in 2019 — four different leagues in four different decades, each treating San Antonio as a market worth trying rather than one worth building around long-term. None of them lasted past a handful of seasons, but the pattern itself says something about how the city sits just outside the traditional big-league sports map.

Has any San Antonio team from this catalog become genuinely famous?

The Gunslingers come closest, though for the wrong reasons — the team's bounced paychecks and revoked USFL membership made it one of the most-cited cautionary tales in pro football business history, still referenced whenever a startup league's finances come under scrutiny.

Extended San Antonio Sports History FAQ

Why were the San Antonio Gunslingers considered the worst-run team in the USFL?

Owner Clinton Manges ran the Gunslingers on a shoestring even by USFL standards — the team office was a trailer in the Alamo Stadium parking lot, and players sometimes faked injuries just to stay off the deactivation list ownership used to dodge full paychecks. When oil prices collapsed in 1985, Manges stopped paying the team's bills entirely, and the Gunslingers became the only USFL franchise the league ever formally revoked.

Why did San Antonio's WLAF experiment only last two seasons?

The Riders played just two seasons, in 1991 and 1992, because the WLAF itself was an experiment from the start — a joint venture backed by the NFL to test whether American-style football could draw crowds internationally in the spring, with US markets like San Antonio serving mainly as proof-of-concept sites. When the NFL restructured the league into what became NFL Europe after the 1992 season, it dropped every US-based franchise, including San Antonio's.

What was the CFL's short-lived US expansion, and why did it include San Antonio?

The Canadian Football League expanded into the United States for the 1993–1995 seasons to boost revenue and national profile, and San Antonio's club, playing out of the newly opened Alamodome, was part of the second wave of that experiment. American fans were unfamiliar with the CFL's wider field, three-down format and different scoring rules, and most of the transplanted franchises drew poorly. The CFL abandoned the US experiment after the 1995 season and has remained a Canada-only league since.

Why did the Alliance of American Football fold after one season in San Antonio?

The AAF folded in April 2019, midway through its first and only season, because the league ran out of money faster than its business plan accounted for. A funding dispute between investors erupted just as the league needed a fresh cash infusion, and rather than risk being unable to pay players and staff, the league's leadership shut it down outright. San Antonio's team was one of just eight AAF franchises nationwide.

Why did two minor-league hockey teams share San Antonio at the same time?

The Dragons moved to San Antonio's Freeman Coliseum in 1996 even though the building was already home to a rival minor-league hockey club, and the two teams split the local hockey audience for two seasons. The arrangement proved unsustainable — the Dragons' ownership group reported roughly $7 million in losses over two years and dropped out of the International Hockey League after the 1997–98 season. The rival club continued on afterward, but its apparel isn't part of this catalog.

What records did the San Antonio Force set in their only season?

The Force went 2-8 in their lone 1992 Arena Football League season, but their most memorable moments were the ones nobody wants — they became the first arena football team ever shut out in a game, losing 50-0, and posted the worst field-goal percentage in a season in league history. They folded before the following season began, citing a lack of open arena dates.

Is the current San Antonio Brahmas the same team as the Gunslingers?

No. The Brahmas are the market's current UFL franchise, playing today. The Gunslingers were a completely separate USFL franchise from 1984–85, four decades earlier, with no ownership or roster connection between the two.

What was the Continental Football League?

The Continental Football League (COFL) was a high-level minor professional football league that operated from 1965 to 1969, giving cities like San Antonio a pro football option below the NFL and AFL. The Toros were San Antonio's entry.

Why did the Alamodome host both the CFL and later the AAF?

The Alamodome opened in 1993 specifically to attract a major-league tenant to San Antonio, and in the years before that goal was realized it hosted a rotating cast of alternative leagues looking for a large, modern venue — the CFL's US expansion club played there in 1995, and the AAF used it again in 2019. Both experiments folded quickly, but the building itself has outlasted every team that has called it home.

Shop Related Collections

Shop San Antonio throwback jerseys, tees & hats — Brahmas, Gunslingers, Riders, Wings & more. Free name & number on most jerseys. Sizes S–5XL.