There have been hundreds of thousands of workers in the sports industry affected by the COVID-19 shutdown, a group that includes everyone from arena staff to restaurants and retailers.



One small local company that was founded in my neighbourhood in Toronto’s east end is in that group. Major League Socks, created by Jake Mednick and Tom McCole four years ago, has sold hundreds of thousands of socks branded with hockey players’ faces. If you’re a Leafs fan, you’re probably familiar with their original idea, Babsocks, which were dedicated to then-Leafs coach Mike Babcock.



After Babsocks took off — selling more than 400,000 pairs since their launch in the fall of 2015 — Mednick and McCole went on to partner with the NHL Alumni Association and later the NHLPA to add nearly 100 more faces to socks and get them into team stores across North America.



They also have an agreement to begin selling socks with Major League Baseball...