Buffalo natives John Pogorzelski and Pete Miller are just like most lifelong hockey fans. They love jerseys and own plenty of them. Turning that passion into a growing side business has been an unexpected success story.

The spark to transform an obsession of 1990s and early 2000s hockey uniforms into an online shop called Classic Vintage Jerseys came from doing something a little different for friends.

“A bunch of our friends started getting married and for their stag parties we started thinking, ‘Let’s put some jerseys together,’” Miller said. “That’s when all kinds of friends were asking, ‘Where’d you get that jersey?’ And we’d tell them we’ve been collecting for years but we realized there’s a market for this — a kind of vintage nostalgia thing that’s been going on; stuff that reminds you of being a kid and going to games and your favorite players and your favorite cities and colors. And we realized we’re not the only ones that like that. That’s when people started coming up to us and asking if we could take an order and we kind of started out like that.”

Pogorzelski works in sales connected to college sports and Miller is in market research. While some people are into flipping houses as a hobby or side business — taking broken down homes, repairing them, and re-selling them — the longtime friends from North Tonawanda High School decided to do it with jerseys.

Miller, who now lives in Kenmore, started out as a collector and said his collection totaled up to as many as 50 jerseys, many of them goalies. Pogorzelski, who resides in the city of Buffalo, said his collection was a bit smaller, 10 to 12, and professed a fondness for the rarer jerseys including a Mighty Ducks “Wild Wing” alternate from 1995-1996. But there’s only so much collecting you can do before it turns into something else.

They knew scouring eBay and elsewhere to find blank jerseys was the best way to acquire new ones to customize. With help from a highly skilled but unnamed machinist who cuts the letters and numbers to specifications (Miller and Pogorzelski insist he would not like the added attention) they’re able to recreate the look to perfection.

“We started out with 10 to 12 jerseys and realized these are flipping pretty fast,” Miller said. “Then we got another 10 or 12 and then reinvested into another 20 at that point and we got a lot of feedback from people. They’d say the quality was really good and we understood a little bit more what people wanted. Within six months things took off and then we did a little bit more and then a little bit more and then just realized there really is a space for this and we’re fulfilling it.”

“That six month thing was big,” Pogorzelski said. “We started in July (2016) and we had just a small inventory and the goal was to really be up and running for hockey season. It’s crazy to be in any sort of commerce industry and see what happens around Christmas, but that first December, just really through social media and other avenues, we really had a decent month. That’s when we said, ‘OK we can do this’ and really grow.”

Their sales work out now to an average of one jersey a day. For a three-person operation, that turns into a nice hustle when you consider their jerseys range from $100 to $400 each depending on whether it’s a replica or authentic, the kind of stitching and detail required, and scarcity or rarity of the jersey itself. Quality varies between a Starter jersey and a Koho jersey or a Reebok or a Nike sweater. Using a midpoint cost of $200, selling one of those a day for a year is $73,000. It’s not the kind of money where they can quit their day jobs, but it’s pretty good scratch nonetheless.

Starting a business is difficult regardless of the industry these days. Keeping a sports business afloat while the novel coronavirus pandemic has everything either paused or canceled is even harder. With Pogorzelski and Miller handling their own operations, the costs are low apart from time and maintaining a website. Being able to branch out to fan bases beyond Buffalo lets them lean into that.

“Being Sabres fans, our inventory lends itself to a few extra Brieres, Haseks, and Drurys, but we do all across the country. Oftentimes when we talk to people, it’s surprising the markets we can do great in for whatever reason,” Pogorzelski said. “Not that anyone in Buffalo is a huge fan of Mike Modano and the Dallas Stars, (but) in Texas we go through a lot of Modano and Stars jerseys.”

Even though they specialize in classic jerseys, they’re still Sabres fans. The Sabres will have new uniforms in 2020-2021 and they are returning to using the brighter royal blue — a change many fans hoped would’ve happened for the 50th anniversary season. Still, making what’s old new again is right in the wheelhouse for Pogorzelski and Miller.

“I love it, I can’t stand the navy (blue),” Miller said. “I absolutely hated the navy, I hated the ‘slug’ that was after the lockout. I completely welcome the royal blue. Just blue, the actual color blue, would be fantastic so I welcome it with open arms.”

(Top photo of Miller (left) and Pogorzelski (right): Classic Vintage Jerseys)