René Lacoste was one of the world’s best tennis players in the 1920s. He was the scion of a wealthy Parisian family, and his success on the court was due to brains, drive, and dedication more than to natural athletic ability. He won seven major singles titles, including Wimbledon, the French Open, and the U.S. Open, and was a member of two victorious Davis Cup teams. The American press dubbed him the Alligator in ’27, after he wagered for an alligator-skin suitcase with the captain of the French Davis Cup team. When he returned to France, alligator became crocodile, and Lacoste was known forever after as the Crocodile. When a friend drew a crocodile for him, Lacoste had it embroidered on the blazer he wore on the court. Always looking for a competitive edge, Lacoste invented in ’33 the world’s first modern tennis shirt, a short-sleeve cotton piqué polo, and he founded La Chemise Lacoste to produce it. (Prior, players wore long-sleeve stiff-collar shirts.) Lacoste’s polo, which revolutionized sports clothing, was emblazoned with his signature croc—the first designer logo in history. In 1951, Lacoste partnered with Vin Draddy, a garment manufacturer who called his company Izod, after Jack Izod, a London tailor he admired. By the ’60s, the “alligator shirt“ had become a de rigueur part of the preppy uniform. Although Lacoste continued a licensing conquest of the world, the shirt (and preppies) drifted out of popularity in the late ’80s. In ’93, Lacoste split with Izod and began a revival of the reptile. Today the croc is as fashionable as ever and available in an extraordinary range of colors. Incidentally, the tennis shirt wasn’t René Lacoste’s only invention. In ’63 he designed the split-shaft steel racket that Jimmy Connors would use so successfully (and be unable to break by throwing) and that would revolutionize the game.