Southland Athletic: Part of the Fabric of America

J.M. Warlick, Sr., J.M. Warlick, Jr., and Vice President Paul Themer on the first day of work at Southland's new Terrell factory, 1953.

Southland Athletic Manufacturing Company is truly an American success story.

Founded by J.M. Warlick, Sr., in 1946, the company first set up shop in Forney, Texas, about 20 miles east of Dallas. In 1953, a better location was found in nearby Terrell at the intersection of the T&P and Terrell-Midland Railroads. After a successful run there, on Moore Avenue, the company relocated most of its operations to a new one-story facility on Grove St. in the 1970s.

When Mr. Warlick retired, his son, J.M. Warlick, Jr., took over the daily operations, running the show until his own retirement in 1997. Since then, longtime family friend William Sturgeon has shepherded Southland into the 21st century, where the company retains a significant niche in a highly competitive industry.

In its more than 65 years of existence, Southland has made its mark on playing fields all across America. Cotton football practice jerseys, the indestructible Spandex football practice pants, and the legendary K74 line of baseball pants – made from a durable and moisture-absorbent material we knit in our own mill — are only a few areas in which Southland has set industry standards.

Through it all, Southland Athletic has remained an American family business. Upon J.M. Warlick, Jr.’s death in 2008, his daughter, Rebecca Warlick Sullivan, became Chairman of the Board. Her son, James Austin Sullivan, interned at the factory for the first time in the summer of 2011.

Nor are the Warlicks the only long-timers. Plant manager Armando DeLeon has been with the company for more than 50 years. Tenure of 15 and 20 years or more is not uncommon. (If you haven’t been with us a decade, you’re just getting warmed up!)

At Southland, people take pride in who they are and what they do. In these challenging times, when jobs and livelihoods drain from our shores on a daily basis, we’re proud to be a homegrown part of the fabric of American industry.

When you see the Southland label, you can be confident that you’re not only buying the highest quality goods on the market: you’re also supporting an American tradition being carried on daily by people just like you.