“I went to the store that year and picked everything up,” Mottley told CNN. “You had to design the jacket yourself…but I never saw the final product.”
When it came time to receive it, Mottley’s mother told him they didn’t have the money to buy it.
“She was one of the greatest moms you could ask for,” says Mottley, “and she really did the best she could. I mean, there are Christmases, where there are IOUs under Christmas tree, and if you (never) have an IOU for Christmas… you don’t know what that feels like. she’s so in love.”
But Josh, Mottley’s brother, happened to be in the right place at the right time on November 3rd. He found Jed’s letterwriter’s coat hanging on the shelf of a thrift store in Pinetop, nearly 180 miles from his high school, for $25—a Mottley estimate is starkly different from its original $300 price tag.
‘Price was right, 28 years later’
“My mother is one of the most religious people I know and she always said, ‘I’ll give you a sign from the other side,'” Jed said. “She passed away in 2012 but we never got a sign of that.”
The jacket has the name “Jed” sewn under the left pocket, “94” stitched under the right pocket and a soccer ball, the letters “WR” and the number 1 sewn on the right arm. “Chaparral” is sewn inside a large letter “C” in the upper left part of the jacket.
“We were just like, in this moment, on the phone,” Jed said. “The price was right, 28 years later.”
Jed, also a musician, lives in Los Angeles and flew to Arizona just so Josh could communicate the extraordinary find in person, which, he said, was the first time the brothers had seen each other in years.
Given the condition of the jacket, Jed said, he doesn’t think anyone has ever worn it. The “checked by” tag is still in its pocket.
“It feels like my mom has been with me all week,” he said. “It just gives me this natural elevation that I hope will never go away.”
After a two-week visit to Arizona, Jed returned home to Los Angeles on Wednesday and said he will wear this jacket whenever he gets the chance, including on stage at some of his shows. with the band Feed The Kitty.
“As a musician, I just love making people happy and it seems like for the past week or two it’s just been happiness,” Jed said. “People are shedding tears of joy. … They’re so happy for me. It brings tears to my eyes.”
Since the discovery, several of Jed’s former soccer teammates have contacted him asking why he hadn’t told them his mother couldn’t afford the jacket.
“I was so embarrassed,” he said. “I feel like we grew up with a lot of money around Scottsdale and I come from a broken family. … It’s great that I get to borrow their clothes, ride in their nice cars and hanging out at their house, but you know, (at home) it’s just a little bit different.”
From store to store
The jackets were donated by a man from Mesa, 174 miles from Pinetop – less than 20 miles from Chaparral High School, Maggie Heath of Veterans’ Village told CNN.
“His wife passed away and because of Covid, he couldn’t keep his shop open,” she said. “He drove a trailer of jackets and patches to donate to our Veterans Village Thrift Store. We sold hundreds of them before we realized the jackets were. named number is not just a sample row.”
When Josh walked in and saw Jed’s name and number on the jacket, Heath said, he “flipped out.”
“It’s amazing to know that one of our graduates is now in possession of the letterhead coat that was gifted to him years ago,” said Nancy Norman of the Scottsdale Unified School District. with CNN. “Such items have great sentimental value, and we hope that having him in the coat now brings back happy memories of his days as a Chaparral Firebird.”
Norman said it’s not clear what happened to the jacket after Jed was unable to pick it up.
As for the remaining coats, Heath said, the store is making them available to others who may be searching for the long-lost jacket. Since finding out, Heath said, she’s been swamped with calls and emails and plans to spend the day sorting through coats and patches.
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