John Deere Hat

One of my dearest friends, Bill Ilett, is managing partner of the Idaho Stampede which is a developmental league for the NBA. The Stampede is affiliated with the Utah Jazz and Bill has a wonderful story about a John Deere hat. “Most basketball fans know that Jerry Sloan is a hall of fame coach. He grew up in southern Illinois on a soybean and wheat farm but coached his entire career with the Utah Jazz. There are many, many jazz fans across southern Idaho and he considers Idaho a home away from home. But he is a farmer at heart and started wearing John Deere hats way back and collected John Deere farm machinery, in fact, at one point in time he had 70 John Deere tractors that he had restored over a lifetime. He has worn this John Deere hat at practice, anytime he is in casual attire, I think he would’ve worn it at the games if they would have let him. He retired in 2011 I believe and ended up with 1223 wins in the NBA. This is all with the Utah Jazz. I am spending a little more time with the Utah Jazz these days because the Idaho Stampede are directly affiliated with the Jazz. I was down last week and they proudly presented me with a John Deere hat with the jumping deer on the front and the John Deere writing and of course on the back, nothing runs like a Deere. On the side of that, Sloan, 1223. It’s a limited edition hat and I am very proud to have it.