Brother finds long lost Chaparral High School letterman jacket at Arizona thrift store

Jed Mottley played varsity football 28 years ago at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, when nothing screamed ultimate pride in your sport and school like a letterman jacket — but Mottley didn’t have one.

“I went down to the store that year and picked everything out,” Mottley said. “You had to kind of design the jacket yourself … but I never saw the final product.”

When it came time to pick it up, Mottley’s mother told him they didn’t have the money to buy it.

“She was one of the greatest mothers you could ever ask for,” Mottley said, “and she really did the best that she could. I mean, there were Christmases where there were IOUs under the Christmas tree, and if you’ve (never) had an IOU during Christmas … you don’t know what that feels like. We definitely had it rough, and she just always made it OK, but she was so loving.”

But Mottley’s older brother Josh happened to be in the right place at the right time on November 3. He found Jed’s letterman jacket hanging on the rack of a thrift shop in Pinetop, almost 180 miles away from his high school, for $25 — a stark difference from its original $300 price tag, Mottley estimated.

Josh moved to Pinetop a few years ago after touring the country as a musician. “So, I get into this store and I’m literally walking around and the first thing I see is this bright red jacket hanging,” said Josh, who moved to Pinetop a number of years ago after touring the country as a musician.

“[Josh] goes, “dude let me just send you a picture of this real quick,” I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it, I’m like, dude that’s my jacket,” said Jed, also a professional musician in Los Angeles.
The jacket had the name “Jed” stitched on it, “Class of 94” near the pocket, and the patches he’d picked out on the sleeves.

“I remember designing it, but I never saw the final product, so when I saw it, it was mind-blowing,” said Jed.
“That things been sitting somewhere in perfect condition for 28 years,” said Josh. “I just kept looking at it, saying this can’t be real. I can tell you I felt my mom’s presence with us when I met up with him to give it to him.”
Jed flew in from LA where his brother delivered the jacket at long last and it also marked the first time the two brothers had seen each other in person in years.

A mother’s message to her sons was finally received by the fateful discovery of a jacket that shouldn’t even exist.
“It’s one of those things that something so painful can turn out so beautiful years later and you got to just ride it out, you never know what’s around the corner, life’s a trip,” said Jed.

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