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-   -   Let's see your vintage baseball caps (http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=251902)

Chris Counts 02-28-2018 08:54 AM

Let's see your vintage baseball caps
 
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I just started down the road of collecting vintage baseball caps, adding another dimension to my completely unfocused collection. I'm curious if there are others who collect caps here on Net54 ...

ooo-ribay 02-28-2018 11:19 AM

^^^ Are those Pro Model caps or just kids’ caps of the day?

perezfan 02-28-2018 12:07 PM

Those are all professional Caps. Yes, they did use patches, and in many instances the insignias were not embroidered directly on to the cap.

Great stuff, Chris... I would post a few of mine, but am sure the pics would come out sideways. May still try when time allows...

Chris Counts 02-28-2018 03:00 PM

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Hi Mark, I hope all is well. Yes, these are definitely pro model caps from the late 1940s and early 1950s. I'm finding there's a lot to learn about caps, and there's also a lot of misinformation out there. I started this thread in part so I can learn more about them ...

David Atkatz 02-28-2018 06:18 PM

Art Jorgens 1929-30

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ps14a218ea.jpg


Marty McHale 1913:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...913capside.jpg

Dewey 02-28-2018 06:50 PM

Great thread idea. Hope to see more photos. Those are some cool lids!

Chris Counts 02-28-2018 08:02 PM

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Here's a cap I'm curious about. It's a Brooklyn Dodgers cap that's made by Wilson. I've been told this cap comes from 1947, but it looks to me like it was made a few years later. I've also been told the Brooklyn Dodgers didn't use Wilson caps, so unless I see evidence otherwise, I'm going to assume it's some kind of salesman's sample. They seem to be fairly common among vintage pro caps. I'm seeking opinions on this one, in case anybody has anything to offer.

accidental 03-01-2018 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Counts (Post 1752829)
Here's a cap I'm curious about. It's a Brooklyn Dodgers cap that's made by Wilson. I've been told this cap comes from 1947, but it looks to me like it was made a few years later. I've also been told the Brooklyn Dodgers didn't use Wilson caps, so unless I see evidence otherwise, I'm going to assume it's some kind of salesman's sample. They seem to be fairly common among vintage pro caps. I'm seeking opinions on this one, in case anybody has anything to offer.

Chris, this is an interesting hat indeed! While the logo is an earlier style Brooklyn Dodgers logo (pre 1948), I have not seen this particular Wilson style yet. Of note is the tag too, Wilson predominately used the "Wilson Professional Cap" tag on their on field caps starting in the later half of the 40s. In the early 40s Wilson did not use tags but printed their logo straight on to the sweatband (very rare).

There are two other known Brooklyn Dodgers hats by Wilson both featuring different style logos from yours. At least one of those was a style worn briefly by some Dodger players in 1951 but very infrequently and certainly not consistently.

My best guess is that it indeed could be a salesman sample from the 50s, or something made for an old timers game later on, or that it's actually an older cap that was refurbished (unlikely).

Two questions that could provide some more clarity:

- Does the cap feature the 3 letter Wilson code on the in- or outside of the sweatband?

- Can you provide an image of the complete inside of the hat?

Chris Counts 03-01-2018 06:54 AM

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Thanks for your reply Fredy. Here's a better photo of inside the cap. There's no code visible. The Cubs cap pictured above is a Wilson that's dated November, 1953. Do you know when Wilson started using the code? Also, did Wilson use acrylic bands in the 1940s? It seems like all the pre-1950 caps I've seen have leather bands.

accidental 03-01-2018 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Counts (Post 1752903)
Thanks for your reply Fredy. Here's a better photo of inside the cap. There's no code visible. The Cubs cap pictured above is a Wilson that's dated November, 1953. Do you know when Wilson started using the code? Also, did Wilson use acrylic bands in the 1940s? It seems like all the pre-1950 caps I've seen have leather bands.

Thanks Chris. Hmmm... the interior points to a 1950s cap, so the salesman sample theory starts to sound plausible. I’m not an expert on Wilson but as far as I know they started using the date codes in the 1950s. Concerning the fabric sweatband, it was used but VERY rarely up until the early 60s, thus also making it possible that this could be a refurbished cap but I’m unaware that Wilson did offer this.

Is the fabric under the bill satin or wool?
Is there by any chance a player number anywhere inside the cap?
Are there ‘pockets’ on the inside of the cap that could fit protective pads?

I personally own 3 Brooklyn Dodgers caps (1949 Don Newcombe Spalding hat, 1951 unknown player Rawlings hat, 1954 retail Tim McAuluffe cap). I’ve actually consulted with the Dodgers graphic designer on getting the 1955 logo correct.

Chris Counts 03-01-2018 08:24 AM

Fredy, I'll take another look inside the Dodgers cap when I get home tonight and see if I missed anything. The green fabric under the bill seems just like any other cap I have. By the way, the 1953-54 Cubs cap pictured above has a fabric band, as does a Reds cap I have from 1958. Both are made by Wilson. I'll compare the interiors of the three caps, and that might help me date the Dodgers cap ...

seattlerainiers 03-01-2018 08:50 AM

Pacific Coast League
 
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Adding a few PCL gamers to the mix:1940 Hollywood Stars, 1940s LA Angels, 1940s Oakland Oaks, 1940s Portland Beavers, 1950s San Diego Padres, 1950s SF Seals, 1948 Seattle Rainiers.

Chris Counts 03-01-2018 09:38 AM

Wow, those PCL caps are off the charts. I'm curious who the makers are. Thanks for sharing. If you ever decide to part with the Oaks cap, let me know ...

perezfan 03-01-2018 10:53 AM

Those are all magnificent, Dave...

I especially love the 1940 Hollywood Stars with that killer chenille logo. In addition to being incredibly attractive, these must be insanely rare.

Great thread!

accidental 03-01-2018 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seattlerainiers (Post 1752933)
Adding a few PCL gamers to the mix:1940 Hollywood Stars, 1940s LA Angels, 1940s Oakland Oaks, 1940s Portland Beavers, 1950s San Diego Padres, 1950s SF Seals, 1948 Seattle Rainiers.

Incredible caps indeed! I bet the guys at Ebbets Field Flannels would love to see these caps!

I guess these caps were made by the same manufacturers as the MLB caps, no? I own some Minor League caps myself, these were all made by the big manufacturers of the day.

bnorth 03-01-2018 05:02 PM

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Not as old as the stuff shown, this is my only real MLB cap. I bought it a couple years ago when former MLB pitcher Sammy Ellis past away. I believe it is from around 1997 when he was the pitching coach for the Red Sox. I wear it all the time so his auto is almost gone.

I have a head like a melon so I have to stretch it out on a regular basis. Anybody know how to stretch it so it will stay larger. Pics are from when I bought it.

Chris Counts 03-01-2018 06:50 PM

Ben, I have the same problem finding caps that fit. I would never do this with a vintage cap, but with a modern cap, I soak it water, place it on top of a bowl that's slightly larger, and pull the sides down tight until it wraps around the bowl. When the cap dries out, I remove the bowl, and the cap is definitely larger. It's a little stiff, but the modern caps end up stiff from sweat and heat anyway. After a while, it basically shrinks back to its original size, so I repeat the process.

bnorth 03-01-2018 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Counts (Post 1753149)
Ben, I have the same problem finding caps that fit. I would never do this with a vintage cap, but with a modern cap, I soak it water, place it on top of a bowl that's slightly larger, and pull the sides down tight until it wraps around the bowl. When the cap dries out, I remove the bowl, and the cap is definitely larger. It's a little stiff, but the modern caps end up stiff from sweat and heat anyway. After a while, it basically shrinks back to its original size, so I repeat the process.

Thanks Chris, I do something similar. I use a gallon glass jar and a tennis ball to apply pressure to a wet cap. My dream would be to be able to magically stretch a Wade Boggs game used hat to fit my melon. Yes I would really wear it till it fell apart.:D

JollyElm 03-01-2018 08:45 PM

I use what my girlfriend calls 'the device' to stretch out hats. Use a round 5 or 10 lb. weight. Wetting the hat makes it more pliable, but you can do it dry. Put the back part of the hat (where the label generally is) on a door knob, but NOT the way you would usually drape something over a door knob. Make sure just the extreme edge of the hat 'band' (not the insides) is balancing on/touching the door knob, so the right part gets stretched out. Now put the weight inside the hat, using the roundness to match the round inside band of the hat. You have to balance it to get it in just the right position. From there, simply give it a couple of days and that hat band gets stuh-retched!!

seattlerainiers 03-02-2018 10:36 AM

PCL Caps
 
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Thanks for the comments, Chris & Mark.

Most of these PCL caps are Wilson, and yes, they certainly don't surface very often ;)

Fredy, Jerry Cohen at EFF has indeed seen, and in most cases, borrowed these hats to model his replicas. We are both in Seattle, and are good pals.

Here are a few more: 1955 Oakland Oaks, 1958 Portland Beavers, 1960 SLC Bees, 1970 Phoenix Giants. All Wilson caps, all gamers.

slidekellyslide 03-02-2018 11:01 AM

An underrated area of our hobby IMO.

accidental 03-02-2018 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seattlerainiers (Post 1753310)
Thanks for the comments, Chris & Mark.

Most of these PCL caps are Wilson, and yes, they certainly don't surface very often ;)

Fredy, Jerry Cohen at EFF has indeed seen, and in most cases, borrowed these hats to model his replicas. We are both in Seattle, and are good pals.

Here are a few more: 1955 Oakland Oaks, 1958 Portland Beavers, 1960 SLC Bees, 1970 Phoenix Giants. All Wilson caps, all gamers.

Very nice! EFF is a great company, I really like them.

I know Jerry as well, we exchanged some information concerning caps in the past.

Out of interest, are any of your PLC caps Tim McAuliffe?

seattlerainiers 03-03-2018 09:18 AM

PCL Caps
 
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Quote:

Originally Posted by accidental (Post 1753386)
Very nice! EFF is a great company, I really like them.

I know Jerry as well, we exchanged some information concerning caps in the past.

Out of interest, are any of your PLC caps Tim McAuliffe?

Fredy,

Yes. Some of the late 1950s and early 1960s Seattle Rainiers hats are McAuliffe. Here's one. If memory serves, some of the San Diego Padres hats from that same era may also be McAuliffe. I'll check when I can.

ksfarmboy 03-03-2018 10:10 AM

Dave you kill me with all of your great stuff. I can’t even complete my 70’s Wichita hats and jerseys and here you are with all these 40’s and 50’s hats. Great stuff and thanks for sharing!

ooo-ribay 03-03-2018 10:41 AM

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I believe this is a pro cap. Maybe seattleraniers can confirm. Ed Halicki, 1973 Fresno Giants. "Ho Ho" later pitched a no-no for the SF Giants.

seattlerainiers 03-03-2018 02:04 PM

Fresno Cap
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by ooo-ribay (Post 1753609)
I believe this is a pro cap. Maybe seattleraniers can confirm. Ed Halicki, 1973 Fresno Giants. "Ho Ho" later pitched a no-no for the SF Giants.

Looks good to me! Nice one.

horzverti 03-04-2018 07:19 PM

Pocatello Bannocks/Chiefs cap
 
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Here is my Dad’s cap - 1961 Pocatello Bannocks/Chiefs of the Pioneer League.

horzverti 03-04-2018 07:21 PM

1953 Milwaukee Braves
 
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Here is a 1953 Milwaukee Braves cap. My second favorite cap.

Bumpus Jones 03-04-2018 08:55 PM

Ohio State football coaches cap
 
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Cool Braves cap. Here's a 1968-78 era Ohio State football coaches cap. Not Woody😉

Chris Counts 11-19-2018 10:45 AM

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Here's are a couple new caps I've added to my collection. The first cap, from 1952 or 1953, belonged to Washington Senators pitcher Walt Masterson. The second is an Atlanta Crackers cap from the 1930s that was worn by shortstop Buster Chatham. When my dad was growing up in Atlanta during that time, this was the team he rooted for.

baseball tourist 11-19-2018 11:14 AM

Love these! Have to dig out my caps. Nothing this old or rare.

CarltonHendricks 11-19-2018 11:43 AM

congrats
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by David Atkatz (Post 1752791)

really like the Marty McHale 1913...what a classic...

Chris Counts 01-05-2021 07:51 AM

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After collecting just about everything and anything baseball-related over the past half century, I can't think of any genre of collectable I find more satisfying collecting than caps. In the three years since I started this thread, my collection has grown by leaps and bounds, but I'm still making new discoveries, and the competition isn't too fierce — unlike pinbacks, for instance.

Here are a few of my more recent pickups, along with a link to gallery of all my caps. Included below are the early 50s Fort Worth Cats (worn by Rex Barney), the late 60s Asheville Tourists (Reds farm club), a late 40s Oakland Oak kids cap and a late 50s White Sox cap (one of the last MLB caps made by Spalding). The White Sox cap was the final one I needed to get all 16 of the original pre-expansion MLB caps.

https://chris-counts.pixpa.com/galleries/gallery-31

perezfan 01-05-2021 06:20 PM

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Wally Post
Hank Foiles
Dave Concepcion
Barry Larkin
Pete Rose (Rookie)
Vada Pinson
Johnny Bench
Tony Perez (image cut off)

perezfan 01-05-2021 06:26 PM

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Mickey Vernon
Roy Sievers
Early Wynn

perezfan 01-05-2021 06:32 PM

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Preacher Roe
Jim Hearn

Ted Klu
Unknown Red Sox

Unknown Pilots
Unknown Boston Braves

sayhey24 01-05-2021 06:50 PM

Chris and Mark --

That's a lot of hats! And very cool!


Greg

Scott Garner 01-05-2021 07:22 PM

Randy Johnson ML debut hat
 
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Not as old as many of the hats on this great thread, but here are some pics of the hat that Randy Johnson very likely wore in his ML debut.

It was given by the Expos equipment manager that befriended a young Mets fan in NY immediately after The Big Unit won his 1st ML game & 1st strikeout against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Montreal.

todeen 01-05-2021 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by perezfan (Post 2053160)
Preacher Roe

Jim Hearn



Ted Klu

Unknown Red Sox



Unknown Pilots

Unknown Boston Braves

Is Big Klu the Angels cap? Very cool collection.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Scott Garner 01-05-2021 07:34 PM

Nolan Ryan game used Angels, Astros and Rangers hats
 
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Here are some great Nolan Ryan game used hats from when he played on the Angels (1976), Astros (1981 and 1985) and Rangers (1993).
All hats have impeccable provenance.
Enjoy!

Chris Counts 01-05-2021 08:19 PM

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Mark, your collection never ceases to amaze me. I like the Wally Post cap in particular — it's a style that has eluded me so far, although I have c. 1960 and c. 1970 Indian caps that look practically the same. It's amazing how often the Indians copied uniform and cap ideas from the Reds. The Dodgers, Giants and Braves caps are all real beauties.

Scott, I'm a huge Ryan fan who grew up watching him pitch many times, including the first time he pitched in spring training in 1972 when I was 11. I recently saw a photo of him from spring training '72, and he was wearing the 1971 Angels cap with the lower case "a." I wonder if that cap still exists? That would be quite a find.

It's a crying shame that the Washington Nationals don't wear Expos caps and jerseys more often. They could even turn the "M" upside down and it would become a "W."

Here's are 1967 and 1969 A's caps worn by John "Blue Moon" Odom, a mid-1960s Seattle Angels cap, and a 1965 Astros cap worn by Don Larsen ...

perezfan 01-05-2021 11:26 PM

Jaw-dropping Randy Johnson and Nolan Ryan Caps, Scott! So amazing to see those incredible G/U caps from all of Ryan's teams. Epic!

And Chris.... that's such an awesome and rare collection of "type caps". I especially love the Seattle Angels. Such a scarce and beautiful style!

ooo-ribay 01-06-2021 06:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bumpus Jones (Post 1754130)
Cool Braves cap. Here's a 1968-78 era Ohio State football coaches cap. Not Woody😉

I’m sure y’all know the story of Woody cutting some stitching on his hats, so they would be easier to tear up for theatrical effect.

gm1967 01-08-2021 11:58 AM

Redman baseball cap
 
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1950's redman tobacco baseball cap (cincinnati)
obtained by detaching and sending in the bottom tabs from the redman tobacco baseball cards for a cap from the team of your choice.
Attachment 434478

Attachment 434479

bnorth 01-12-2021 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Counts (Post 2052931)
After collecting just about everything and anything baseball-related over the past half century, I can't think of any genre of collectable I find more satisfying collecting than caps. In the three years since I started this thread, my collection has grown by leaps and bounds, but I'm still making new discoveries, and the competition isn't too fierce — unlike pinbacks, for instance.

Here are a few of my more recent pickups, along with a link to gallery of all my caps. Included below are the early 50s Fort Worth Cats (worn by Rex Barney), the late 60s Asheville Tourists (Reds farm club), a late 40s Oakland Oak kids cap and a late 50s White Sox cap (one of the last MLB caps made by Spalding). The White Sox cap was the final one I needed to get all 16 of the original pre-expansion MLB caps.

https://chris-counts.pixpa.com/galleries/gallery-31

That Ft Worth cap is AWESOME!

Chris Counts 01-12-2021 06:06 PM

Thanks Ben, it's sort of a poor man's Brooklyn Dodgers cap, right down to the white button on top. I don't suspect Rex Barney was too happy to wear it, though, back in 1951. I looked him up, and he pitched just 14 innings for Ft. Worth, and walked 39 batters. Considering he threw very hard and batting helmets were only beginning to be used, it must have been frightening to face him as batter.

Huysmans 01-13-2021 06:43 AM

While I can appreciate the MLB caps...
Does anyone have any 19th century pillbox or early-1900s specimens they can post?

.... I'd post 'em if I had 'em.

perezfan 01-14-2021 02:16 AM

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Huysmans (Post 2055451)
While I can appreciate the MLB caps...
Does anyone have any 19th century pillbox or early-1900s specimens they can post?

.... I'd post 'em if I had 'em.

Here's a few, if you don't mind risking a stiff neck....

Pillbox
Boater style
Jockey style
Boston style
Short Brim

GaryPassamonte 01-14-2021 03:51 AM

Wow, Mark! Great caps.

Huysmans 01-14-2021 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by perezfan (Post 2055779)
Here's a few, if you don't mind risking a stiff neck....

Pillbox
Boater style
Jockey style
Boston style
Short Brim

Spectacular as always Mark, and I hope all is well with you lately. I love the green piping on the short brim. Great caps!


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