[Runscott]

Caution - very esoteric.

This just arrived and I couldn't be more pleased. It's a Dobbs Fifty (cost $50) that was given to the Yankees' Bob Muncrief during Spring Training in 1951.

I have seen three of these auctioned - each was described either as a hat presented to the Yankee players because they won the World Series in 1951, or as something the player could order instead of a ring. Ridiculous.

The fact is that Yankee co-owner Del Webb switched spring training locations with the Giants in 1951, so that Webb could show off his team to his buddies in Phoenix. There are a couple of photos showing Yogi Berra wearing his hat, and also one of the entire team.

I used to collect and restore fedoras, and the 'Dobbs 50' was one of the plushest hats ever made, so I had to have it. The confusion over origin and the fantasy reconstruction of history surrounding these hats, is due to the stamping in the sweatband, which, after the player's name, reads: "N.Y. Yankees World Champions' on the second line, with 1951 under the word 'champions'. But it also reads 'In Phoenix, Arizona' to the left of '1951'. Muncrief took great care of his hat, probably because it had references to a great team, along with his name, and his involvement with them was minuscule - 2 games, 3 innings in 1951, then he was gone from baseball. He just caught a glimpse of the beginning of the Mantle years.

How is that for esoteric?