Minor League Caps

     When I was much younger, when dad would say that we could go to a ballgame on the week end and would give me a choice between a minor or major league game, he knew the answer.

     We were going to a major league game every time.  However, with age, has come a  change of heart and my first choice is definitely a minor league game.
 
     At the minor league level, I prefer the price, easy ability to get a ticket and sit closer to the field, player interaction and the wide variety of caps that are available, especially the promotions.

     Here are a few of my favorites, so far, in this young minor league season:

Asheville "Beer City" Tourists

    
Asheville Tourists

Class "A" affiliate of the Colorado Rockies since 1994

If you would like to purchase, 

Tourists Team Store


"Beer City Tourists" cap which is USA made and the crown is very wearable

     For one day, which coincided with National Craft Beer Week, they were the "Beer city Tourists" and wore this cap on the field..

    Why not cash in?  I also learned that they have the trademark and were the first minor league team to host "Thirsty Thursday" in the early 80's.

      Brian Dewine, President of the Tourists, filled me in on the ideas behind the promotion:

Where did the idea come from?

Brainstorming idea…lots of teams change their nicknames for one day, but we decided to change our city name for one day.

Why Beer City?

Buncombe County where Asheville is located is home to 24 craft breweries; both big (Sierra Nevada & New Belgium)  and small. Our area has nearly 50 breweries.  Voted Beer City USA multiple times.

How many caps were ordered?

We do not release ordering history

Do you try to get domestic or foreign made caps for your special event caps?

Leave that up to the manufacturer (New Era)

Who designed the logo for the cap?

Brandiose designed our Thirsty Thursday logo a few years ago. The “pint glass A” was taken off of that logo and used for this promotion.

Were there other designs considered for the cap logo?

no

How popular/successful is the promotion so far, I believe the game is not until June.

Very..sold out of initial cap order in three days. Sold out of t-shirts in a week. More have been ordered.

Sunday Brunch Cap

Richmond Flying Squirrels 

Class "AA" Affiliate of the San Francisco Giants since 2003.

If you would like to purchase:

Squirrels Team Store

Richmond, VA is  the Brunch capital....I didn't know this either, but I love the cap and logo. 




Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs

Class "AAA" Affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies since

2008.

Cheesesteak

Without Onions

USA made with a very wearable crown. 

If  you would like to purchase:

Iron Pigs Team Store

On June 10th, the Iron Pigs will become the "Cheesesteaks". 

According to John Schaffer, Vice President Media and Operations:

"The idea stemmed from the continuation of our popular food theme at Coca-Cola Park as we introduced a bacon logo prior to the 2014 season and though it would be fun and unique to do a Cheesesteaks night for Salute to Philadelphia night this summer. The logo and marks were designed by Brandiose."
                                                                                                 

Cheesesteak

With Onions

  

                               Well done Iron Pigs!!

Instantly Iconic



Brilliant.

Do you see why?

     In 1981, the New Era Cap Company put the official MLB logo on a cap for the first time.

     Well,  I should clarify this.  New Era put the logo on the inside of the cap, where it was sewn onto the sweatband and remained (in different shapes and colors) ever since.



       In 1992, an additional "Batterman" was placed on the back of all the on-field caps worn by MLB players.

      In the beginning of the season, the patch was glued and then sewn on in the later months.

       In 2007,  the on-field caps made by New Era underwent a major change by going from wool to polyester.

     The MLB logo, known as "Batterman", also received an upgrade....he became embroidered.

2007 Phillies Cap

1994 Phillies Cap

                                                      

I had many questions about the logo:

     Who created this logo?  Was it modeled after a certain player?  Did he or she create any other of the MLB Team logos?  Is the batter right or left handed?


     A quick google search provided most of the answers.  "Batterman" was created in 1968 by Jerry Dior while he was working for a New York City marketing firm.

     MLB started using it in 1969. (CBS) It was completed entirely in one afternoon. "Per his instructions, he drew a generic baseball player. (In interviews years later, Mr. Dior stressed that the figure was not modeled after Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew as many people, including Killebrew
 himself, believed.)

    Dior executed the design in Magic Marker, originally making it blue and green before switching to a patriotic palette." (Fox).

     Is the image of a left or right handed batter?

    The answer is both.  "The silhouette was chosen specifically because of its ambiguity: the batter could be right- or left-handed and of any ethnic background".   (Wiki)

    

Jerry Dior passed away on May 10, 2015.

What about Minor League Baseball's logo?  Did Jerry Dior design this logo also?



     When a google search did not yield any results, I reached out to the Office of Minor League Baseball which is located in St. Petersburg, FL. 

     I received a very quick response from Jeff Lantz, Senior Director, Communications:

     "The logo was created in 1992 by Ann Occi who worked for Major League Baseball at the time (we are not sure if there was a model for the image). It first appeared on caps in 1993. 

     The four stars included in the artwork were designed to represent the four classifications of MiLB (Triple A, Double A, Single A, Rookie)."



       It turns out that Anne Occi still works for Major League Baseball and is the VP of Design Service. To my pleasant surprise, she answered the remaining question very quickly: 

      "I did design this logo and it was not modeled after any player."

                                                                                 

Anne Occi

Thank you Anne!



     

Jerry Dior, Designer of Major League Baseball Logo, Dies at 82."CBSSports.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2016. http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/25200306/jerry-dior-designer-of-mlb-logo-passes-away-at-82.

Fox, Margalit. "Jerry Dior, Designer of Major League Baseball’s Logo, Dies at 82." The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 May 2015. Web. 21 May 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/30/sports/baseball/jerry-dior-designer-of-major-league-baseballs-logo-dies-at-82.html?_r=0.


"Major League Baseball Logo." N.p., n.d. Web. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_logo>

1994 New Era 125th Anniversary Pin

         I remember buying New Era caps at my local store in 1994 like it was yesterday.  At the end of my purchase, the salesman would ask, "Son, would you like to purchase the pin to go with it for 1.75?   

      "Absolutely," I replied. 

      In case you are wondering, a 5950 cap was $ 19.95 in 1994. 

     
During this season of Major League Baseball, all players wore the above pin on the back of their caps over the MLB batterman logo.

         More than twenty years later, while  I still have  those caps and pins,  I did not know what New Era was commemorating.....  125th Anniversary of what?

     Well, it turns out that the key is to pay attention to the phrase, "Professional Baseball 125th Anniversary."  New Era would be paying tribute to the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, America's first team of baseball players who were paid to play.


    I had to do a little research about the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings. 
 
   The Red Stockings began play in 1866 as a member of the National Association of Baseball Players (1866-1870).

    In 1869, with ten salaried players, player/manager Harry Wright would lead  the team to a record of 65-0 and turn a very small profit for its investors.

    Shortstop George Wright would earn the highest salary of $1,400.  Adjusted for inflation, that salary would be approximately $ 25, 000 today.

     Players were in their early twenties and came mainly from New York.

     Divisions and Leagues did not yet exist, but games were played between town and club teams. 

     Players did not even wear gloves for fielding! (Vintage Baseball Association)

    As the Cardinals, Pirates, Cubs, and Brewers did not yet exist,  who did they play?  Here is a short summary (Miklich):

4/23/69	defeated Cincinnati Picked Nine	24-15
5/4/69	defeated  Great Western of Cincinnati BBC	45-9
6/8/69	defeated  National of Albany  BBC	49-8
6/10/69	defeated  Boston Commons- Lowell  BBC	29-9
7/30/69	defeated  Cream City of Milwaukee, WI	85-7
8/2/69	defeated  Rockford City of Illinois	28-7
9/25/69	defeated Eagle of San Francisco BBC	35-4
10/12/69	defeated Otoes BBC of Lincoln, Nebraska	56-3
11/4/69	defeated  Cedar Hill-Louisville Picked Nine	34-5

1870 is the end for the Red Stockings

      "The following year, they won another 24 straight games before finally losing 8-7 in 11 innings against the Brooklyn Atlantics on June 14th. Attendance for this game was about 20,000.

      After their first loss, attendance declined substantially and they were disbanded the following year despite only losing 6 games all season." (Hisckey)  The Red Stockings would finish their second season (1870) with a record of 67-6-1.

      Harry Wright would take his best players to the Boston Red Stockings of the newly formed all professional National Association of Professional Baseball Players (NAPBB) also known as the National Association (NA). 

     Boston would win four  championships during the five year history of the league.  (1871-1875).  In 1876, the National League was founded with the American league coming later in 1901.

Legacy

     When reading articles about the 1869 Red Stockings, themes such as club baseball, amateur game, profit, pillbox caps and cricket kept repeating.

     To me, the fact that ten players were paid to play baseball legitimizes the sport and the athletes  -they are professionals- they are the elite and they deserve to be paid. 

      Looking back upon it now, it seems more likely that New Era was "commemorating" their victory over other cap companies (Sports Specialties) as they received a twenty year contract to be the official on-field cap supplier for MLB. 

     This was the first such contract of exclusivity that previous cap suppliers such as McAuliffe, KM Pro, Wilson, and others could not obtain and it is very similar to those players in 1869 who secured a salary to play baseball...something no one else had obtained.

     I believe New Era wanted to legitimize their own position not only with MLB, but as an elite cap maker, deserving of their twenty year contract and deserving a true professional standing above the previous cap makers.