Che Guevara and the Yankees

 

In my local paper today, buried on the back pages, is an article about the death of Che Guevara.  It appears to mark the 50 year anniversary of his death. 

 

 

 


On October 9, 1967, it states that Guevara was "summarily executed by Sgt. Jaime Teran. in La Higuera, Bolivia."  Guevara's last words were, "Shoot, you are only going to kill a man!"

This post is not to  praise or to vilify Che.

It's about my brief time in Cuba in 2009 when I traveled there on an educational trip and confirmed what I already knew about the New York Yankees.

I had packed 15 to 20 authentic and snapback baseball caps of the Phillies, Red Sox, and Yankees to give away to the Cuban children that I would be meeting.

I was also hoping to trade for an authentic Cuban Baseball cap of one of their many teams.  Notice I did not say professional teams, because I learned that Fidel Castro banned all professional sports after the revolution of 1953-59.

My hypothesis was confirmed, as when I offered any age islander their choice of any of my caps, the first pick was always the Yankees.  Through an interpreter, three or four people referred to the "NY" logo as the "New York City Yankees."

 It did not even matter if the cap fit them or not, they wanted the "New York City Yankees."

The Boston Red Sox were the second favorite and the Phillies third.

I have a feeling my "experiment" would yield the same results in just about any country outside of the U.S.

Like it or not, this logo is iconic and known worldwide.

 

As for my quest for an authentic Cuban baseball cap, I did have one...briefly.

It was a red cap with a logo similar to the picture on the right.  I was told it was a University of Havana sports cap.

Upon my return to the U.S., I had to go through immigration in Philadelphia.  I did not lie and indicated that I had traveled to Cuba.

Most of my souvenirs such as books, papers, and yes...the cap were confiscated.





Cosby Sporting Goods

In 1982, on my first trip to Madison Square Garden in New York City, I had a life changing experience.

It wasn't the skyscrapers  that left the indelible memory.

It was a sporting goods store that had more baseball caps than I had ever seen.

 I don't have the caps that I bought that day.

What was the store?  Cosby's Sporting Goods.

Here are the only two Cosby caps that I have in my collection.

I believe they were made by the Devon Cap Company because of this emblem...

Every Cosby cap has this logo on the inside..as does every Devon cap that I own.

But who is Gerry Cosby?

I assumed that he played for the New York Rangers.

Wrong!!

The internet tells me he was an American hockey player who played goaltender for the 1933 World Champion Massachusetts Rangers.  He was a practice goaltender for the New York Rangers in the 1930's.

He founded his sporting goods company in the late 1930's and its headquarters was Madison Square Garden.

Mr. Cosby passed away in 1996.

The Roman Pro Cap Company

The first Roman Pro Caps sported a black tag on the sweat band.

I think of the Roman Pro Cap Company as the offspring of McAuliffe and KM Pro.

And the cousin of Devon Cap Co..

The internet tells me that KM Pro went out of business in 1976.

Roman Art Embroidery was doing the artwork for KM for years.

Inventory and machinery were purchased from KM Pro and Roman Pro was born.

     Roman Pro was the official supplier of on the field caps for the following teams:

     Atlanta Braves         1981-82

     Baltimore Orioles    1978-80  (This is my favorite Roman cap)

     Boston Red Sox      1977-78

     Chicago White Sox    1977-78

     Houston Astros       1978

     L.A. Dodgers          Early 80's

     Milwaukee Brewers    1977-79

     Montreal Expos       1977-78

     N.Y.  Mets             1978

     N.Y.  Yankees         1977

     San Francisco Giants    1983

Remember, Roman Pro bought some of the inventory and equipment from KM Pro.....

On the left is a 1976 KM Pro and 1977 Roman on the right.

and this is the inside of that Roman Pro Cap.....the famous KM Pro "zig zag."

Notice the difference in the logo?

1975 KM Pro on the left, 1977 Roman Pro on the right.

KM Pro stopped using Roman Art after 1975 according to MLB Collectors.com.

1990's Roman Tag

Roman Pro Cap Company was the exclusive provider of Cooperstown Collection Caps in the 80's

On the left is the 70's on-field model, on  the right is the Cooperstown Collection from the 80's.

Not very similar,  and look closely at the color in between the M on each cap.

Before closing, Roman Pro made some unique fitteds in 1994.

Hellbender

The Hellbender

In my local paper today is a feature on this creature...

 What the hell is this? 

The paper tells me that it is an aquatic species of a salamander.

This creature has Minor league logo and mascot written all over it.

Where does the Hellbender live?

They are unique to the eastern United States, particularly in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the Carolinas.

Brandiose...are you reading this?

Williamsport Crosscutters?

This is a guaranteed moneymaker.