More info about Pillbox Caps

 Every summer I make an annual pilgrimage to Cooperstown, NY to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame.

This was the first time I spent some time in the Giamatti Research Center.

What did I want to learn about?  Pillbox caps.

It's well established that the Cardinals, Expos, Mets, Phillies, Pirates, and  Reds all wore a pillbox  cap at some point in the 1976 season.

Speculation persists that the Giants and Dodgers did as well.

I'll get to my findings shortly.

I want to share what I learned outside of the Hall of Fame.

I recently purchased a Phillies pillbox cap that was made somewhere between 1982 and 87.

The 1976 is on the left and the 80's version on the right.

Notice the difference in the logo?

Each cap has the exact same tag on the inside.

But the button is very different.  The bigger button is the 80's model and this is very significant.

All of my 1976 pillbox caps have the much smaller button on the top.

I see these caps for sale from time to time and they are listed as 1976 pillbox caps.

While the Reds did wear a white pillbox cap on the field, I have yet to see any evidence to prove either of these two caps were ever worn by the players.

Here are the buttons of the Reds and Dodgers caps that clearly reveal that they are mid 80's models.

The batterman logo on the inside of the cap is telling also, it appeared from 1982-87.

And my research at the Giamatti center?

I had to make a reservation at least two weeks in advance and notify them that I wanted to learn about pillbox caps and if they were worn in 1976 and the 1980's.

I looked at hundreds of photos and news articles of the Giants, Reds, and Dodgers from 1976 season as well as the 1980's.

I did not find one player from the above mentioned teams wearing a pillbox cap.

I did find an April 10, 1976 article about the Phillies and the Pirates both wearing pillbox caps for the opening series in Philadelphia.

The administrator at the center, who was very helpful, did tell me that they only have evidence of the Cardinals, Expos, Mets, Phillies, Pirates, and Reds (white version) wearing pillbox caps in 1976. 

Buyer Beware!

When someone is selling a '76 pillbox cap....ask to see the button.

Hall of Fame Caps #1

Here is the first set of photos from my recent trip to The Hall of Fame:

1866 Baseball Club of Baraboo, Wisconsin

Earliest known cap and uniform

The uniform is too interesting not to be shown here.

Virginia Tech cap worn by the Washington Nationals on 4/17/07

Caps did not arrive until the 2nd inning.

2009 All-Star Game cap worn by Carl Crawford.

St. Louis Cardinals

Inaugural Civil Rights cap worn by Adam Wainwright on 3/31/07.

The Price is Right

Come on Down!!

Baseball fans love numbers and statistics.

 BA, ERA, OPS, WHIP and so on.

How about some stats for the caps?

Each cap listed in this post has an SBA of 1,000.

SBA?

Start Biddiing At.1,000 dollars: if you are selling.

If you can buy one for under 1,000...I would take it!

1975 -76 Baltimore Orioles made by AJD.

Terrible logo  but mega rare.

1976 Chicago White Sox made by KM Pro.

Banned by the American League.

Why were the Mets and Red Sox allowed white caps in 1997?

1972 San Diego Padres Sunday Special

My favorite of the "Taco Bell" caps.

I wasn't sure how to conclude this post.

The picture is much better than anything I could come up with.

Rewind: 1987

In 1987, I was fifteen years of age and didn't  know anything.  Now I am 43 and am aware that I don't know anything.

1987 was a very interesting year for MLB caps:

First year for this classic cap, team's first year was 1966 and they wore these colors based upon the Milwaukee Braves color scheme.

1st year of this Chicago White Sox cap and worn until 1989.

1st year of this logo...reminds me of Kirby Puckett and Hefty trash bags.

Roman Pro caps were worn by the New York Yankees in 1987.

The Philadelphia Phillies were the last MLB team to wear Wilson caps on the field in 1987.

These caps were made by ANNCO and this logo and style was worn until 1991.

1987 is very significant for the Pirates.

It is the first year for this cap, as 1976-85 were the pillbox years.

This color style and logo were worn from 1949-1969

Worn by the Seattle Mariners from 1987-92 and made famous by Ken Griffey Jr.

I wore this cap more than any other in the late 80's...and still wear it now.