1900's ads for Pillbox Hats, Ring bats and Bib jerseys
 

...or photos showing the same, that can be definitively dated.

Show them. I'll start gathering scans later today and post them here.

Edited: What the heck, here's a good one. Based on the Governor's presence (right), this is definitely 1920's. It doesn't make pillbox hats any less rare...or hopefully valuable, since I have one, but I still probably should have burned this evidence:

Judging by all of the different styles of hats in that photo, perhaps the pillboxes are old hand-me-downs ;)

I think it's called 'new old-stock'. Grandpa: "Hey guys - I found this box of brand-new pillbox hats I forgot to sell back in the 1800's." Only a few really cheap players took him up on his offer.

Here's an 1890s photo with a guy in a Bib Uniform. This may have been a teammate of Zane Grey. (I no longer own this photo, sold it years ago)

<a href="http://s22.photobucket.com/user/nudan92/media/xItems%20that%20have%20been%20sold/DelphosRedsSmall.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/nudan92/xItems%20that%20have%20been%20sold/DelphosRedsSmall.jpg" border="0" alt="c1890s Delphos Reds Cabinet of David Tipton photo DelphosRedsSmall.jpg"/></a>

Here is a link to the Delphos team that I believe has Grey in it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mgrone/12247739666/

Searching for low-hanging fruit on my cabinets web-page, I found this one. I don't even know what to make of some of the stuff these two are wearing:

http://www.t206themonster.com/cabinets/cab2BIKE.JPG

As Im told Pillbox hats!

c1900

<a href="http://s22.photobucket.com/user/nudan92/media/1878-1946%20Lincoln%20Baseball/1890scabinet2.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/nudan92/1878-1946%20Lincoln%20Baseball/1890scabinet2.jpg" border="0" alt="1890s Lincoln YMCA photo 1890scabinet2.jpg"/></a>

I was writing a story on George Halas, football's "Papa Bear" and his time playing for the Staley baseball team and needed photo reference for the accompanying illustration. After much research I finally tracked a yard long of the team down and they were wearing the pillbox style caps. This was taken in the early 1920's and I thought that quite odd as the style seemed to have been way out of fashion by then.

Great photos guys!