Seeing info or feedback on mystery Reds cap
 

Here's a perplexing cap I recently found on eBay. The seller said it's a 1951 game used Ted Kluszewski Reds cap, but I'm certain that isn't possible, mostly because the McAuliffe tag shown here was first used in 1958, the year after Big Klu was traded away by the Reds. According to someone who understands the construction of these caps better than I do, this cap was made in the late 50s or early 1960s. The side stripes could have been inspired by the those on the 1957 Cubs caps (the Senators did the same with red stripes in the mid-1960s). My guess is that this is a prototype for a Reds cap that was never used. The Reds made many subtle changes to their caps during this era, and since McAuliffe made more caps than anybody during this time, the company likely would have sent samples to the Reds, which had used McAuliffe caps from 1954 to 1956. It would not surprise me that the cap companies were making their own prototypes to impress potential customers.

Has anybody ever seen a photo of a Reds player wearing this style cap? So far I haven't found anything, but I did discover the that Reds actually created an all-Red uniform as a prototype around 1956.

Don't know but any chance Reds coaches wore these, and not the players? Also, I suppose this cap may have been made for a college or minor league team not affiliated with the Reds at all.

Man, that's a cool looking cap, Chris!

I wish I could say I've seen an image of it somewhere, but I have not. That wishbone "C" looks sure like a Reds example though. I bet it's a prototype or salesman's sample of some type.

For the record, I have a G/U Reds Cap that came directly from Jim Greengrass. The wishbone "C" is embroidered in chenille style, similar to the Phillies Jerseys of the era (with the "loopy" embroidery). It is a vintage New Era example, so the Reds did apparently experiment around a bit.

I would contact Dave Grob. If anyone has an answer, it would probably be Dave. But regardless of what you find out, that is one killer cap!

Thanks for the comments,

I realize it is possible that this design was done for someone other than a major league team.

Mark, since you mentioned the Phillies, here's another mystery cap that I suspect is a prototype. This one, which is made by New Era, comes from around 1970 — just as the Phillies were making changes to their caps and jerseys for the first time since 1950.

That's awesome. IMHO, the Phillies should have gone with that style over the abstract "P" they ultimately settled on.