Vintage Caps

[DirtyT]

Hello all,

As my collecting interests continue to evolve I constantly try to find new things that excite me.

I was going through an auction catalog recently and noticed a couple vintage game worn caps being sold and started thinking about how cool it would be to start collecting them.

However, it seems as if caps from some of the bigger names of the 20’s and 30’s are nearly non-existent nowadays. I think I was actually able to find more jersey sales than cap sales which blew my mind.

So for those of you who have been in this hobby for awhile, how often do caps from this era usually come up for sale? Assuming I’d like to build a decent sized collection with some big names, would this be a foolish area to enter into considering their scarcity?

[perezfan]

It's a great area to collect! They do show up in many of the auctions. For vintage game-used caps, I would put these AHs at the top of the list...

Hunt
REA
Lelands
Goldin
SCP
Huggins & Scott

I collect game used caps, in two ways.... Star Players and "Type" Caps. The type caps are fun to collect, just to own some long-defunct and cool styles. So instead of collecting the player, you're going after rare types. Thus, it could have been worn by an unknown or a common player.

Like any other segment, you must educate yourself. New Era Caps (for example) were available to the general public in addition to MLB Players/Coaches. So for anything post 1972 or so, you must be careful. I'd only look at Caps with solid provenance, if early 1970s or newer.

Pre-1970s, you'll see many caps from Wilson, McAuliffe/KM, Rawlings and Spalding. It helps to know which teams wore which brands for the era in question. This just comes from experience, but any reputable auction house like those listed above should at least steer you in the right direction.

Best of luck!

[Chris Counts]

Hi, the first thing I would do is check out this great site: http://www.mlbcollectors.com/MLBcapindex.php

Next, I would be skeptical of whatever a seller tells you, and that includes auction houses. The truth is, there are very few experts when it comes to caps. I would ask for good photos, and look for repairs on the bill. The bills can be tricky — those from the 1950s and 1960s have a stiff liner that cracks, and then the bill loses its shape. I've also seen some pretty sloppy repairs of bills. I've noticed that bills with missing threads often have problems. Whatever you do, don't flex the bill of an old cap you just bought.

Yes, it is tough to find pre-1970 game used or game issued caps. Still, I've found quite a few nice ones on eBay at very fair prices — and a couple were flat-out steals.

I started collecting caps about three years ago when I bought an old collection, and I've been adding to it ever since. Here they are ...

https://imageevent.com/ccmcnutt/vint...0&m=24&w=0&p=0

I picked up this 1954-55 Orioles cap off eBay just a couple weeks ago ...

[ooo-ribay]

Great site and great collection, Chris!

[DirtyT]

Mark and Chris, that is some great information! Thank you both.

I am curious, how often do caps from HOF level players of the 20s and 30s come up for sale?

I noticed that with pre-1940 caps many of them have the player’s name sewn into the inside band similar to jerseys which is very nice. However it appears that this practice stopped sometime in the 50s.

It seems like it would be pretty risky to purchase a cap from a HOF level player when the only evidence to go off of is the player’s uniform number written in marker under the brim no?

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by DirtyT

Mark and Chris, that is some great information! Thank you both.

I am curious, how often do caps from HOF level players of the 20s and 30s come up for sale?

I noticed that with pre-1940 caps many of them have the player’s name sewn into the inside band similar to jerseys which is very nice. However it appears that this practice stopped sometime in the 50s.

It seems like it would be pretty risky to purchase a cap from a HOF level player when the only evidence to go off of is the player’s uniform number written in marker under the brim no?

Very true. Mears will quite often authenticate them with just the number written under the brim. Of course they'll also verify that the tagging, size, manufacturer, etc. are all correct for the era. Sometimes they'll even state that the writing under the brim is a known style.

But to me there's still a leap of faith to make the attribution. Especially with Caps of high-profile players.

As for the other stuff... Yes, late 1940s - early 50s is the time-frame that the embroidered players' names had disappeared from the sweat bands. And bonafide Caps of 1920s - 30s star players rarely surface. I agree that jerseys from that era turn up more frequently than caps for some odd reason.

[Chris Counts]

I'm especially wary of caps attributed to stars. It seems like every other Pirates cap belonged to Clemente, or every other Yankee cap was Mantle's. As for embroidered names, I don't have single one in my collection, but I have a couple with embroidered numbers and cap sizes stitched into the leather liners.