The History of the Baseball Cap

On April 24, 1849, the New York Knickerbockers adopted the first official baseball uniform, along with the first baseball hat. These first baseball hats were made out of straw. A few years later, the baseball hat was made out of wool with a visor; however, many players still wore all sorts of hats including jockey caps, boating hats and even bicycling caps. In the 1860s, the Brooklyn Excelsiors wore a hat similar to what we know as today’s baseball hat with a rounded crown and a large visor. The pillbox-style hat, with a flat-top and short visor, followed in the 1870s but was short-lived.

By the1900s, different style baseball hats were emerging in the market, and logos and images were appearing on the baseball hat. In 1903, Spalding introduced the “Philadelphia Style” baseball hat, with the first-ever stitched visor. The subtle stitching helped the baseball hat last longer and retain its shape. This stitching is still prevalent on baseball hats today.

The last big league club to don a baseball hat without a letter or logo on the front was the St. Louis Browns in 1945.

By the late 1970s and early 80s, the baseball hat gained rapid popularity in the general public. It is known as the most popular type of cap in the United States as well as many countries around the world.

In 2005, Annie Sumang launched her line of designer baseball caps for women, girls, and infants. Like the original baseball hat for athletes, these couture caps are designed to protect your face from the sun’s harmful ultra violet rays. But unlike those first baseball hats that branded players as part of a particular team, the Annie Sumang baseball cap gives women a sense of personal style, branding them as unique individuals.

Sources: wikipedia.org; Christian Science Monitor