National League Caps
The first group displayed here are Cincinnati Reds caps, including (from the left) a 1954-55 New Era worn by pitcher Howie Judson, a 1957-60 Wilson road cap, a 1942 Goldsmith worn by pitcher Ray Starr, a c. 1950 MacGregor-Goldsmith, a 1953 MacGregor worn by pitcher Cliff Ross, a 1954-55 McAuliffe, a one-year style 1959 Wilson home cap with pinstripes and an embroidered wishbone "C," worn by pitcher Jim Bailey, an early 1960s Wilson home cap, a 1965 New Era road cap worn by pitcher Roger Craig, a mystery prototype made by McAuliffe in the 1960s, a c. 1970 Wilson cap, a 1975-76 KM Pro cap possibly worn by Johnny Bench, and a 1970s New Era cap.
Over the course of less than two decades, the Braves played in three cities. The first cap below was made by Wilson around 1950, when the Braves played in Boston, and came from manager Billy Southworth's estate. The next cap, which dates from 1958-59, and was made by Wilson, was worn and signed by outfielder Andy Pafko when the team played in Milwaukee. The next five are Atlanta Braves caps — the first was used in 1966-67 (Wilson), the second comes from 1968-70 (Wilson), and the third cap was worn from 1972-80 (New Era). The last two caps are home and road caps from the early 1980s (New Era).
Baseball's greatest rivalry (sorry Yankees and Red Sox) started in New York City, and continues today in California — the Dodgers and the Giants have been battling it out since 1889. Pictured here is an early 1940s Spalding Brooklyn Dodgers cap (possibly worn by Chuck Dressen), a mid-1940s Rawlings Brooklyn Dodgers cap, a late 1940s Wilson Brooklyn Dodgers cap, a 1960s McAuliffe Los Angeles Dodgers cap, a 1970s KM Pro Los Angeles Dodgers cap, a mid-1940s Goldsmith New York Giants cap, a late 1940s New York Giants Spalding cap, an early 1950s New York McAuliffe Giants cap, an early 1960s McAuliffe San Francisco Giants cap, an early 1970s KM Pro San Francisco Giants cap worn by catcher Dave Rader, and a late 1970s New Era San Francisco Giants cap.
This display shows the evolution of the St. Louis Cardinals cap from around 1950, when the crown was navy and the bill was red, to 1956, when the bill becomes navy and the logo is outlined in white, to 1965, when the cap became red. The first two were made by McAuliffe, while third one was made by Rawlings, and worn and signed by coach and former player Johnny Hopp. Made by New Era, the next one comes from the late 1960s, when the Cardinals were arguably the best team in baseball. The last one shown here was made by KM Pro in the early 1970s.
This group includes caps worn by three of the National League's oldest teams, the Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies. The first one pictured here (made by Spalding) comes from spring training 1937 (which the Cubs held on Catalina Island off the Southern California coast) and was worn by Joe Marty. None of the trio switched up their cap designs too much in the 1950s and 1960s, although the latter two made big changes in 1970. The first Cubs cap comes from 1936 and was worn by Joe Marty, likely in spring 1937. It was made by Spalding. The other Cubs caps were made by Wilson, and the first one was worn by outfielder Bob Talbot in the early 1950s. The first Pirates cap (early '60s) was made by Rawlings, and the second two (late '60s and early '70s) were manufactured by New Era. The last Pirates cap, from the early 1970s, was made by KM Pro. The Phillies caps were all produced by Wilson. Included here is a c. 1950 cap with a patch, and a mystery Phillies cap with an odd "P" that looks like a prototype.
The expansion era brought the New York Mets and the Houston Astros to the National League in 1962, as well as the Montreal Expos and the San Diego Padres in 1969. Included here is a mid-60s Mets cap (McAuliffe), a 1965 Astros cap worn and signed by Don Larsen (New Era), a rare mid-1960s strap back cap made by the Harry Walker cap company, likely at the time when Walker was managing the team, early 1970s Astros caps made by KM Pro and New Era, an early 1970s Expos cap (KM Pro), an early 1970s Padres cap (KM Pro), a 1971 one-year-only Padres road cap (KM Pro), a late 1970s "Taco Bell" cap (New Era), and an early 1980s "Taco Bell" cap (New Era).
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