Named after company founder and early baseball pitching ace Albert Spalding, Spalding was started in 1876 and soon became the leading manufacturer of baseball equipment. Among the company's early innovations were a standardized ball and a modern bat. The company also made caps for many major and minor league league teams, several of which are displayed on this website. Around 1950, Spalding's cap business was purchased by the Leslie Company, which soon partnered with Tim McAuliffe to produce caps. Spalding labels appear from time to time on major league caps as late as the mid-1960s, but they were manufactured by another company.