After two straight weeks of lacking "fitted" content on the blog, this week's motto is Snaps Ain't Back!!!!
Like most collectors in the cap enthusiast community, my preference is to own a fitted version of a cap but there are times when the retro fitted is not a better option than a true vintage snapback.The caps I've featured the previous two posts are perfect examples of this.
The 1983 Charleston Charlies retro from Ebbets Field Flannels released a few years ago has a logo that is a bit more squat than the one on my cap but more importantly, I would have preferred a nylon material over their standard wool offering in that case. I'm also not even sure if the Charlies had a fitted version of that cap since it was only worn for a year.
The next instance is the immediately noticeable minified Charleston Wheelers logo on Hat Club's retro. This also happened with one of their Portland Rockies releases but then again, these are all such a rare logos that overlooking those discrepancies is totally understandable.
Despite the occasional misstep, the track record for Ebbets and Hat Club is top notch. Each company provides an invaluable service to retro cap collectors and that really shone through in the collaboration between Ebbets and Lids in 2017 which is how I procured the Charleston Alley Cats cap which is this week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection.
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| The team wore this logo from1995 through 2004 which I think was a long enough run without getting too long in the (cat) tooth (biting down on a baseball). |
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| My understanding of MILB licensing is that only New Era is allowed to feature the MILB batterman on caps which is why this Ebbets cap does not feature it. And that's fine by me because while not technically accurate from a historical sense, it's a much cleaner look without it. |
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| That chef white sweatband and crisp grey underbrim on this Alley Cat cap is pure purrrrrfection (I'm sorry.) |
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| I just had to include this Cedric Allen card since it provides a good close up of the logo and also because it looks like this department store portrait photo from the 1980s where toddler Cedric on the right is being held in the arms of adult Cedric on the left. |
I always associate the hopped up cat in this logo with the one in the New Britain Rock Cats cap, which coincidentally or not came out at the same time as this one but stuck around until the team became the Hartford Yard Goats in 2016. The mid-1990s were a ripe time for weirdo cat and dog logos and I discussed this trend in my Rock Cats post from December 18, 2020.
If you're not familiar with "Poochie Effect" vibes I recommend you check out one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons titled The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show and take a minute to appreciate the strength of the "Poochie Effect" on this cap.
This week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection is not going on the Trading Block however please don't hesitate to reach out if you want any other cap from that list and you are willing to part with any of the hats on my Wish List.
As always, thanks for coming back to read about baseball hat geekery. I've got comments disabled here so if you'd like to discuss a trade or simply just chat about hats, please feel free to connect via the following social sites:
Instagram: @baseballmilquetoast
Twitter: @FittedFriday
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