When I began posting about my caps back in August 2011, there were only a few sites out there dedicated to the hobby of collecting but two posts that I was thrilled to come upon in those early days were Paul Carr's The Chronology of New Era Cap Tags: A Guide and The San Diego Padres "Taco Bell" Caps.
Over the years, Paul has since added more brilliant blog entries in his "Taco Bell" series and even worked with Ebbets Field Flannels to create a retro of the 1978 Reno Silver Sox cap which was the focus of his Minoring in Taco Bell post. Also in that time, I as well have endeared myself to this wacky style enough to run for the border to join in the "Taco Bell" fun when possible!
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| I chose the Reno Silver Sox retro to be this week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection to continue in that paternal theme that I started in my only previous "Father's Day" post which as it happens was for a Early 1980s San Diego Padres "Taco Bell" write-up back in 2021. |
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| I love the vintage vibe provided by the white sweatband and kelly green undervisor. |
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| Here's a good view of how that sweatband and undervisor look with that classic brown crown! |
I do not have a vintage version of this cap but knowing Paul Carr's strong attention to detail, I imagine the wool used on this cap is as close to the original as possible. As much as I appreciate the soft broadcloth Ebbets uses on most of its "Vintage Authentic" caps, the contemporary high crown construction on their 1970s/1980s retros is top notch as well.
Ebbets has recently launched their "Vintage Minor League" collection which aims to get these classic logos from those not-as-distant decades back into the hands of collectors. These ballcaps are going to be especially well-received by enthusiasts of patches and/or snapbacks but collectors in search of 1:1 designs might feel left by the minor variances to the originals.
The $34.99 price tag on those caps is appealing so I might pick up a Vermont Mariners which is one logo that I do not recall ever having seen getting the retro treatment at Ebbets or anywhere else for that matter! Back onto the topic of Padres, they have a few styles available for the Walla Walla Padres and Las Vegas Stars however none got the "Taco Bell" treatment.
I am holding out hope that Ebbets' recent partnership with Lids might enable them to ramp up production on more "premium" retro releases of time-honored minor league logos in the coming future. For the time being, these recent collections are giving folks the opportunity to acquire designs that are difficult to come by so I would say that is a pretty big win for collectors.
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. If you'd like to discuss a trade or simply just chat about hats, please feel free to connect via the following social sites:
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