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Showing posts with the label Made in U.S.A.

Albuquerque Isotopes (Colorado Rockies colorway)

My posts ahead of Labor Day Weekend from the past two years have both been  Ebbets Field Flannels  retros of caps worn by the  Denver Bears  during different eras of their existence. My reason for highlighting Denver is as a tribute to Phish's annual run of shows which have taken place there over the holiday weekend yearly since 2011, with the exception of 2020 as their entire summer tour had to be canceled due to the pandemic. Onto happier times now and even though I am not there to witness it, I can thankfully follow along from home via webcast and can confirm that Phish is poised to bring the goods over this four-night run. Because I have now written about all my Denver Bears caps, I need to pivot to Denver-adjacent caps with an Albuquerque Isotopes in a Colorado Rockies colorway. When the partnership between the Rockies and Albuquerque began in 2015, I was finally able to stop mentally associating the Pacific Coast League city with the Los Angeles Dodgers who were their parent

2018 Uni Watch Classic Cap (Ebbets Field Flannels)

In all the years posting on this blog, I have never done any sort of Veterans Day post which I think is somewhat of a shame considering my hometown Virginia Beach is mere minutes away from  Naval Station Norfolk which is  the world's largest naval base.  Whether I was seeing the Tidewater Tides play or just out and about in town, uniforms were a regular sight growing up! Perhaps the reason for not having done a dedicated post is that I do not own any of the "Armed Forces Day" hats so while I do not have a military uniform themed cap, what I do have is a sort of meta-uniform cap by way of Paul Lukas's Uni Watch Blog which if we are being honest is a big reason why my blog exists. Obsessing over the nuances of uniforms is a tale as old as time. Lukas worked with Ebbets Field Flanels to create this cap featuring the design prowess of Bryan Molloy in this now-iconic cap logo of winged stirrups. Even though this week's cap is not a military-themed cap, the pride of o

1947 Reno Silver Sox (EFF Retro)

The 2023 MLB season concluded with the Texas Rangers defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks to clinch the franchise's first World Series championship this past Wednesday, November 1. As a San Francisco Giants fan, I am thrilled Bruce Bochy led the Rangers to win it all during his first year managing since coming out of his brief retirement which began ahead of the 2020 season. Another point of elation—albeit on a more petty level— is that the Diamondbacks suffered the loss at home in front of their fans although the crowd reaction in Arizona when the Rangers scored made me forget which team was on the road. Nevertheless, the 2024 season will be here soon enough and I have high hopes for Bob Melvin's first year managing the Giants. My ideal scenario would be Melvin and Bochy squaring off in the World Series but those are the types of ambitions one can really only have a few days into the offseason during that time when every team has a shot. Once the chips start falling in the free

2020 Clearwater Threshers Alternate (Shark Awareness Day) - Fresh Fitted Friday!!!!

I have written about many cities who have hosted teams for mulitple decades but today's Clearwater Threshers hat marks the first time that I've featured this longtime Philadelphia Phillies farm club, which has been their Single-A affiliate in the Florida State League since 1985. I alluded to wanting a Threshers cap in my Rancho Cucamonga Temblores post  in September 2020 but I made sure not to specify which one exactly because I knew even back then how special this cap was. I wasn't about to ruin my chances at getting it by blabbing about it then but now that I actually it own the time is right to spread the word! It is surprising how much I like this cap because despite being hopelessly anamored with the ocean, I am irrationally averse to sharks. I grew up up near a beach and remember the terror I felt when while swimming in the ocean I would randomly think of the tiny possibility of that a shark was nearby. Well, today is Shark Awareness Day so I figure it is time to face

1978 Tacoma Yankees Retro - Fresh Fitted Friday!!!

This week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection is a 1978 Tacoma Yankees retro that continues the "Washington" theme of last week's Presidents Day post because, well Tacoma is in State of Washington state.  I picked this hat because today is February 24 and fans of the show Twin Peaks widely recognize this date to be the one where Agent Cooper came to the fictional town in Washington to investigate the death of Laura Palmer. The lettering here is a little more rigid than I would expect to see on a Yankees-affiliated hat but I still prefer the resemblance of Kanji characters on this hat over the disjointed look of the old Tampa Yankees cap logo . I love that there was no requirement for this cap to feature a batterman or New Era flag but most of all I'm glad to have purchased from Hat Club in June 2018, well before New Era closed its last US-based factory in Derby, NY.  I also like how extra on the Kelly this cap goes. It's perfect for St. Patrick's Day which I

1998-2002 Jupiter Hammerheads - Fresh Fitted Friday

It's the third Friday in April and folks, I'm here to tell you that I'm not done playing tricks on you yet as I've got a snapback for this week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection! I'll get to this week's hat and the inspiration behind choosing it shortly but first I want say I've been giving serious thought to the topic of last week's post and I'm starting to really think it just makes more sense to celebrate the new year in April when Spring has begun rather than during the dead of winter. Another reason to shift the beginning of the year to April is it will then coincide with the start of the MLB season. That particular argument only holds in the northern hemisphere however because the Australian Baseball League season tends to kick off in early-to-middle of November and usually ends near the halfway point in February. I've mentioned in previous Australia Day posts that I share a birthday with the official national day of Australia and I trul

1958 Hiroshima Carp (Ebbets Field Flannels)

I wouldn’t fault you if you considered me choosing a Virginia team’s cap for last week’s National Maryland Day post to be a sort of preemptive April Fools’ Day gag however I assure you that was not my intention! I stand by last week’s hat actually being on-topic but can still understand if you thought it preposterous. Whether you appreciated the interstate tie-in or not, hopefully you’ll get a kick out of the 1958 Hiroshima Carp retro from Ebbets Field Flannels that I’ve selected for this week’s Fresh Fitted Friday post. I'm not usually too crazy about the felt logos from Ebbets but the serifs combined with the chunky lettering here is very unique so I'm all for it.  The Made in U.S.A. quality from Ebbets is unrivaled. I try to always mention that when . I'm not sure if it's the lighting or what but the satin undervisor here looks extra special here. As one might have come to expect, a bit of backstory will be needed to explain this week’s hat once again! I’m not sure

Richmond Virginians (1955 Ebbets Field Flannels Retro)

In the spirit of being transparent from the start, I am compelled to disclose I had to reach a bit for a hat to match today's holiday which is National Maryland Day . I must admit when it comes to Maryland, my cap coffers are rather bereft so I opted for one worn by the Richmond Virginians which was a team in the neighboring state of… you guessed right, Virginia! Researching the history of baseball in Maryland led me down a few potential caps for this post but I was most surprised with Richmond's past being very much intertwined with both of the minor league iterations of the Baltimore Orioles. The first concerted effort between the two cities occurred in 1915 when the International League Orioles temporarily moved from Baltimore to Richmond because despite fielding a club featuring a hometown talent by the name of Babe Ruth, were unable to compete with the popularity of the Baltimore Terrapins of a newly created  outlaw "third major league" called the  Federal League

1989-92 Elmira Pioneers

I’m back on a vintage kick for this week’s Fresh Fitted Friday post which is inspired by today, March 11, being Johnny Appleseed Day. The obvious logo to showcase on this holiday would be the home cap that the Fort Wayne TinCaps have worn since their inaugural season in 2009 however I decided to go in a different direction this time around. Just for some background, the TinCaps logo features an angry apple wearing a cooking pot as a reference to Johnny Appleseed who for some reason wore one on his head as well. I’ve always thought the design was fun but held out on acquiring one for the collection because I was hoping there would one day be a version that incorporated a baseball or bat into the motif. Well, here we are all these years later on Johnny Appleseed Day and I don’t have the one cap that was inspired by this great American nurseryman pioneer! Nevertheless, I won’t let that sink my spirits because I recently got my hands on an Elmira Pioneers cap from the Boston Red Sox era th