As I mentioned last week, it was hard for me to take a break from the "Houston Astros Minor League Cap Extravaganza" but now that I've secured this Osceola Astros cap as the latest installment in the series, I also need to share a valuable piece of knowledge regarding Florida's geography that you might not know: there is not a city in Florida named Osceola.
From 1985-2016, the Houston Astros made their Spring Training home at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, Florida. It's now home field to the Florida Fire Frogs of the Florida State League and from 1985-1994, it was home to the Osceola Astros (who later became the Kissimmee Cobras) as well as various Gulf Coast League affiliates over the years.
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| The O-Astros used this cap logo without much variation from their inaugural year in 1985 until their rebranding as the Kissimmee Cobras in 1995. For this reason it's foolish to try to assign a year to it but if I had to guess, I'd say it's from the later end of that range. |
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| My belief that this cap is from the final years of the O-Astros era is supported by the crown's interior white taping which resembles the 1994 San Jose Giants cap that I wrote about almost two years ago. |
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| I'll never cease to be amazed when rare hats like this remain unscathed for over twenty years. I don't say this enough but it's a true pleasure to hunt for these rare beauties and write about them. |
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| José Canó had a long, yet sporadic career and while he's not a well known ballplayer, you might have heard of his son, Robinson Canó, who is the second baseman for the Seattle Mariners. |
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| Watching Kenny Lofton play was fun and I'm bummed that he never got voted into to the Hall of Fame. He spent his fourth year of professional baseball as a member of the Osceola Astros. |
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| Bobby Abreu's career statistics are worthy of Hall of Fame consideration.This 1993 Fleer Pro-Cards baseball card shows a 19 year old Abreu already in his third professional season. |
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