I'm back on the nostalgia tip with this week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection which is a Mitchell & Ness retro of the cap the San Diego Padres wore in the early 1980s. That was a great time in my childhood for many reasons but mostly because my baby sister had just recently been born. Plus, I was also just starting to develop interests…such as baseball!
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| The Padres have recently recommitted to the brown and yellow colorway full-time for their current uniforms and even though I'm certain New Era won't be able to get the logo right, I'd love to see the "Taco Bell" caps make an appearance at some point. |
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| My first ever Mitchell & Ness post happened with my Pre-1974 Buffalo Bills - Mitchell & Ness Retro post earlier this year but this is my first write-up for a baseball cap made by the legendary company |
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| Am I crazy for wanting to maybe slap on a patch of a smiling mouth so that it looks like the back of the cap is giving you a weird look when you're looking at it? Ok, yeah, I thought so. |
Another reason this cap is special is because my earliest influence on this site is The Ballcap Blog which is run by Paul Carr who is the cap collecting community's foremost expert on the history of San Diego Padres caps and nothing proves that more than the wealth of knowledge found in this post from 2010: The San Diego Padres "Taco Bell" Caps
I've leaned heavily on that blog for inspiration here and just knowing that we're both still around ten years later is such a great feeling. Also, the proliferation of current day caps using the "bell" element in their designs is something that I believe The Ballcap Blog had a part in and I hope the trend continues.
There are many reasons why this cap is so special to me but the most timely one is that this coming Sunday is Father's Day which as tradition has it is a time to celebrate our Padres or as the definition of that term continues to evolve, whoever it is that you view as a paternal figure.
I hope everyone reading this enjoys spending time with and/or reflecting upon the amazing folks that have played a part in shaping the person you are today and that you'll come back next week as I've got a fun cap at the ready for y'all.
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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