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Showing posts with the label Asheville Tourists

Asheville Yacumamas (Asheville Tourists - Copa de la Diversion)

I'm not sure how this blog has been around for ten years without having done at least one Mother's Day post but that all changes today with this Asheville Yacumamas hat! A  yacumama  is a giant snake-like creature that is believed to inhabit the Amazon Rainforest in Peru and means  "Mother of Water"  i n Quechua,  the indigenous  language spoken in the region. The words  yaku  "water" and mama  "mother" come together to describe what according to the  legend, is responsible for the the creation of all water-based life forms. If you're wondering how a yacumama was chosen as Asheville's identity for the Copa de la Diversion campaign then let me regale you with the Cherokee tale of a giant "leech the size of a house" that resided in the Hiwassee River in Murphy, North Carolina. I mentioned the " Poochie Effect " in last week's Charleston Alley Cats post and  one of the many things I love about the Copa de la Diversion

1983-88 Asheville Tourists

The South Atlantic League celebraish officially "goes to 11" today and I think I'll be wrapping up the series next week as I'm sure everyone is about ready for a new topic. Until then, let's talk about this sweet 1980s Asheville Tourists cap which is all about simplicity —while perhaps even teetering on the edge of basic—  although is a classic nonetheless. A cursory glance of Tourists cards from 1986 and 1987 shows players wearing hats with this week's logo and on a royal blue crown, albeit with a grey underbrim, unlike this week's cap. The navy crown seen on  this  1989-93 Asheville Tourists hat  I wrote about just a little over two years ago proves this cap is from no later than  1988. I had troubling finding Asheville Tourists baseball cards from 1981 through 1985 so I can't say with certainty  the earliest year this cap could be from . The closest thing I could find is this image of former Houston Astros pitcher Charlie Ke

2014 Asheville Tourists Alternate by The Clink Room - Fresh Fitted Friday!!!!

I can't recall when I first saw a cap that was designed by Brandiose but I'm guessing it was the current Asheville Tourists home cap that I picked up in 2014. I think until then I was more into collecting vintage caps but once I acquired my most sought-after logos, I was better equipped to appreciate the recent designs that had come onto the scene. We have seen a great many Asheville Tourists alternates ever since their Brandiose rebrand was pushed live in 2011 but I believe this week's "White-Navy-Light Blue" colorway was done as a custom rather than an on-field. The starry night motif really pops on top of the white panels but I also think the blue stitching along the edges of those panels pops but in a distracting way. This is definitely the oldest cap I've seen with that contrasting stitching so it might be all that nonsense started in 2014. I've got more Asheville caps than any other team but this is my only one with the craftsman-

1989-93 Asheville Tourists Cap

Last week's Tucson Toros cap must have sparked something in me because I'm featuring a classic farm team that was once associated with the Houston Astros here  again this week . My intrigue with the Asheville Tourists began when I first became interested in minor league baseball in the early 1990's and the logo on the cap showcased today is from that time. If you've never seen this logo before, you'd never be able to guess it's an Asheville Tourists cap. I imagine most people will guess that it's a vintage Atlanta Braves hat, which in truth would not be a bad guess at all! The earliest example I can find of this typeface on a Tourists cap is from 1986 but the crown seems to be more of a royal blue. Also, I'm using this card from tradingcarddb.com mainly because the pitcher is showing bunt. This one is also from tradingcarddb.com and I'm showing it because it captures the 80's style racing stripes as well as the logo on a navy cro

2011 Asheville Tourists Cap

I hope y'all didn't think that I'd slack on posting a Fresh Fitted today simply because it's Black Friday as I can assure you that is most certainly not the case. In addition, I hope no one thought they'd be getting two fitteds in some sort of "Black Friday deal" because I can assure you that is not the case either! For this week's Fresh Fitted , I wanted to honor the Thanksgiving theme of stuffing one's face by featuring a variation the Asheville Tourists' Mr. Moon where he is happily chomping on some (what I assume are) BBQ pork ribs. This delectable treat is a staple in Southern cuisine so I appreciate that this hat combines two of my greatest interests: BBQ and baseball.  Brandiose delivered this design as an alternate to the standard  Mr. Moon cap logo,  however I've never seen evidence of the team wearing this cap during a game. I've been waiting a while to remove the tags on this cap but I'll have to find a special home f

2006 Asheville Tourists Snapback

You've probably noticed that I've been on the snapback tip for the past few weeks and it's not just because of the nasty heatwave we've recently experienced here in New York City. You might remember that my selection of the Elmira Pioneers and Spokane Indians caps were symbolic and this week's is no different.  Tomorrow, August 20, is MCA Day at Littlefield in Brooklyn, NY and I'll be wearing this Asheville Tourists hat with the A logo as a sign of respect for the late Adam Yauch. If you happen to be in the NYC area and are looking for something to do that is fun, inspirational and FREE then you should definitely stop by Littlefield anytime from 12-6 PM on Saturday. This is the cap logo that the Tourists wore from 2005-2010 aka the cap's serious period between the solo reign of Ted E. Tourist  and the arrival of  Mr. Moon . There were 15 seasons of this cap logo but wool versions with grey underbrims are rare because of MLB and MILB's tra

2014 Asheville Tourists Cap - Fresh Fitted Friday!!!

I had so much fun last week writing about my vintage Asheville Tourists cap that I decided one post was simply not enough! While last week touched on a vintage cap logo, this week's post features the one they have worn from 2011 through today. What made last week's cap especially fun for me was that I had friends visiting from out of town which meant that I wore it spending all day Saturday in my current home city of New York being a...you guessed it: Tourist!  That symbolism was giggle-worthy when it finally occurred to me and as it happens his week I'm on vacation in Colorado which is one of my former homes as it is the state where I attended university. This only means that it is now my turn to play the part of Tourist in a place that is both familiar and foreign to me! While I'm here, I'll be looking forward to revisiting all of my old haunts and learning about new ones, all while wearing this sweet Asheville Tourists hat that I've had in waiting since 20

Early 1990's Asheville Tourists Cap - Fresh Fitted Friday!!!!

How does that one saying go? " Another week on Baseball Milquetoast, another cap from a South Atlantic League team" ?  Who is that jolly bear carrying a suitcase and a wooden bat? Why that's none other than "Ted E. Tourist" of course. Bonus points because even though he's not a local,  he's at least trying to fit in by wearing a ballcap with an "A" for Asheville rather than some shooby dime-store fedora. It's difficult to pinpoint a year of origin for most Pro-Line caps as they weren't known for varying their sweatband tags from year to year. Still, the placement of these tags looks similar to this Kauai Emeralds cap  that was worn from 1993-1994 as well as this Greensboro Bats cap and this Tucson Toros cap , both from 1996. It's mind-boggling to me that this cap still has the original tags attached to it yet, it is basically old enough to buy itself one of the many different and delicious craft beers brewed in Ashe