America's Packard Museum Cap. 100% Cotton One Size Fits All

About America’s Packard Museum Cap

Our cap is part of the great tradition of using baseball caps for everyday wear. But where does the baseball cap cup from? In 1849, the New York Knickerbockers sported the first known baseball caps which were, in fact, made from straw. Highly ineffective and most likely very itchy, the Knickerbockers ditched the straw caps a few years later for a wool cap produced by Peck & Snyder. This new cap featured a flat, panelled crown made from merino wool and a short visor to help shield the players’ eyes from the sun. This cap featured “the two main characteristics of the modern-day baseball cap: a crown and a bill (or visor).” It was called the No. 1 and cost about $1.25 to $2 to purchase. There were a variety of styles, and while these early models had the look and feel of a modern ballcap, they were still lacking that all-important logo on the front. That would come in 1894 when the Boston Baseball Club -- now the Atlanta Braves -- became the first team to wear letterforms when they donned a monogram-style look on their caps. Three more teams would join in on the fun the next year. It would take another seven years before a mascot first appeared on a Major League hat, when the Detroit Tigers proudly displayed a red tiger on a dark ballcap in 1901. The tiger -- which looks a little like a child's drawing of the animal -- would be replaced by the letter "D" in 1903, with the now-iconic Olde English-style letterform showing up a year later. CREDIT: MLB.com