American League Caps
The first group displayed here are Detroit Tigers caps, including a late 1940s Spalding, a c. 1950 McAuliffe, another late '40s Spalding, a 1957 McAuliffe with a one-year tag, a c. 1960 New Era worn and signed by catcher Red Wilson, an early '60s Wilson, a mid-1960s McAuliffe, a 1970s New Era home cap, a blue 1970s mystery cap with a white button on top, a 1970s Roman road cap possibly worn by outfielder Ron LeFlore, a 1970s New Era road cap, and a 1984 New Era. The last one, which was made by New Era, comes from around 1985, and likely has something to do with the team winning the World Series in 1984.
Philadelphia / Kansas City / Oakland Athletics — Here is a display of A's caps from the early 1940s through the mid-1970s. Included here are four Philadelphia A's caps, including one worn by outfielder Dee Miles (Spalding, 1940-42), and another worn by pitcher Bill McCahan (MacGregor-Goldsmith, late 1940s). Also shown are caps from 1950 (Rawlings), 1953-54 (McAuliffe), the late 1950s (Wilson), 1960 (Wilson), 1967 (McAuliffe, worn by John "Blue Moon" Odom), 1968 (New Era), 1969 (McAuliffe, worn by coach Sherm Lollar), 1969 (a one-game yellow cap made by KM Pro ),1970 (KM Pro), 1971 (New Era), the mid-1970s white coaches cap (KM Pro), 1971 (KM Pro) and a coaches cap from the late 1970s (New Era).
St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles — This group includes three caps worn by the St. Louis Browns, one from the mid-1940s (Spalding), another from the late 1940s (Rawlings), and the other from 1952-53 (McAuliffe). The following year, the team moved to Baltimore and took its name from the city's longtime minor league team. The first Orioles cap displayed below was used by Lou Kretlow in 1954-55. Others displayed here include a 1958-62 McAuliffe "Early Bird" cap, two 1963-65 "Chirping Bird" caps (one made by McAuliffe, and the other made by Coane and likely never used by the team), a c. 1970 Wilson "Happy Bird" cap worn by Bobby Grich, a New Era "Happy Bird" cap, two varieties of a mid-70s cap with a white front panel (made by New Era and KM Pro), and a late 1970s New Era cap with an orange front panel (likely never worn by the team).
Cleveland Indians — Here is a display of Indians caps, including one from 1949-50 that was made by Wilson and used by first baseman Mickey Vernon, another one from the same era that was made by Wilson and used by pitcher Mike Garcia, a 1961 Wilson worn by outfielder Jimmy Piersall, a 1962 Wilson "Wahoo"cap, a late 1960s Wilson used by coach George Strickland, an early 1970s Wilson, and a late 1970s New Era, which was made with nylon.
New York Yankees / Boston Red Sox — The second best rivalry in the game happens every time the Yankees and Red Sox meet. Displayed here is a late 40s Wilson Yankees cap (likely a salesman's sample — check out the flawed logo), a mid-1950s McAuliffe Yankees cap, a 1970s New Era Yankees cap, a 1950s McAuliffe Red Sox cap, a 1960s New Era Red Sox cap, and a mid-1970s KM Pro Red Sox cap.
Chicago White Sox — The first cap here, from 1946-48, was made by Wilson and worn by Hall of Fame shortstop Luke Appling. The second one comes from 1949-50, and was made by Spalding. The others include a 1956-57 Spalding, a 1950s McAuliffe, a mid-1960s Wilson, a 1969 Wilson, an early 1970s Wilson worn by outfielder Nyls Nyman, an early 1970s KM Pro, a late 1970s New Era, and early 1980s home and away caps made by New Era.
Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins — Here are three Washington Senators caps: a Spalding that was worn in the early 1940s by coach and former catcher Benny Bengough, an early 1950s McAuliffe used by pitcher Walt Masterson, and a second McAuliffe cap from 1957. The team moved Minnesota in 1961 and became the Twins — the fourth cap displayed was made by New Era, and worn and signed by former pitcher and coach Al Worthington. The Twins began wearing the cap with the red crown in 1976.
The expansion era arrived in 1961 when the Los Angeles Angels and the second generation of the Washington Senators made their debuts. The Angels caps displayed here include a McAuliffe from 1961-65, a McAuliffe from the late 1960s, a KM Pro from 1971, and a New Era from the mid-1970s. The Senators played from 1961 to 1971, and three of their caps are show here: an early 60s McAuliffe used by manager and former AL batting champion Mickey Vernon, a c. 1967 Wilson worn by outfielder Hank Allen, and a c. 1970 Wilson. The Senators became the Rangers in 1972, and a New Era cap is pictured. In 1969, the American League added the Seattle Pilots, which soon became the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Kansas City Royals. Pictured here is a 1969 Pilots spring training cap made by New Era, along with several styles of Brewers from the early 1970s (the first is a KM Pro, while the others were made by New Era), and a Wilson Royals cap from the early 1970s. In 1977, the American League added its last two teams, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners. Both caps displayed here were made by New Era.
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