Who wore the first baseball cap? A “chip” or straw hat was worn in 1849 as part of the New York Knickerbockers first official uniform says Tom Schreiber, senior curator at the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum. Cap expert James Lilliefors reports the baseball cap was first worn by the Brooklyn Excelsiors in the 1860’s and featured a “small brim and round, forward-leaning crown, with a button on top of the stitching.”

In the 1960’s and 70’s, promotional hats were widely used by feed stores, farm equipment suppliers and automotive businesses who began giving away plastic mesh hats with snapbacks and foam fronts.  The inexpensive “truckers caps” or “gimme caps” caught on especially in rural America.  According to Lilliefors, “John Deere cap sales increased by 40% a year in the mid ‘70s.” Entering the 1980’s, Tom Selleck’s signature Detroit Tigers baseball cap worn in the TV Series Magnum P.I. further engaged larger audiences and popularized their use.

Today’s baseball cap has become a symbol of theUnited Statesand continues to be worn for weather protection, fashion, branding and promotional purposes.  It’s the perfect user-friendly apparel and media to carry your message or logo.  Everyone knows how to use it!  “It’s functional, inexpensive and can broadcast whatever you want,” says Paul Lukas, creator of the sports uniform blog Uni Watch and an ESPN.com columnist.  Further Lukas says, “Caps have gone way beyond baseball and sports … they have spread to cultures and countries that wouldn’t know a baseball game if it was plopped in front of them.”

The ball cap style most popular continues to be the basic unstructured model, featuring a fabric strap closure, mid profile with the logo or message positioned front and center. 

This season’s products take warmth and convenience to a new level. Whether you are buying for an event, sales team, corporate clients, holiday gifting, sports or your non-profit group, we’ve got items to fit your needs. Key considerations include your end users and where they will be when wearing the items. Features and benefits include performance apparel attributes such as antimicrobial, anti shrink, anti stretch, and moisture-wicking. Many apparel lines use antimicrobial fabrics to reduce bacteria growth caused by perspiration. Apparel makers are continually developing new features to their fabrics to add durability, stain resistance and warmth while reducing wrinkling, fading, and pilling. This apparel can withstand hard use and harsh washing demands for both indoor and outdoor activities.

Are you looking for fresh ideas for apparel that will promote your brand with the added bonus of recognizing your most important people? Read on for ideas or contact us for something more specific to your needs. We want to help.

BUNDLE UP: One of our most popular jackets this year is the Glacier jacket. Features include wind and water resistance, two-way zipper and zippered chest pocket. Add a stadium scarf and you’re all set for the outdoors this fall/winter.             

 LIGHTS PLEASE: Clip-on a Reflective tag as a Zipper Pull to your new cold weather apparel this year. Custom shapes are available and the diamond shape shown lends itself to different types of logos and its small size makes it an attractive accent to any jacket. These Zipper Pulls like all the others are washable and weather resistant, and they help to increase your visibility when you are outdoors at night. They are ideal for sportswear, outerwear, backpacks, even shoes.

Flashlights with all the modern convenience include the revolutionary Neodyme Flashlights.

Neodyme flashlights are available through Promotions-etc