Mens Baseball Cap

From a Quiet Beginning to a Major Fashion Statement

Mens baseball caps first appeared in 1860 when the Brooklyn Excelsiors wore a rounded top baseball cap. Within a few years this new style of cap became very popular as more baseball teams began to wear them. It was not until the 40s that manufacturers began to use latex rubber to stiffen the inside of the cap that the modern men's baseball caps that we know today were created. The original caps had a much shorter brim and tended to be more floppy.

The bill on guys baseball caps today is stiffened with cardboard instead of the latex rubber used in the 40s an 50, making them much lighter and giving the wearer the opportunity to shape the bill any way they want. In place of team names and logos you will find advertisements for almost anything under the sun from brand names to band names as many of these hats are given away freely as promotional items. What better way to get free publicity than a baseball cap perched on top of someone's head for all to see.

Some of the world's most famous people like to wear caps made from expensive materials. Kangol baseball caps are made from the finest silks, Angora and wool to be had and can be seen being worn by people like Samuel L. Jackson. The baseball cap has moved from the baseball diamond to many other sports most notably golf where you will find that many player wear them to shade their eyes from the sun when taking a shot. Some however prefer to eschew the standard baseball style hat in favor of the cooler visor style hat.

The US Navy and Coast Guard have both adopted mens baseball caps as standard part of their uniform as has the US Air Force. Considered a part of their basic utility uniform the caps generally feature the command logo on the front, In the Navy you will also see scrollwork embroidered into the bill to denote rank of certain officers such as Captains and Admirals. Throughout the Navy different colors are also used to denote specific jobs for ease of identification.

For those in the civilian world, wearing your baseball cap with the bill pointed in a particular direction can be used to show membership in a particular gang in some major cities and for this reason many schools have banned the wearing of hats on school property. Today mens baseball caps are worn just as much by the ladies in a multitude of colors and covered with patches, sequins and embroidery as part of the fashion statement.