Collector of The Week – A Grand Slam Baseball Cap Collection 

A new week means a new post for Collector of the Week here at The Art of Fatherhood. As a fellow geek and collector of all things Pop Culture I wanted to showcase some cool collections that dads share in our community. We love to see this passion in what people collect. We talk about the latest movies, sports memorabilia, a baseball cap collection and video games that we are enjoying at the moment.

This Week’s Collector – A Grand Slam Baseball Cap Collection

This week’s collector is from Roberto. I saw part of his collection on Twitter. After seeing such a cool collection I asked him to share his hat collection. Here is his story. 

I’ve always liked hats. Maybe it’s because I have a weird shaped head, or the fact that I’ve been going bald since I was eight and yet simultaneously has really bad hair. Whatever the reason, I’ve always liked hats and especially ball caps. Around 1992, I got really into the idea of collecting unusual caps. This was pre-online shopping so the caps you could get locally were pretty limited and it was always a really cool day when someone showed up at school with a

Kansas City Royals cap because their initials were “KC,” or a minor league cap of a team no one had heard of. Back then, I didn’t really have the means or the ability to pursue unusual caps so I started collecting on field and alts from my beloved Oakland A’s. Of the 112 caps I have now, 31 are A’s hats. The rest are various alts, throwbacks and stadium give aways. A few of the hats I have are true vintage, which means they are actually old hats as compared to throwbacks, which are modern recreations of old hats.

There’s a whole industry now designed to take advantage of people like me. Teams wear multiple hats each year, including special occasion hats for Fourth of July, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, etc. Sites like Hat Club (I’m a member) churn out ridiculous alts every month or so. Still, one lesson I learned in years of hat collecting, when you love a hat, buy it. If you don’t it will be gone. At the same time, don’t settle. If you can imagine it, your team will probably produce it someday.

More On His Collection 

Most of these hats have a specific story or memory that goes with them. I can tell you exactly where, when and why I bought them. Almost all of the hats for MLB non-A’s teams are from stadium visits. I try to buy a hat every time I go to a new stadium. The Red Sox hat I have is straight form the equipment room at the Sox spring training facility. I worked there one spring at their fantasy camp and was able to get a few things form the team, including a pair of red socks.

I love the faux vintage caps form Ebbets Field Flannels. They use the same materials as the era the caps are from, mostly unstructured wool, so the caps look and feel like the real thing. I also have about 30 caps from the NFL, NBA, soccer and colleges I either attended or have been affiliated with in some way. My assortment of rugby team caps are probably the least common caps in the collection.

Flat Brimmed Caps 

Before I go, I need to say something about “flat brimmed caps.” Stop complaining about how there’s too many flat brimmed caps and you can’t find any other caps and you don’t like the look of flat brimmed caps. My friend, all authentic caps come with a flat brim. It’s like a baseball glove, you are supposed to break it in. You don’t complain that all there are is stiff baseball gloves and you want a soft one. You are supposed to shape your brim and break in your cap yourself, to your exact specifications. For me, the hat tells me if it wants to be a curved brim, how much curve or if it wants to stay flat brim (or even flipped brim if the underbill is saucy). Finally, while snapbacks have their place, fitted hats are far superior in every way.

That is a great story Roberto. I really enjoyed learn more about your collection and what inspired you to collect these hats. 

Whatcha Got? 

It can be comic books, bottle caps, records, helmets or whatever you are into! I want to see what your passion is and why you started up that collection. For me, I believe that in each collection lies a better story. I want to share your story! Feel free to reach out to me and share your collection.  If you enjoyed this post check out another Collector of the Week article.