The original baseball cap was introduced by the Brooklyn
Excelsiors in 1858 as an adaptation of the New York Knickerbocker Base Ball
Club’s straw hats. It quickly became incorporated in each baseball team’s
uniform for its aesthetic appeal rather than its ability to block the sun. However,
the cap’s legitimacy off the field was not established until the growth of televised
sports and the display of personalized cap style exhibited by a few impactful
players. The original design consisted of six ventilated and structured wool
panels stitched to an almost three-inch brim. The modern, unstructured baseball
cap was introduced by ’47 Brand in the 1990s. The baseball cap has continually
evolved in its ability to communicate. Originally, a simple way of supporting a
team, the baseball cap came to represent a form of self-expression.
