Mystery of the San Francisco Giants Pillbox

It has been well documented that many teams wore "pillbox caps" at some point during the 1976 season and the Pittsburgh Pirates ended up wearing them for ten seasons after that point.

Aside from the teams we know that wore them for sure (Pirates, Mets, Cardinals, & Phillies, then possibly Expos and Yankees) there were other teams that no one knows for sure if the team wore them or not: White Sox, Red Sox, Cubs, Padres, & Giants. Sometimes it's hard to tell if the cap is game worn or team issued when they show up online somewhere. Sports Specialties made pillbox snapback fan caps available for all teams during the 80s, so you could imagine what it would have been like if your favorite team opted to wear them. New Era even made fitted cap versions of all teams as well (from what I can tell). Now, the Giants pillbox that I had seen in an eBay auction a few years back used the 1977 to 1982 logo. However, I had heard that the Giants had supposedly worn them in 1976, but the logo doesn't match the logo they used that year. Upon further research, I came across this photo of Jack Clark.


This was a publicity photo, and the year on the back of this print says 1980. I still can't find any evidence that the Giants actually wore these in a game, BUT Jack is in full uniform and that is definitely Candlestick Park and it looks like folks are starting to arrive to a game. This is the ONLY picture I can find of a Giants pillbox right now. Any thoughts?

Comments

  1. When my brother Joe was about 10 years old, he wrote a letter to Jack Clark during his rookie year and stated how much
    we enjoyed watching him play when the Giants came to Philly or could be seen on national television in the game of the week. He also asked for an autograph. A few weeks later, my brother got a letter post marked from SF. Inside was a Kodak photograph taken from the first row in center field at Candlestick Park showing Jack and his team mate Terry Whitfield shaking hands before the start of a home game. The photo was autographed by Mr. Clark. This was no official Giants photo but on taken especially for my bro. We thought it was the coolest thing that Jack and probably his wife took the time to take the photo and send it out to a kid in Philadelphia. We have been Jack Clark fans for life.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I keep on focusing on your blog but seems it's not any updates sicne Oct?? Anyway, I hope you are happy in 2017 and will bring us more good baseball cap artiles in the following year.
    China baseball cap,China customized cap,China caps, China trucker caps.china baseball cap manufacturer.wholesale cap China, wholesale baseball cap China China cap factory , cap China, caps China,

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm wondering if this photo has some connection to the MLB all-star tour of Japan in 1979. I've seen numerous photos of this tour that feature MLB players in pillbox hats, such as Steve Garvey in a Dodgers pillbox. Jack Clark was on the National Lesgue's 1979 all-star game roster, so perhaps he joined the tour in Japan and got this hat. Can't say why he'd be wearing it in Candlestick, though, unless publicity shots were being taken.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Chronology of New Era Cap Tags: A Guide

Cap Care: Mold & Mildew Removal

Differences Between USA-made and Chinese-made New Era Caps