The San Diego Padres "Taco Bell" Caps (Part 4)

The saga continues in my never ending quest to find every single variation of this cap!

I have stated previously that the Roman Pro Cap Company never made "Cooperstown Collection" versions of the early 80s cap. Fortunately, I was proven wrong when the only one I've ever seen popped up on eBay a couple of months ago. It was in horrible condition, but the price was right and I got it back into shape. It is nearly 100% identical to the original Roman Pro version. The only difference is the piping down the sides which is slightly larger.




I previously owned a 1970s Padres adjustable "snapback" cap made by New Era. It was unworn, unfortunately the visor was broken and some of the fabric on the back was ripped. Remembering that New Era will repair unworn caps regardless of age (see past blog posts), I mailed it in asking if they can not only fix it, but also turn it into a fitted cap. This is the result; a rather interesting one-of-a-kind vintage/new hybrid. Everything is new except the yellow front panel and button. New Era did an excellent job. I'm very happy with the result. Enjoy!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Chronology of New Era Cap Tags: A Guide

Image
The history of the New Era Cap Company has been well-documented. New Era has been the dominant cap supplier for Major League Baseball and anything baseball-related for decades but their dominance grew slowly, starting in the 1930s. Eventually they steam-rolled the competition, providing the majority of on-field caps to MLB teams by the 1970s. They have been the exclusive cap supplier for Major League Baseball since the 1994 season. New Era's MLB on-field cap interior tags evolved very slowly from the 1930s through the mid 80s. Since then they have changed rapidly, usually about every two years. Since 1982 there have been three tags inside of the cap; the MLB license tag (left side), New Era band tag (middle) and size tag (right). Let's take a look at the evolution of New Era’s MLB on-field cap tags from as early as possible to the present day. Keep in mind that this guide is not 100% perfect. MLB game used and team issued caps were all used as references for this gu
Read more

Cap Care: Mold & Mildew Removal

Image
One of the biggest problems today facing vintage cap collectors besides stiff or broken visor boards is mold & mildew. This happens if the cap is stored too long in a warm and humid area. I receive vintage caps with this problem every so often. Since many of these caps are priceless or very hard to replace, I thoroughly clean them rather than throw them out. Here is my tutorial on how I remove mold & mildew on caps. Supplies: You will need disinfectant wipes and isopropyl alcohol, the strongest you can get. Mine was 99%. If you get sick easily, perhaps you will need a hospital face mask. You can get all of these at your local drugstore. First, look everywhere on the cap for any signs of mold or mildew. On the outside it may appear as powdery-looking spots. On the inside of the cap and the outer area of the sweatband, they may appear mostly in black, white, and green-ish spots or a larger powdery area or layer. If you spy plenty of it in plain sight, prepare for an unpleasant su
Read more

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

Image
UPDATED 9/22/19 PLEASE NOTE THAT AS OF JUNE, 2019 MADE IN USA ON-FIELD CAPS ARE NO LONGER BEING PRODUCED FOR RETAIL. One discussion that keeps coming up between baseball cap enthusiasts is the difference between New Era's USA-made and Chinese-made caps. The 2011 season saw the majority of all minor league teams wearing on-field caps made in China, and even some major league caps are being made in China, mostly special events caps. Ironically, from 2010 to 2012 the patriotic "stars & stripes" caps were exclusively Chinese-made. After receiving complaints, patriotic caps were made in the USA again starting in 2013. Since 2016, only team issued stars & stripes caps were made in USA. The spring training/batting practice/occasional regular game caps are also being made in China.. The differences between USA-made and Chinese-made caps are many. I have been told that New Era has received many complaints about Chinese-made caps regarding quality. I will go over the
Read more