2012 Taco Bell Reviews

I'm kicking off the return of the Ballcap Blog early. Right now, we'll look at the Taco Bell caps of 2012.

On May 18th, the Padres donned the 70s taco bell caps in a 1978 Turn Back The Clock game vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (the Angels did not participate).


The caps had the shape that has been used for the past several turn back the clock games, with a flat logo, green underside, brown batterman logo with yellow interior, and again with the brown squatchee instead of yellow. Luckily, there was no new Era flag on the side. Like the 1983/84 caps of 2011, the caps were not available in retail. However, where in 2011 there were no taco bell caps of any variation available, there were some variants available this year. There were now 70s and 80s versions available, made with 100% polyester fabric and manufactured in China. I discussed them in a previous blog. While they did have cut front panels, they were nowhere near the proper shape. They were (and still are) available at the Padres team store and HatClub.com. A 1978 Padres cap with an All-Star Game patch on the side was also available in retail (which was also discussed in a previous blog).


Some of these incorrect shape 70s versions actually showed up at the Padres 1978 turn back the clock game (compare the above caps on the left and right).

I will attempt to obtain some of the 70s caps from this game at the upcoming Padres fan fest.

In late June, the Tampa Bay Rays became the third team ever to wear a taco bell cap, the second being the Phillies on 1981 St. Patrick's Day of 1981. The Rays wore fictional 1979 uniforms, which were essentially a complete rip-off of the Padres uniforms of that time. Why the taco bell shape? Who knows. However, these taco bell caps were ALSO not available in retail. The retail version had a full powder blue front panel. Luckily, the team sold their team issued caps at the end of the season and I was able to get a hold of one.


This month, the 70s and 80s caps were remade again. They are apparently exclusive to Hat Club, who went through a lot to get them made. The shaping of the front panels have improved, but not much else has changed. Eyelets were omitted for reasons unknown (and it was not the fault of Hat Club).



Will there be any Taco Bells in 2013? We will find out in the coming months!

Comments

  1. UnknownFebruary 27, 2017 at 9:25 AM

    Really like your ball cap blog, I have become your fan already.. Here come agian to see if you update in 2017..
    wholesale baseball cap China China cap manufacturer , cap made in China, caps China,

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amelia HunterNovember 16, 2021 at 11:41 PM

    Thank you for providing such high-quality stuff. Please visit us here to share your thoughts: https://www.royaltyheadwear.com/ (Royal Headwear)

    ReplyDelete

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