Wow!I love this hat.
Check out this circa 1950's children's Baseball cap featuring the names of all the National League teams, at the time. It also includes game-action graphics, a flat red brim, and a red squatchee on top. (eBay auction link)
I have no idea where this vintage headdress comes from, but I'd imagine it's from a comic, candy or gum giveaway. Heck, maybe it's a prize you could've won at a carnival. I dunno.
All I do know is that apparel like this was uncommon for the era. Teams did not market to fans the same way they do today. Stuff like t-shirts, caps or uniforms were rare finds, and only became a staple starting in the late-50's and 1960's. Prior to that, fans were happy to just grab photos, pennants and pins to take home.
That was until 1958 rolled around. That year Baseball started to realize the profit potential of fan merchandising, and it took the Dodgers moving out west for them to figure it out. A phone call between Walter O'Malley and a Los Angeles local sales legend named Danny Goodman lead to the Dodgers not only outpacing every team in the league in stadium merchandise sales, but they actually sold more goods than every team in Baseball combined in 1958 -- and that didn't even include any of their retail department store sales. To learn more about Goodman check out this fantastic SABR biography by Andy McCue, here.
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