1983 to 2009 New Era Hat Tagging Primer

[Rob L]

Actually, the Diamond Collection label started appearing on NEW ERA caps in 1986 and not 1988.....this can be verified by going to "New Era Timeline" and seeing what happened within the company in the 1980's. Also please note that the MLB logo on the backs of New Era caps first appeared in the 1992 season. This further assists in helping someone pinpoint a date for caps with certain labeling and styles. .

-Walt

Tallyman77

Hey Walt,

Can you email me at loefflerrd@cox.net?

I can't find your email address.

Thanks,

[Tallyman77]

Rob......nice pickup on the Coane Dodger cap. They don't come around too often. It looks like it has a number under the bill too. Way to go!

-Walt

Tallyman77

Evergreen7777@att.net

[sox83cubs84]

I have been studying the tags religiously for the past couple of weeks, this is what I have from the early days until 1996. I have checked and re-checked these tags to make sure the years are correct, except for the early years which may be impossible to find out. If anyone has anything to ad, please contact me. I am working on 1997 to present (it will include the taping), give me a couple of weeks at the most for those.

Paul:

I just acquired a Scot Thompson GW Cubs cap signed and dated by Thompson to 1981, It has the MLB licensee tag that the above primer attributes to no earlier than 1983. Any thoughts on this?

Dave Miedema

[Insomniac186]

Dave, upon further research it appears that those MLB tags started showing up in 1982, since I saw an authenticated game used 1982 World Series cap with the MLB tag. I haven't seen anything that is from 1981 "for sure" that has the MLB tag, but I suppose it's possible. I believe it was 1982 when Sports Specialties joined the on-field MLB cap market and made themselves the first MLB "licensee", then New Era and Roman Pro quickly followed suit.

[sox83cubs84]

Here' a thought for the capresearchers: the label designs on New Era 39/30 BP caps. The earlier BP caps (pre-2003) were also 59/50s (Like the gamers) and used he same tags as the game versions. Beginning in 2003 the labels were printed directly on the sweat band, and trying to determine if and when changes were made in the designs would be a plus. I have a few obtained directly from players, but can't post them. Anyone else want to dig into this?

Dave Miedema

[Insomniac186]

Hey folks, here is the set of tags for 2012 for those that didn't know. Rather drastic changes to the New Era tag and size tag compared to years past. However, Dave (sox83cubs84) and I discussed that we have seen some caps with the 2010/2011 tags that were used this season, so some teams likely used leftover stock for those years.

[sox83cubs84]

Hey folks, here is the set of tags for 2012 for those that didn't know. Rather drastic changes to the New Era tag and size tag compared to years past. However, Dave (sox83cubs84) and I discussed that we have seen some caps with the 2010/2011 tags that were used this season, so some teams likely used leftover stock for those years.

The "Fly Your Own Flag" slogan is new to 2012 tagging.

Dave Miedema

[Insomniac186]

The "Fly Your Own Flag" slogan is new to 2012 tagging.

Dave Miedema

I meant to say that, hahaha. Wish we could edit posts! Thanks for posting that Dave.

New Era has dropped "Cool Base" completely. I bleieve it is just a Majestic thing now. New Era is now going with "NE Tech" "CoolEra" & "SolarEra", but they are only mentioned on the visor stickers when purchased new in retail.

[suave1477]

One thing im surprised no one here mentioned unless I missed it somewhere but one thing that especially dates the caps of when the colors changed under the brim.

I believe in the 80's to the early 90's the under brim was Gray - early 90's they switched it to green and then in recent years it was switched to black.

If someone can pinpoint when the color of the under brims were changed that can help date the caps.

[Insomniac186]

One thing im surprised no one here mentioned unless I missed it somewhere but one thing that especially dates the caps of when the colors changed under the brim.

I believe in the 80's to the early 90's the under brim was Gray - early 90's they switched it to green and then in recent years it was switched to black.

If someone can pinpoint when the color of the under brims were changed that can help date the caps.

The first team to switch to gray undersides were the Reds in the 1960s. The Giants were one of the next teams to switch, and then the White Sox and a few others. The last NL hold-out (I believe) was the Cubs, going gray in 1994. The Blue Jays, Twins, and Yankees held out until the 1995 season. The switch for all remaining teams with green to switch to gray in 1995 was insisted by New Era.

The Angels were the first team to change to black, around the late 90s. 2007 was when all teams changed to black.