SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE --ITEM#117---$24.95-49.95 Follow these other tidbits of interest as these historical and vintage replica caps and uniforms are finding difficulties in this marketplace through 'wiki' links of interests. 1. I was informed by Mitchell & Ness last month that they are discontinuing production of wool flannel jerseys due to cost. 2. Cooperstown Ballcap Company, the last original true handmade cap maker was informed by MLB some 3 years ago through a cease and desist order for further production as parties could not agree upon a royalty fee for using MLB logos on their caps for productions. 3. Mitchell and Ness stopped making MLB caps some 10 years ago. 4. Roman Pro stopped making Cooperstown caps in mid 1990's. So as you see, the market has come to a dilution of quality merchandise for MLB historical products that we try to present and sell. We are at the mercy of the market and what they produce and that is why we are at the beginnings of introducing the Yankees 1922 and Giants 1928 as starters back to the market... Where others see it as a money issue, we see it as prolonging the heritage of baseball and what it means to collectors and historians of the game. Here is another tidbit from an article posted on the Internet airways on another cap company that has ceased operations as well. "Roman pro caps in my opinion were the best made vintage reproduction caps with leather bands, even better than Cooperstown Ball cap Co who did not produce the 8 panel.. Here is a little about the Roman pro company from Wiki......" Here is some background information on the company that made made these caps, the Roman Pro Cap Company. I found this online Roman Manufacturing Corp. was started in 1936 by Larry & Olga Mazzola creating monogramming for fine linens, handkerchiefs, towels, fur coat linings and more.During the early years the company name was changed to The Roman Art Embroidery Corp. They developed many clients in the sporting goods manufacturing industry and became a major source of embroidered logos for the uniforms of the professional sports teams. The Tim McAuliffe/KM Pro Cap Company, founded in 1896, used Roman’s embroidery for their caps. All teams until expansion in the 1960s used KM Pro caps at one time or another. After expansion Roman did the embroidery for more than half of the new clubs. Roman didn’t just supply embroidery for McAuliffe/KM Pro; they also supplied the embroidery under private label for Wilson. In the late 1970s the KM Pro Company closed its doors. It was decided that Roman should start manufacturing baseball caps. Roman Pro Cap Company was created. Teams such as the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Montreal Expos, and Los Angeles Dodgers are a few of the teams that used Roman-made caps for a time. In the early 1980s, Roman Pro began remaking old style caps, commonly known as “throwbacks.” They were advertised in sports magazines and were available via mail order. Roman became the first licensed cap company to make the old style caps, and were the first company to carry the “Cooperstown Collection” label. Roman's caps, embroidery-wise, were 100% accurate as they kept all of their embroidery designs in their archives (New Era did NOT archive their embroidery). The Roman Company ceased to exist in the mid-1990s, partly due to the 1994 players strike which shut down the retail business for all baseball caps for the year. Roman had made commitments to vendors for new equipment and MLB would not vary from its contract which forced the company into bankruptcy. The company recovered shortly thereafter and was then sold to a venture group who proceeded to lose its business and ultimately shut it down. Roman also made caps under Mitchell & Ness for a time in the 90s. In the late 1990s Roman was resurrected and the company decided to further develop their custom digitizing and embroidery division. The company then became known as Apparel 2000 LLC. They are no longer affiliated with professional sports, including Major League Baseball, and likely never will be again. Their embroidery patterns are still in their archives but are not available to the public. You cannot buy these caps anymore unless you get lucky on eBay, and they don't show up often. The Yankees caps are naturally "floppy" as they do not have backings under their front panels, just like way back when. No company today can compare with the accuracy of Roman'... Memorabilia Mall 1-318-355-0642 Monday-Sunday 9am-6pm CST |