Summer Premier Auction 2019

In the history of baseball uniforms, there was no more original or visually interesting ball cap than the ones worn by the Los Angeles Angels of the early 1960s. While it had been a long-held tradition to augment a team’s cap with a logo, this was always positioned on the front of the crown. The expansion Angels team broke with all propriety by augmenting their traditional-looking “LA” on the front with a silver ring around the entire crown, mimicking an angel’s halo. This gave the Angels a distinctive appearance that made them much more interesting than simply the American League’s newest franchise. This revolutionary cap design was carried over to the team’s batting helmets, as this very rare example shows. Worn by Buck Rodgers, the Angels’ catcher throughout the 1960’s, the helmet has a red brim with navy blue crown with a raised “LA” on front and the famous halo circling the top. The top of the brim has Rodgers’ number “7” handwritten in black marker and the inside has an American Baseball Cap manufacturer's sticker with “7” stamped in black. The helmet shows heavy game use, with many scuffs and abrasions as well as pine tar and turf stains throughout. The graphics remain bright, making this a very attractive example of a rare but memorable uniform design.