Baseball Hats

Good Morning Gentlemen… Its been some time since I’ve posted some food for thought… Today I want to talk about baseball hats… that’s right Baseball hats

I am a huge baseball hat fan.. I’ve collected them since the 1970’s…  I still own the very first fitted Yankee hat that my grandfather bought in 1976… I have college baseball hats from Grambling and LSU…. I own Penn State & PITT (I wanted to go to the Univ of Pittsburgh or Penn State when I was in High School)… I have baseball hats from vacations to Disney, universal studios, sea world…. I have baseball caps from those little boutiques in the airport in Rome, Geneva, London, Singapore..etc… Then there are the racing baseball hats from Formula Drift, Superbike, & F1….. I’ve got so many I’ve had to put them into boxes, vacuum sealed) and up in the attic of my home…

For as big a fan as I am of baseball hats… and all of the ones I’ve worn, sweated out, washed and destroyed… As a Gentleman I understand that there are some etiquette rules and guidelines towards wearing baseball hats and hats in general…

For one, I see way too many men sitting down to have a meal with a hat on… This is just poor upbringing… As as sign of respect its appropriate to remove your hat when you enter a building.. Military protocol is that your cover (hat) be removed when you enter into any hard structure…. Manners / Etiquette say that when you enter a building and especially when you sit down to eat… the hat should be removed….

The historical and even biblical context is that when you pray over your meal your hat or head covering should be removed… It is a sign of humility towards God… Headgear removal isn’t universal in all religions… the jews wear a yarmulke.... During medieval times, the helmet, hat etc.. would be removed when showing respect to the king.. Even today, wearing headgear in a court of law is seen as contempt of court…

Rules of etiquette say its ok/acceptable in a café or lunch counter… It is also proper etiquette to remove headgear when speaking to clergy, an elder woman or man, or when speaking to someone of higher social status, and when speaking of the dead or at a funeral… It’s also acceptable and proper to remove headgear when the national anthem is played or during the pledge of allegiance..

At the end of the day, headgear removal is about showing deference (respect) to the situation or the persons you’re in company with..

When dining with a woman or even mixed company… even when eating at a casual dining spot… remove your hat gentlemen.. it’s a subconscious visible sign that you respect the woman you’re about to dine with.

As I said… I’m a huge fan of baseball hats… and as I begin to lose my hair, I find myself wearing them more…

Editor - DNYC

Editors Note.... 2011 Marks the Centennial Anniversary of my Fraternity - Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc... there will be a number of Centennial hats in commemoration of the Centennial.... Here is one that I like...