New Era Cap Unveils New MLB Caps Including First-ever Kids Cap

Business Wire, Feb 1, 2001

Sports Editors/Baseball Writers & Columnists

DERBY, N.Y.--(BW SportsWire)--Feb. 1, 2001

New Era Cap Company, Inc. (www.neweracap.com), the nation's leading manufacturer and marketer of baseball-style sports caps, unveiled several new editions to its Major League Baseball (MLB) cap product line up for the year 2001, including its first-ever kids caps.

New Era introduced two new caps to its MLB licensed Authentic Collection: the Authentic Kids Collection Cap and the Authentic Collection Visor, as well as three new replica caps: the Pinch Hitter, Rookie and MLB Slider.

"New Era is continually looking for creative design options for our traditional and fashion-minded cap consumers," said Marc Scales, New Era's baseball product manager. "Our new visor and kids cap will allow us to reach new market segments while our new replica caps represent our commitment to providing quality caps at variable price points."

For the first time in its history, New Era will produce a cap specifically designed for infants and toddlers. New Era's Authentic Kids Collection is a unique replica of the Authentic Collection product worn by MLB players on the field. This fitted cap features a comfortable and expandable sweatband and is made of a soft brushed cotton/spandex blend material. It features a front-raised team logo along with the rear MLB Silhouetted Batter in the matching team color.

The Authentic Collection Visor (ACV) will be worn during Spring Training by MLB team managers, coaches and personnel. The visor features a performance mesh and cotton twill undervisor along with the comfort of the expandable sweatband that fits a size range of 6 7/8 to 7 3/4. The ACV has the raised team logo on the front along with the signature MLB Silhouetted Batter on the rear.

As part of New Era's MLB replica collection, the Pinch Hitter is made of a blend of wool and acrylic, features a rounded crown and Velcro closure. The cap features the raised team logo on the front, the team name on the rear and the New Era logo on the side.

The Rookie is a cotton twill replica which has a rounded crown and plastic closure. Youth and adult sizes are available. The front features the raised team logo while the side of the cap has the New Era logo.

Lastly, the MLB Slider is an unstructured replica made of sanded cotton twill. The cap has a cloth strap closure and features the raised, reduced size team logo on the front and New Era logo on the left wear side.

New Era Cap is a privately held corporation headquartered in Derby, N.Y., employing more than 1,500 people in New York and Alabama. The company is the exclusive manufacturer and marketer of the official uniform caps worn by every Major and Minor League Baseball player. New Era also manufactures and markets caps under license of the NBA, NFL, NHL and most major colleges. Additionally, more than 8 million youth league, high school and college baseball players wear New Era caps as part of their uniform. Founded in 1920, New Era produces more than 15 million caps per year.