1 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:10,280 Speaker 1: This is Red Pilled America. Hey fambam. This three part 2 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: series American Icon was first broadcast in April twenty nineteen, 3 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:17,119 Speaker 1: and it tells the story of American manufacturing through the 4 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:20,520 Speaker 1: creation of the baseball cap. Baseball caps have a unique 5 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:23,960 Speaker 1: history with Red Pilled America. They literally saved the show. 6 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 1: A few months after launching the podcast, we weren't sure 7 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 1: if we'd be able to keep it going. We learned 8 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: pretty quickly why there's nothing like Red Pilled America out there. 9 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: It's incredibly expensive to produce a weekly scripted storytelling show. 10 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 2: Advertising revenue wasn't enough to keep the lights on, and 11 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:42,319 Speaker 2: it looked like we were going to have to call 12 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:46,279 Speaker 2: it quit. We even drafted a cancelation letter, but then 13 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 2: we decided to leave it up to our growing Red 14 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:49,320 Speaker 2: Pilled America family. 15 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:52,160 Speaker 1: We'd been toying around with an idea for a while. 16 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:55,600 Speaker 1: Why don't we tell the story of American manufacturing through 17 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:59,000 Speaker 1: the creation of our very own baseball cap. If people 18 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: cared enough about the show to buy the cap, they 19 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:04,360 Speaker 1: would keep Red Pilled America alive. And it worked. You 20 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 1: saved the show. Right now, we're giving fifty percent off 21 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:10,959 Speaker 1: all of our RPA baseball caps. Please grab one for 22 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:13,600 Speaker 1: yourself or a friend today. It's a great way to 23 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 1: support and promote the show. Just go to Redpilled America 24 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:19,560 Speaker 1: dot com and click shop in the top menu. The 25 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 1: sale lasts through the end of the month. Get fifty 26 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 1: percent off an RPA baseball cap today. Support what you 27 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:27,640 Speaker 1: love or it goes away. 28 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:34,520 Speaker 2: Now enjoy the show. 29 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 1: During the twenty sixteen election, Donald Trump campaigned primarily on 30 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:45,360 Speaker 1: two issues. The first was immigration enforcement, but a close second, 31 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 1: the one that probably won him the rest belt was 32 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 1: a promise to return manufacturing to America. So Erie has 33 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 1: lost nearly one in three manufacturing jobs. 34 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:57,559 Speaker 3: You know that. Hang it, don't leave. 35 00:01:57,600 --> 00:01:58,720 Speaker 2: I promise we. 36 00:01:58,680 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 4: Could fix itself fast. 37 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 5: We will stop these countries. 38 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 1: Is from taking our jobs. 39 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:11,040 Speaker 6: We will stop these countries from taking our companies. 40 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 5: Hold on. 41 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:16,760 Speaker 1: Our jobs will come back. But is that possible? Can 42 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:19,560 Speaker 1: manufacturing jobs really come back to the United States. 43 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:26,000 Speaker 2: I'm Patrick Carrelci and I'm Adriana Cortez. 44 00:02:25,919 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: And this is Red Pilled America, a storytelling show. 45 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 2: This is not another talk show covering the day's news. 46 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 2: We are all about telling stories. 47 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: Stories Hollywood doesn't want you to hear stories. 48 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:43,320 Speaker 2: The media marks stories about everyday Americans. If the globalist ignore. 49 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: You could think of red Pilled America as audio documentaries, 50 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:51,519 Speaker 1: and we promise only one thing, the truth. 51 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 2: Welcome to red Pilled America. 52 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 1: Not long ago, Adriana and I wanted to make a 53 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 1: baseball cap for our listeners. 54 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:11,480 Speaker 2: I'm sort of a resident fashionista, so I took on 55 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:12,079 Speaker 2: the project. 56 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:14,680 Speaker 1: Yeah. So she picked out a cool design, quickly priced 57 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: it all out, you know, the cost of the cap, 58 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:19,680 Speaker 1: the cost of embroidering, shipping, et cetera. And we were 59 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:22,960 Speaker 1: surprised at how inexpensive it was. We wondered why. So 60 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:24,600 Speaker 1: we took a look at the tag on the sample 61 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 1: baseball cap and there it was made in Bangladesh. 62 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:29,359 Speaker 2: So we went on a bit of a journey to 63 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 2: see if we could make an affordable cap here in 64 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:37,280 Speaker 2: the United States. And then we got an idea, why. 65 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 1: Don't we make a maid in America baseball cap and 66 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:42,560 Speaker 1: through the process, let our cap tell the story of 67 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: American manufacturing. I mean, the baseball cap is quite possibly 68 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 1: America's biggest fashion icon. It was born right here in 69 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:56,360 Speaker 1: the United States. It sprouted from our national pastime. Donald 70 00:03:56,400 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: Trump chose it as a symbol of the MAGA movement 71 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 1: for a reason. If America has an official hat, the 72 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:02,720 Speaker 1: baseball cap would be it. 73 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 4: Right. 74 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 2: It's a symbol of Americana that's gone global and its 75 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:10,840 Speaker 2: big business new era. The United States's biggest baseball cap 76 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 2: company produces over sixty five million caps a year Lyd's 77 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:19,560 Speaker 2: Sports Group has roughly oney one hundred retail stores devoted 78 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:23,480 Speaker 2: purely to selling this American icon. And that's not including 79 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:27,680 Speaker 2: the countless kiosks, souvenir stores, sports stadiums, gift shops, luxury 80 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:31,520 Speaker 2: and online retailers that sell every conceivable baseball cap design 81 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:35,159 Speaker 2: you can dream up. Yet, even with its birthplace being 82 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:38,680 Speaker 2: right here in the US OFA, the vast majority of 83 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:43,520 Speaker 2: baseball caps are made overseas. The industry is so vital 84 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:48,120 Speaker 2: to America. In twenty eighteen, the Trump administration enacted at 85 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:52,359 Speaker 2: ten percent tariff on imported baseball caps and threatened to 86 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:55,480 Speaker 2: raise it to twenty five percent if China and others 87 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:57,600 Speaker 2: didn't level the playing field on trade. 88 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,240 Speaker 1: So we wanted to create our very own made in 89 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:04,680 Speaker 1: America baseball cap to explore American men, factoring what story 90 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:07,960 Speaker 1: would it tell us? And perhaps more importantly, by trying 91 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:11,000 Speaker 1: to fabricate our own cap right here in the United States. 92 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:14,640 Speaker 1: What would it teach us about the viability of American manufacturing. 93 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:17,760 Speaker 1: Can we really start making affordable products again here on 94 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: our soil? What would it take to make that happen. 95 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:23,159 Speaker 1: To find the answer, we're going to tell the story 96 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:25,960 Speaker 1: of the baseball cap, from its birth, it spread across 97 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: the globe, and, hopefully, with your help, the creation of 98 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:32,120 Speaker 1: our own made in America baseball cap. We're going to 99 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:36,640 Speaker 1: talk to a few baseball historians, cap makers, trade manufacturing experts, 100 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:40,280 Speaker 1: as scientist, and someone that has seen firsthand the deadly 101 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 1: cost and I mean literally the deadly cost of cheap 102 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:47,440 Speaker 1: foreign products. The story of the baseball cap gives us 103 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:50,360 Speaker 1: a surprising look into how we lost maid in America 104 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 1: and whether we can really do anything to bring it back. 105 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:56,640 Speaker 1: But first, to truly understand the American icon we call 106 00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:59,280 Speaker 1: the baseball cap, we need to learn how the sport 107 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:01,720 Speaker 1: originally became our national pastime. 108 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:10,280 Speaker 2: By the beginning of the nineteen hundreds, ag Spalding had 109 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:14,640 Speaker 2: quietly acquired a sporting goods empire, a new monopolistic enterprise 110 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:18,960 Speaker 2: in the baseball industry that included the manufacturing of balls, gloves, shoes, 111 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 2: and baseball caps. He was our country's first sporting goods mogul, 112 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:28,080 Speaker 2: and for his final act, the former star pitcher turned 113 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 2: business titan, sitting at the top of his sprawling enterprise, 114 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:34,880 Speaker 2: wanted to prove once and for all that baseball was 115 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:40,200 Speaker 2: a sport whose origin was purely American. The question of 116 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:43,320 Speaker 2: when baseball started has been a hotly debated subject for 117 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:46,480 Speaker 2: the better part of one hundred and fifty years. There 118 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:49,080 Speaker 2: have been bat and ball games that appear to date 119 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:54,880 Speaker 2: all the way back to Egyptian times, but over the 120 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:58,839 Speaker 2: past decade the picture of when baseball began has started 121 00:06:58,839 --> 00:07:00,120 Speaker 2: to come into focus. 122 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:05,160 Speaker 4: The first known baseball club was the Out of Philadelphia 123 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 4: eighteen thirty three, the Olympic Club. 124 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 2: That's Eric Miklich, an author and purveyor of nineteen c 125 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:15,080 Speaker 2: baseball dot com. Eric is a historian on the sport 126 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:17,640 Speaker 2: in the nineteenth century and is a committee member of 127 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:20,040 Speaker 2: the Society for American Baseball Research. 128 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:25,560 Speaker 4: And in New York we had the Gothams probably late thirties, 129 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:27,760 Speaker 4: thirty eight thirty nine. It's really tough to tell. This. 130 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:30,680 Speaker 4: Not a lot around Washington's formed out of them, the 131 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:33,760 Speaker 4: Knickerbockers formed out of them. The Gothams went down to Gothams, 132 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,960 Speaker 4: another Gotham name came up. So baseball in the New 133 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:41,080 Speaker 4: York area, which is where it all began Brooklyn, New York, 134 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 4: probably started eighteen thirty seven thirty eight, somewhere there and 135 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 4: very very primitive, nothing like we know today. Again, it evolved. 136 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:55,000 Speaker 4: It took many years for it to evolve to anything 137 00:07:55,040 --> 00:08:00,400 Speaker 4: that someone planning it today would recognize what baseball is. 138 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 2: These early days of baseball are murky for obvious reasons. 139 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:08,360 Speaker 2: There was no Internet. There's only scant reference to baseball 140 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:11,440 Speaker 2: in the public record of the time. But many historians 141 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:14,160 Speaker 2: agree that if you had to mark an official starting 142 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:16,840 Speaker 2: point of baseball as we know it today, it would 143 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 2: probably have to be September twenty third, eighteen forty five. 144 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 2: That's the date that the New York Knickerbocker Baseball Club 145 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:27,920 Speaker 2: adopted rules for their baseball games, and these are the 146 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 2: earliest surviving set of rules known to date. Eric has 147 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,160 Speaker 2: actually written a book on the subject called The Rules 148 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:34,479 Speaker 2: of the. 149 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:38,120 Speaker 4: Game Knickerbocker Rules Said I talked to you about, which 150 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:42,760 Speaker 4: was September twenty third of eighteen forty five that Nicobaker's 151 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:45,920 Speaker 4: put forth twenty rules, known as the New York Rules, 152 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 4: because at the time Massachusetts had their baseball former baseball 153 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 4: in Philadelphia was playing town ball. So those New York 154 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 4: rules that the Nicobackers formulated are the basis of what 155 00:08:57,040 --> 00:08:58,080 Speaker 4: we use today. 156 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:01,520 Speaker 2: The rules were crude, there were only twenty of which 157 00:09:01,559 --> 00:09:03,920 Speaker 2: only fourteen of them actually had to do with the 158 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:05,199 Speaker 2: rule of play, and. 159 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:09,240 Speaker 4: Only really one exists today. But that was the basis, 160 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:12,920 Speaker 4: and as each year went on, rules were added taken 161 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:14,439 Speaker 4: away the game was adjusted. 162 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:18,839 Speaker 2: At the time, baseball's uniform hadn't yet been standardized either. 163 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:23,680 Speaker 2: The Knickerbockers can also claim the first recorded uniform, which 164 00:09:23,679 --> 00:09:26,960 Speaker 2: in eighteen forty nine consisted of a collared white flannel shirt, 165 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:30,320 Speaker 2: blue full length wool pants, and a straw hat that 166 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:33,199 Speaker 2: looked more suitable for the beach than the baseball diamond. 167 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:37,199 Speaker 2: A few years later, in eighteen sixty, the Brooklyn Excelsiors 168 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:39,400 Speaker 2: donned a cap that would come to be known as 169 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:43,240 Speaker 2: the Brooklyn Style cap. Roughly one hundred years later. It 170 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:46,199 Speaker 2: would be the inspiration of the baseball caps of today, 171 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:49,000 Speaker 2: but at the time it was by no means the 172 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:53,520 Speaker 2: standard on the field, not even close. Many variations had emerged. 173 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:56,320 Speaker 2: There was a floppy newsboy style cap, another was a 174 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 2: modified horse jockey cap, and still another called the pillbox, 175 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:03,160 Speaker 2: was cylindrical with the flat top. Think Pittsburgh Pirate to 176 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:06,160 Speaker 2: throw back. Half of the seventies, baseball had not yet 177 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:07,160 Speaker 2: settled on its look. 178 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:14,040 Speaker 4: There was no standard for uniforms today the rule, but 179 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:18,120 Speaker 4: it is so extensive. It's that even the umpires don't 180 00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:23,520 Speaker 4: know the rules. The rules rule books were a lot simpler, 181 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:27,520 Speaker 4: but as the uniforms, it was almost there what you want. 182 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:30,760 Speaker 2: Essentially, there may have been no rules about what players 183 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:33,439 Speaker 2: had to wear, but there was one rule related to 184 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:34,520 Speaker 2: the baseball. 185 00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:36,960 Speaker 4: Cap, and in the sixties it was very well known 186 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:38,640 Speaker 4: you cannot catch the ball with your hat. 187 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:41,760 Speaker 2: As a civil war came to a close, the battered 188 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:45,360 Speaker 2: nation was in need of a diversion. Baseball had already 189 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:48,080 Speaker 2: taken root in the young country and was poised to 190 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:57,640 Speaker 2: become the national pastime. New York entrepreneurs Andrew Peck and 191 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:01,800 Speaker 2: Irving Schneider wanted to capitalize on the moment, so they 192 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 2: opened Peck and Snyd Sporting Goods in eighteen sixty six. 193 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:09,960 Speaker 2: Peckensnyder began distributing catalogs of their sporting good offerings, selling 194 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:12,800 Speaker 2: all the popular variations of baseball caps of the time. 195 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:16,800 Speaker 2: Their success in the growth of the game revealed an opportunity, 196 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:20,200 Speaker 2: and others would enter the ring. In eighteen seventy one, 197 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:24,160 Speaker 2: George Wright, the star shortstop for the Boston Red Stockings, 198 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:28,000 Speaker 2: opened a cigar and sporting goods concern in Boston and 199 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:31,680 Speaker 2: reportedly began supplying the team with its uniform, which of 200 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:35,440 Speaker 2: course included a baseball cap. George Wright was a true 201 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:40,040 Speaker 2: sporting goods pioneer. His teammate A. G. Spalding, no doubt 202 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:50,359 Speaker 2: took notice. Another star player, Outreach from the Philadelphia Athletics, 203 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:54,920 Speaker 2: also saw the possibilities. In eighteen seventy one, Reach one 204 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:58,320 Speaker 2: the first pennant in the short lived National Association of 205 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:02,520 Speaker 2: Professional Baseball Players. In eighteen seventy four, just a year 206 00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:05,560 Speaker 2: before we hiring from the game, he opened a sporting 207 00:12:05,559 --> 00:12:08,720 Speaker 2: goods shop to capitalize on his name. He called it 208 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:12,120 Speaker 2: the Reach Company, and it would become a major provider 209 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:17,920 Speaker 2: of all things baseball. Both George Wright and al Reach 210 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:22,560 Speaker 2: showed that pros could transition into entrepreneurship. After their playing days, 211 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:26,559 Speaker 2: but one man, the most dominant pitcher of all time, 212 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:30,520 Speaker 2: was about to follow the path of these two trailblazers 213 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:34,920 Speaker 2: and would eventually spark one of baseball's biggest controversies. 214 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:40,199 Speaker 1: Traditional dog food is dead food, which is why he 215 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:42,720 Speaker 1: could sit on a shelf for years because it's lifeless. 216 00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:46,080 Speaker 1: But rough greens brings the nutrition back. Adriana and I 217 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:49,000 Speaker 1: use rough Greens to make sure our furry babies get 218 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:53,640 Speaker 1: the live vitamins, minerals, probiotics, digestive enzymes, and omega oils 219 00:12:53,679 --> 00:12:56,120 Speaker 1: a need in their diets, and our dogs have never 220 00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 1: been better. A bullmast if Willow used to be tired 221 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:02,199 Speaker 1: and had joint problems. In our English bulldog Pablo had 222 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:05,200 Speaker 1: skin issues, but after adding rough greens to their diets, 223 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:08,840 Speaker 1: their problems disappeared. Ask yourself, how do you think your 224 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:12,079 Speaker 1: health would be if you just ate dead food. Roughgreens 225 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:17,239 Speaker 1: promotes longevity by addressing common nutritional deficiencies found in processed dogfood, 226 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:20,200 Speaker 1: and there's no need to change your dog's food. Roughgreens 227 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:23,880 Speaker 1: isn't a dogfood, it's a live nutritional supplement you add 228 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:26,080 Speaker 1: to your dog's food. You don't have to change your 229 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:29,040 Speaker 1: dog's food. To improve your dog's health, just add a 230 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:32,200 Speaker 1: scoop of rough Greens. It's that easy. Don't change your 231 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:36,480 Speaker 1: dog's food, just add Roughgreens. Roughgreens is offering a free 232 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:40,800 Speaker 1: Jumpstart trial bag you just cover shipping. Use discount code 233 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,599 Speaker 1: RPA to claim your free Jumpstart Trial bag at Roughgreens 234 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:50,480 Speaker 1: dot com. That's r u Ffgreens dot com promo code RPA. 235 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:54,200 Speaker 1: So don't change your dog's food, just add rough Greens 236 00:13:54,440 --> 00:14:05,160 Speaker 1: and watch the health benefits come alive. So George Wright 237 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:08,680 Speaker 1: and Outreach were both baseball stars turned sporting goods entrepreneurs 238 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:12,080 Speaker 1: that showed players could transition into business after they retired. 239 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:18,520 Speaker 1: Baseball's first professional league, the National Association, collapsed in eighteen 240 00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:21,920 Speaker 1: seventy five, but a new organization quickly emerged. It was 241 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,240 Speaker 1: called the National League, the same one still alive today. 242 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:29,200 Speaker 1: The National League launched in February eighteen seventy six, and 243 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:32,440 Speaker 1: that same month, a pitching phenom, now playing for the 244 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:36,080 Speaker 1: Chicago White Stockings, decided to open his own sporting goods 245 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 1: store with his brother. The pitcher's name was A. G. Spalding, 246 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:42,960 Speaker 1: and he was following in the footsteps of his former 247 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:46,640 Speaker 1: teammate George Wright. That season, with Spaulding on the mound, 248 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:50,000 Speaker 1: his team won the first National League pennant with a 249 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:53,480 Speaker 1: game ball designed by Spalding himself. He was at the 250 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:56,080 Speaker 1: top of the food chain in the burgeoning American sport, 251 00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:59,240 Speaker 1: but within just a few years he'd leave the playing 252 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:01,640 Speaker 1: field at the ripe old age of twenty seven to 253 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:05,480 Speaker 1: focus on his business vent again. Eric Miklitch when. 254 00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:09,760 Speaker 4: He left baseball, he was the winningest pitcher if there 255 00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:13,840 Speaker 4: ever was his winning percent seven ninety four. He was 256 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:16,440 Speaker 4: an incredible pitcher, but I believe he saw more value 257 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:19,120 Speaker 4: in selling equipment than playing the game. 258 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:22,920 Speaker 1: Players uniforms, including their baseball caps, were still in major 259 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:27,400 Speaker 1: fluctuation in the mid eighteen seventies. Into the eighteen eighties, 260 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:31,000 Speaker 1: teams were experimenting with their look. The league even tried 261 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:34,160 Speaker 1: out something unthinkable today. Instead of the players wearing all 262 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:37,400 Speaker 1: the same uniform, they tried changing the color and designs 263 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:40,400 Speaker 1: per position, with the first baseman wearing a striped shirt 264 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:43,480 Speaker 1: and striped cap, the pitcher a solid color, and so 265 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:46,520 Speaker 1: on through the lineup. The only piece of the uniform 266 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:50,160 Speaker 1: that was actually uniform was the team's stocking color, a 267 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:52,840 Speaker 1: common practice of the time. In fact, if you ever 268 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:55,560 Speaker 1: wondered where the names of today's Red Sox or White 269 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:58,800 Speaker 1: Sox or Cincinnetti Reds comes from, it's a reference to 270 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:01,680 Speaker 1: these early days of baseball, when the entire team wore 271 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:05,880 Speaker 1: the same colored socks. With this rainbow attire, baseball players 272 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:08,920 Speaker 1: looked more like a clownish theater troupe than athletes, and 273 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:12,960 Speaker 1: the league quickly abandoned the approach. Nevertheless, baseball was growing, 274 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:16,600 Speaker 1: and the sporting goods manufacturers supplying the league grew with it. 275 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:26,160 Speaker 1: In eighteen eighty two, just five years after his retirement, A. G. 276 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:29,600 Speaker 1: Spalding became the president of the Chicago White Stockings and 277 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:32,800 Speaker 1: used his standing in the growing sport to supply equipment 278 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:36,640 Speaker 1: and uniforms to the National League. His sporting goods business 279 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:40,080 Speaker 1: blossomed along with baseball, and within a few short years 280 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:43,280 Speaker 1: Spalding had a four story shop in Chicago, a five 281 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:46,360 Speaker 1: story shop in New York, in stores throughout other parts 282 00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:50,400 Speaker 1: of the country. He began publishing The Spalding's Official Baseball Guide, 283 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:53,560 Speaker 1: a booklet to promote his sporting goods, and he hired 284 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:57,360 Speaker 1: an editor for the publication. The editor's name was Henry Chadwick, 285 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:00,040 Speaker 1: an English immigrant respected for as many years as a 286 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:03,920 Speaker 1: journalist promoting and chronicling the sport. Chadwick wrote a book 287 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:06,359 Speaker 1: to help clean up the game, began improvements in the 288 00:17:06,360 --> 00:17:10,199 Speaker 1: way baseball was scored, and was influential in reforming its rules. 289 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:12,479 Speaker 1: As a result of his work, he came to be 290 00:17:12,560 --> 00:17:17,800 Speaker 1: known as the father of baseball. His opinion on the 291 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:20,760 Speaker 1: sport carried weight, and his beliefs would eventually be at 292 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:23,879 Speaker 1: odds with those of his boss. Spalding and his editor 293 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:27,800 Speaker 1: began a friendly rivalry on the origins of baseball. Chadwick 294 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:31,359 Speaker 1: thought the sport was derived directly from rounders, an English 295 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:34,440 Speaker 1: game with several similarities to baseball, including a bat and 296 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:38,639 Speaker 1: a ball. Spalding, desiring for baseball to have pure American roots, 297 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:43,160 Speaker 1: rejected Chadwick's analysis, instead, arguing baseball was derived from an 298 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:46,520 Speaker 1: early American bat and ball game called town ball. This 299 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:52,960 Speaker 1: debate would eventually reach a fever pitch of national proportions. 300 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:58,240 Speaker 1: Spalding's sporting business was growing in America, but he wasn't satisfied. 301 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:03,639 Speaker 1: He wanted to expand the sport around the world, a 302 00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:07,119 Speaker 1: goal that would also benefit his blossoming enterprise. So he 303 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:10,520 Speaker 1: organized two exhibition teams to embark on a globe trotting 304 00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:14,400 Speaker 1: tour to introduce the world to baseball. The tour also 305 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:18,359 Speaker 1: put his bigger move in motion. Accompanying Spalding were several 306 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:22,119 Speaker 1: of his business rivals, including the pioneer Irving Snyder of 307 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:26,200 Speaker 1: Peckensnyder's Sporting Goods and his old teammate George Wright, who 308 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:29,960 Speaker 1: now owned the prominent shop called Wright and Ditson. These 309 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:32,840 Speaker 1: two were leaders in providing equipment and uniforms to the 310 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:36,920 Speaker 1: Baseball League. Spalding was no doubt already eyeing a way 311 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:42,480 Speaker 1: to eliminate his competition. His Baseball World Expedition left from 312 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:46,760 Speaker 1: Chicago on October twentieth, eighteen eighty eight, for America's West coast. 313 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:51,800 Speaker 1: They would eventually touch down in Hawaii, Samoa, New Zealand, Australia, 314 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:54,959 Speaker 1: Sri Lanka, and Egypt, where they played in the shadow 315 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:59,000 Speaker 1: of the Pyramids. They also hit Italy, in France, England, Scotland, 316 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:01,760 Speaker 1: and Ireland. On the return to the States in April 317 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:04,399 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty nine, the touring group was met with the 318 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:08,480 Speaker 1: pomp and circumstance fitting America's new global ambassadors of baseball. 319 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:10,919 Speaker 1: A grand dinner was held in their honor at New 320 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:14,560 Speaker 1: Yorks Deale Monaco Restaurant, with notable attendance by Mark Twain 321 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:17,440 Speaker 1: and Teddy Roosevelt. That was the kind of big ball 322 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:21,560 Speaker 1: er Spaulding had become. Former National League president Abraham Mills 323 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:24,359 Speaker 1: was asked to be the Knight's master of ceremonies, and 324 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:27,879 Speaker 1: he spoke of the tour's vindication of baseball's American origins. 325 00:19:28,359 --> 00:19:32,440 Speaker 1: The crowd reportedly responded with chance of no rounders, no rounders, 326 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:36,400 Speaker 1: a clear shot at anyone that thought baseball originated from England. 327 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:40,680 Speaker 1: A movement was beginning to take root. The country wanted 328 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:43,400 Speaker 1: to claim baseball as a sport with origins that were 329 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:46,720 Speaker 1: purely American, and a g Spalding was at the center 330 00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:55,040 Speaker 1: of that effort. Just a few months after his return 331 00:19:55,080 --> 00:20:00,679 Speaker 1: to America, Spalding began consolidating his power. He purchased his 332 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:04,240 Speaker 1: rival to Reach company, becoming the soul provider of baseballs 333 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:07,840 Speaker 1: to all of professional baseball, an arrangement that would last 334 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:11,840 Speaker 1: nearly a century. Three years later, when his old teammate 335 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:15,160 Speaker 1: George Wright lost his partner to a heart attack, Spalding 336 00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:18,000 Speaker 1: swooped in and purchased a controlling stake in his company, 337 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:22,119 Speaker 1: Wright and Ditson, then a major player in baseball sporting goods. 338 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:25,840 Speaker 1: Two years after that, Spalding gobbled up the pioneer in 339 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:30,040 Speaker 1: the sporting goods field, Peck and Snyder. Spalding arranged for 340 00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:33,360 Speaker 1: all of these companies to continue manufacturing their products under 341 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:37,440 Speaker 1: their brand names, But unbeknownst to the general public, Spalding 342 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:41,720 Speaker 1: had quietly acquired near monopolistic control of the entire baseball 343 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:46,240 Speaker 1: sporting goods market. The industry was helping grow American manufacturing, 344 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:50,159 Speaker 1: with factories producing equipment and apparel for baseball, football, and 345 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:54,040 Speaker 1: other sports. But it was baseball that was Age Spalding's 346 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:57,080 Speaker 1: true passion, and he wanted to officially designate it an 347 00:20:57,119 --> 00:20:58,399 Speaker 1: American born sport. 348 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:02,479 Speaker 4: She wanted the game to be Americanized. He was so 349 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:05,600 Speaker 4: it was so adamant about that. I believe there was 350 00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:09,000 Speaker 4: a motivation behind for merchandising as far as for has 351 00:21:09,119 --> 00:21:11,240 Speaker 4: balls and bats and things like that. 352 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:14,680 Speaker 1: But the influential editor of his Baseball guide would throw 353 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:22,719 Speaker 1: a wrench in that mission. Get fifty off an RPA 354 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:26,399 Speaker 1: baseball cap. Today we have several baseball caps to choose from, 355 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:28,120 Speaker 1: plus a trucker cap Just. 356 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:30,600 Speaker 2: Visit Redpilled America dot com and click shop in the 357 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:35,639 Speaker 2: top menu. That's Red Pilled America dot com and click 358 00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:36,679 Speaker 2: shop in the topmenu. 359 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:40,200 Speaker 1: The sale lasts through the end of the month. Support 360 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:52,720 Speaker 1: what you love or it goes away. Welcome back to 361 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,880 Speaker 1: Red Pilled America. So by the year nineteen hundred, AG 362 00:21:56,080 --> 00:22:00,160 Speaker 1: Spaulding had quietly acquired control of the entire baseball sporting 363 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:04,080 Speaker 1: goods market. The baseball industry was helping grow American manufacturing, 364 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:07,359 Speaker 1: and ag Spalding wanted to officially designate it as an 365 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:11,240 Speaker 1: American born sport, but the influential editor of his Baseball 366 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:14,840 Speaker 1: Guide would throw a wrench in that mission. As the 367 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:17,800 Speaker 1: new mogul of the sport, Spalding's Baseball Guide took on 368 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:21,960 Speaker 1: even more influence. In its nineteen oh three edition, its editor, 369 00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:26,160 Speaker 1: Henry Chadwick, defied his boss by arguing that American baseball 370 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:31,399 Speaker 1: derived from the British sport of rounders. It was game 371 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:37,080 Speaker 1: on Spalding published an op ed in The Washington Post 372 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:41,200 Speaker 1: entitled The Origin and Early History of Baseball, rejecting Chadwick's 373 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:44,840 Speaker 1: assertion and arguing that the game had pure American roots, 374 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:48,679 Speaker 1: but he had no concrete evidence, so in hopes of 375 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:51,919 Speaker 1: adding legitimacy to his claim, he organized a commission to 376 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:55,359 Speaker 1: research the origins of baseball called the Mills Commission. The 377 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:58,560 Speaker 1: group was led by former National League president Abraham Mills, 378 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:01,600 Speaker 1: the same man that spoke of America as the birthplace 379 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:05,880 Speaker 1: of baseball at Spaldem's World Tour celebration dinner. The commission 380 00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:09,320 Speaker 1: also included other former National League presidents, as well as 381 00:23:09,359 --> 00:23:13,440 Speaker 1: former players turned sporting goods entrepreneurs I'll Reach and George Wright, 382 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:16,280 Speaker 1: the same two who sold their business to Spalding just 383 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,600 Speaker 1: a few years earlier. In other words, the commission was 384 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:23,600 Speaker 1: stacked in Spalding's favor. The Mills Commission released its report 385 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:26,760 Speaker 1: on December thirtieth, nineteen oh seven, and concluded first that 386 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:30,520 Speaker 1: baseball had its origins in the United States, and second 387 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:33,800 Speaker 1: that the first scheme for playing baseball, according to the 388 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:37,440 Speaker 1: best evidence obtained to date, was devised by Abner Doubleday 389 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:41,760 Speaker 1: at Cooperstown, New York, in eighteen thirty nine. The nineteen 390 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:44,800 Speaker 1: oh seven report stated that Spalding furnished the commission with 391 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:48,880 Speaker 1: a statement by a reputable gentleman that witnessed Abner Doubleday 392 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:53,040 Speaker 1: draw the first known diagram of the baseball diamond, indicating 393 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:55,960 Speaker 1: the position of the players. The narrative fit the Bill 394 00:23:57,240 --> 00:23:59,840 Speaker 1: Doubleday was a major general and was in command of 395 00:23:59,880 --> 00:24:02,520 Speaker 1: the Union Army at the close of the first day's 396 00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:06,080 Speaker 1: fight in the Battle of Gettysburg. He was an American hero, 397 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:10,640 Speaker 1: and just as perfectly cooper'stown, the alleged placed Abner double 398 00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:13,840 Speaker 1: Day invented the game, was a picturesque town in New York. 399 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:17,600 Speaker 1: A better origin story could not be fabricated. But this 400 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:20,719 Speaker 1: origin story would turn out to be exactly that. It 401 00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:24,600 Speaker 1: was a complete work of fiction. Historians would later discover 402 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:27,280 Speaker 1: that Abner Doubleday in fact had nothing to do with 403 00:24:27,359 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 1: creating baseball. The Commission relied on a single person's account 404 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:33,960 Speaker 1: to peg the Civil War hero as the game's creator, 405 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:37,680 Speaker 1: and it turns out that Spalding helped orchestrate the final verdict. 406 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:44,399 Speaker 4: So he writes a letter in a newspaper across the 407 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:48,000 Speaker 4: country trying to find out does anybody have any information 408 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 4: on where this wool began? And of course one gentleman 409 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:56,040 Speaker 4: at Denver answers his call. 410 00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:58,480 Speaker 1: The gentleman explained that when he was just a child, 411 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:02,440 Speaker 1: he witnessed a young Abner Doubleday draw the first baseball 412 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:05,320 Speaker 1: diamond and developed the rules of the game in Cooperstown, 413 00:25:05,359 --> 00:25:07,040 Speaker 1: New York in eighteen thirty nine. 414 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:10,600 Speaker 4: Spalding takes this guy at his word, and you have 415 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:12,959 Speaker 4: to understand that there's no internet, right, so it's all 416 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:16,680 Speaker 4: letter correspondence, and believes this story of what he tells 417 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:21,359 Speaker 4: about being a Cooperstown and all that famous mythological story. 418 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:25,760 Speaker 4: And Spaulding was so happy to have anybody to corroborate 419 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:29,160 Speaker 4: what he thought was the origins of baseball starting here, 420 00:25:29,359 --> 00:25:31,480 Speaker 4: that he believed them and ran with that story. 421 00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:34,480 Speaker 1: And who is this reputable gentleman that claimed this magical 422 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:35,480 Speaker 1: beginning of baseball. 423 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:39,480 Speaker 4: Let's get back to Agner Graves, the person who cited 424 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:42,919 Speaker 4: as a reputable person. Well, he ended up killing his 425 00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:45,679 Speaker 4: wife and spent his final days on the Satan Asylum, 426 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:47,840 Speaker 4: so I don't know how regretable he was. 427 00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:59,639 Speaker 1: The debate over the origins of baseball is still raging 428 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:02,520 Speaker 1: to this very day, and we'll dive into that hotbed 429 00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:06,040 Speaker 1: and some future episode, but the key takeaway here is 430 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:08,520 Speaker 1: that the belief that baseball had its roots purely in 431 00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:12,040 Speaker 1: America was now made official by the Mills Commission. Age 432 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:15,720 Speaker 1: Spalding was vindicated for the time being. While the iron 433 00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:19,119 Speaker 1: was hot, Spalding embarked on a national campaign to brand 434 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:22,720 Speaker 1: baseball as American as apple pie. He published a book 435 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:26,359 Speaker 1: in nineteen eleven entitled America's National Game and served it 436 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:32,920 Speaker 1: as his final argument. He won the debate. Baseball was 437 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:36,760 Speaker 1: now officially American. The baseball cap was poised to become 438 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:39,720 Speaker 1: the nation's hat. By the time of Age Spalding's death 439 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:43,120 Speaker 1: in nineteen fifteen, his collective of companies alone had at 440 00:26:43,119 --> 00:26:49,560 Speaker 1: one time or another manufacturing plants in Newark, Philadelphia, Chickapea, Springfield, Boston, Chicago, 441 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:53,199 Speaker 1: and other locations. But out of all the products manufactured 442 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:56,640 Speaker 1: for America's official pastime, the baseball cap had not yet 443 00:26:56,720 --> 00:26:59,600 Speaker 1: been the breakout star. It was just another piece of 444 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:02,440 Speaker 1: equipment for the game and was largely relegated to the 445 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:06,600 Speaker 1: playing field. Will Arlt, owner of the Ideal Cap Company, 446 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:10,760 Speaker 1: creates meticulously accurate vintage caps from the early days of baseball. 447 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:13,920 Speaker 1: He re engineered his caps by rummaging through the Hall 448 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:16,960 Speaker 1: of Fame archives and other preserved collections. 449 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:20,960 Speaker 3: And there were also that a complete set of Spalding 450 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:24,480 Speaker 3: and Reach Guides, which were baseball books published every year 451 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:27,120 Speaker 3: that would have photos of all the teams right down 452 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:30,639 Speaker 3: the Class D, Minor League, and semi pro sections. 453 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:33,199 Speaker 1: I asked Will who was making the baseball caps by 454 00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:34,880 Speaker 1: the early nineteen hundreds. 455 00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:39,159 Speaker 3: Yeah, Spalding, Reach. I can't think of anybody else. But 456 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:42,400 Speaker 3: the other thing is that there were local hat factories too, 457 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:47,560 Speaker 3: and there was no regular procedures back in those days. 458 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:50,960 Speaker 3: There'd be somebody who manufactured ats in the town, and 459 00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:54,480 Speaker 3: whatever sporting goods company that was outfitting the team would 460 00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:58,480 Speaker 3: contract with the local stores. But of those stores, I 461 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:02,120 Speaker 3: don't know. Spalding was in the early up to nineteen twenties. 462 00:28:02,359 --> 00:28:05,359 Speaker 1: By the nineteen thirties, one company Spalding turned two to 463 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:08,040 Speaker 1: create its caps was a new Buffalo, New York based 464 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:12,600 Speaker 1: cap manufacture. That company was New Era, opening its doors 465 00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:15,800 Speaker 1: in nineteen twenty as a manufacturer of gentlemen's hats. New 466 00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:18,760 Speaker 1: Era faced tough times at the onset of the Great Depression, 467 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:21,199 Speaker 1: so the son of its founder convinced his father to 468 00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:24,720 Speaker 1: diversify the business into baseball caps. The decision would be 469 00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:27,920 Speaker 1: a wise one. New Era began making baseball caps for 470 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:31,080 Speaker 1: the Cleveland, Indians, Spalding would come knocking on their door 471 00:28:31,119 --> 00:28:33,959 Speaker 1: to make private label caps to outfit other professional teams. 472 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:39,600 Speaker 1: Baseball was America's national pastime, but its cap had not 473 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:43,240 Speaker 1: yet become popular. Off the field, however, they were being 474 00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:46,680 Speaker 1: seeded throughout the country. With the arrival of television, the 475 00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:49,640 Speaker 1: game was broadcast into ninety percent of American households. By 476 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:52,880 Speaker 1: the nineteen sixties, caps were also finding their way into 477 00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:55,760 Speaker 1: the wardrobe of the youth Little League, launched in nineteen 478 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:58,640 Speaker 1: thirty nine, and by nineteen forty seven, the same year 479 00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:02,000 Speaker 1: the First World Series was televised. According to Ballcap Nation, 480 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:05,239 Speaker 1: a book about the cap phenomenon, the Little League had 481 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:08,280 Speaker 1: sixty teams in about a thousand players. A decade later, 482 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:12,000 Speaker 1: forty seven states had nineteen thousand, five hundred teams with 483 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:15,880 Speaker 1: almost half a million young players, each one bringing home 484 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:30,600 Speaker 1: their own baseball cap. By the end of the nineteen sixties, 485 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:34,280 Speaker 1: the baseball cap was slowly becoming the nation's hat, and 486 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:37,800 Speaker 1: there were multiple big time American manufacturers like New Era 487 00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:41,520 Speaker 1: out of Buffalo, New York, or Kmpro out of Boston, Massachusetts, 488 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:44,680 Speaker 1: or Sports Specialties out of Beverly Hills, just to name 489 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:48,440 Speaker 1: a few They were mainly being manufactured in the United States, 490 00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:52,920 Speaker 1: but a new development was under way. Many companies started 491 00:29:52,920 --> 00:29:56,240 Speaker 1: to turn to South Korea and other foreign countries to 492 00:29:56,360 --> 00:29:59,520 Speaker 1: build this American icon. But it would be an unexpected 493 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:02,960 Speaker 1: event that would dramatically alter the story of the baseball cap, 494 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:06,760 Speaker 1: a chance meeting of athletes from a completely different sport 495 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:10,160 Speaker 1: that would forever change the course of American manufacturing. 496 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:13,840 Speaker 6: The American athletes were welcomed by the Chinese premier himself. 497 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:17,880 Speaker 6: Crowds of eighteen thousand turned out to watch exhibition matches 498 00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:20,800 Speaker 6: in which it can now be said, the Chinese let 499 00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:23,680 Speaker 6: the Americans win. You think the Chinese guy went easy 500 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:26,400 Speaker 6: on you because you were an American visitor. 501 00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:29,240 Speaker 3: I would say, yes, I think so. 502 00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:40,000 Speaker 1: I think so. Coming up on red pilled America. 503 00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:41,320 Speaker 3: And when I was entering, I said, like, you know, 504 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:44,520 Speaker 3: one after another, like bodies are coming out. 505 00:30:45,080 --> 00:30:49,600 Speaker 6: I was a senior policy advisor with the Donald J. 506 00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:51,160 Speaker 1: Trump for President campaign. 507 00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:54,120 Speaker 7: The factories in Asia kind of caught up with the 508 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:58,480 Speaker 7: ability to make baseball hats, and within a year or two, 509 00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:01,040 Speaker 7: all those companies that I had started making hats overseas, 510 00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:03,719 Speaker 7: and we were left with very little business. 511 00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:05,240 Speaker 1: And they like to think that we get our value 512 00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:07,239 Speaker 1: back because the cars we get are cheaper, even if 513 00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:08,640 Speaker 1: we've lost our freaking jobs. 514 00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:11,200 Speaker 5: The New Era Cap Company says it plans to close 515 00:31:11,280 --> 00:31:15,320 Speaker 5: it's manufacturing plant here in Derby. New Era Cap is 516 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:18,360 Speaker 5: a homegrown success story. It was found in nearly one 517 00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:20,600 Speaker 5: hundred years ago, right here in Western New York. 518 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:26,920 Speaker 2: Red Pilled America is an iHeartRadio original podcast. It's produced 519 00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:30,320 Speaker 2: by me Adrianna Cortez and Patrick Carrell, chie for Informed Ventures. 520 00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:31,000 Speaker 4: Now. 521 00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:33,840 Speaker 2: Our entire archive of episodes is only available to our 522 00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:38,360 Speaker 2: backstage subscribers. To subscribe, visit Redpilled America dot com and 523 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:41,120 Speaker 2: click support in the topmenu. Thanks for listening.