NEW YORK \u2014 Thirty years ago director Spike Lee, one of the most recognizable New York sports fans in the world, and New Era, the company behind the on-the-field headwear of Major League Baseball for almost a century, were on to something big. They just didn\u2019t know it at the time.<\/p>\n
The legend is as follows: in 1996, Lee was attending the World Series between the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves. The Yankees opened the series with two straight losses at home in The Bronx and were headed to Atlanta for the next three games. Lee was traveling to those games in Atlanta and knew he\u2019d be wearing a black Yankees Starter jacket with \u201cYankees\u201d emblazoned in red on the front. He then made a coordination call both literally and figuratively that would change the baseball hat game forever.<\/p>\n
He wanted a red Yankees hat to match the red scripted letters of his Starter jacket. But not just any novelty hat. He wanted a 59FIFTY from New Era. The exact, authentic model worn on the field by MLB players. At the time, MLB and New Era only produced hats in teams\u2019 standard colors. So Lee called Chris Koch, the CEO of New Era, whose family has been running the company since its inception in 1920, and made his bold request. Koch wasn\u2019t even sure such a thing was allowed, but he did know Lee would need permission from Yankees ownership. Lee made a call to then Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who gave his personal approval to the idea.<\/p>\n
The red Yankees fitted was born, and gave way to a baseball hat revolution.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve ever worn a hat of your favorite baseball team in a color that isn\u2019t the team\u2019s standard look, but instead a color that just so happens to match your shoes, you can thank Lee and Koch\u2019s decision to make a wider variety of MLB hat color offerings a reality.<\/p>\n
In 1996, Lee\u2019s hat went viral before the internet was even at high speed when he was seen on television in Atlanta during the World Series. New Era and hat retailers all over started getting calls asking if the hat was available. The spectrum of what was possible for baseball hats was now wide open.<\/p>\n
The Yankees would end up going unbeaten from that point on and won that World Series. It still has not been confirmed or denied if Lee\u2019s red hat had something to do with shifting the mojo.<\/p>\n
Three decades later, Lee and Koch were front and center at New Era\u2019s flagship store in the SoHo neighborhood of New York on Saturday, May 9 (which the company declared to be 59FIFTY Day) at a private, invite-only event celebrating the 30th anniversary of the little red hat that could. Lee held a hat signing open to the public at the store earlier in the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt that time teams only had one hat\u2026 not like the alphabet now,\u201d Lee told The Athletic before speaking to attendees of the event with Koch. \u201cEverybody (now) and their crazy colors. \u2026 That (red hat) changed everything. The entire industry. I mean \u2026 teams got colors like the Froot Loops (now). But no one knew what that was going to mean. And that was 30 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
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