59FIFTY

The 59Fifty (stylized as 59FIFTY) is a model of baseball cap made by the New Era Cap Company based in Buffalo, New York. They are often referred to as "Fitted Caps". The 59Fifty is the official on-field cap of Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball, as well as the official sideline cap of the NFL as of 2012. 59Fifty caps are also made for the NHL, NBA and AFL. 59Fifty caps are available assorted "custom" colors for sports teams of the aforementioned leagues as well as city names and Marvel Comics and DC Comics character designs. These caps are distinguished by their high and stiff crowns, and are popular globally.

New Era has been making caps for Major League Baseball since 1934, when it provided caps for the Cleveland Indians. Back then (and for several decades after) New Era had to compete with other companies, most of which were the leading sporting goods manufacturers of the time. The 59Fifty officially made its debut in 1954, but 59Fifty on-field caps were not available to the general public until 1978 when New Era placed a mail order advertisement in The Sporting News.

Changes to the 59Fifty over the next several decades were few, but there was some experimentation. During the 1970s and 80s, some teams experimented with nylon fabric as opposed to wool. Leather sweatbands fell out of favor to cloth sweatbands and were phased out by the late 80s. The underside of the visors were traditionally green, but beginning in the 70s, teams slowly switched over to gray. By 1995, all Major League Baseball teams were using gray. The New York Yankees were among the last teams to use green.

In the late 1980s, the suppliers for official MLB on-field caps were narrowed down to two; New Era and Sports Specialties. On-field caps then carried the "Diamond Collection" label from that point on.

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