A line drive hitter, a deadly ballhawk in center field and a speed demon in the field and on the bases, Earle Combs was part of four pennant-winning teams and three World Series championships during his 12 seasons with the Yankees. Though Combs may have been overshadowed by more celebrated teammates Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, the center fielder and leadoff hitter was held in high regard by those in the game. “If you had nine Combses on your ball club, you could go to bed every night and sleep like a baby” said manager Miller Huggins. Nicknamed The Kentucky Colonel, the lefty swinging Combs finished with 1,866 hits and a .325 batting average during a career cut short by injuries. Despite the hardships, he collected more than 200 hits in a season three times, scored more than 100 runs eight straight years, from 1925 through 1932, and hit over .300 eight times with a high of .356 in 1927. Fittingly, Combs was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1970.
Worn by Combs in the earliest seasons of his career, this navy-blue wool head gear features the club's interlocking "NY" logo embroidered on the front. A Spalding manufacturer's label resides on the interior leather band, as does embroidered, script-style notations of size "6 7/8" and "E. Combs." Moderate wear is evident, with perspiration-induced soiling about the interior. The cap remains quite structurally sound and remarkably well preserved with no deterioration of fabric or damage to the body or softshell brim. The cap originates from the famed Barry Halper Collection with Sotheby’s tagging intact. A remarkable relic from one of the most unsung heroes of the Golden Age of Bronx baseball.