# Why has the U.S. Army ruined the beret? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 18, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-u-s-army-ruined-the-beret/571764 "2011-02-18T01:47:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-u-s-army-ruined-the-beret/571764/121 "2011-02-24T17:23:22Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > Worth noting, a big difference between the patrol cap and the baseball cap is how you wear them. The baseball cap, obviously, you simply adjust to your head size and pull all the way down on your head. The patrol cap “perches” higher up on your head, much the same way a fedora or similar nicer hat does. This might explain why so many “old” men wear their baseball/trucker caps the way they do. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-u-s-army-ruined-the-beret/571764/122 "2011-02-24T22:31:17Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > This might explain why so many “old” men wear their baseball/trucker caps the way they do. You know, I was thinking about that the other day. Aside from skullcaps, toques, and stocking caps, baseball caps are the only hats I can think of where you pull it down on your head like that. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-u-s-army-ruined-the-beret/571764/123 "2011-02-25T00:32:02Z")
My guess is that baseball hats were originally tight-to-the-head beanie-type caps with small bills. When the style changed (in the '70s or so?) to that broad rectangular shape, baseball players continued to pull them down tight to their heads. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-u-s-army-ruined-the-beret/571764/124 "2011-02-25T02:26:09Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > My guess is that baseball hats were originally tight-to-the-head beanie-type caps with small bills. When the style changed (in the '70s or so?) to that broad rectangular shape, baseball players continued to pull them down tight to their heads. I don’t know, I’ve seen some old baseball pictures- much, much older than the 70’s- where the baseball caps had ridiculously oversized bills. I mean, we’re talking about 8 inches or so, out there. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-u-s-army-ruined-the-beret/571764/125 "2011-02-25T04:12:13Z")
I’m talking about the shape of the crown, not the shape of the bill. For example, this picture of Babe Ruth – [http://bioproj.sabr.org/bp\_ftp/images3/RuthBabe.jpg](http://bioproj.sabr.org/bp_ftp/images3/RuthBabe.jpg) – shows that the crown of his hat is round and head-shaped. Whereas, this picture of Ken Griffey Jr. shows that the crown has a more rectangular profile – [http://www.askmen.com/women/galleries/men/ken-griffey-jr-/picture-5.html](http://www.askmen.com/women/galleries/men/ken-griffey-jr-/picture-5.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-u-s-army-ruined-the-beret/571764.md?page=6)