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.
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.
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 – 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