Reviewed: New Era Montreal Expos 1969 Cooperstown 59FIFTY

The Expos left Montreal in 2004. The cap has outlived the franchise by two decades and shows no sign of stopping, because it is simply the best-looking logo baseball ever produced.

That logo

It reads as a stylised M for Montreal. Look again and it is a lowercase e, a l and a b interlocked — Expos, Baseball, in both official languages at once. Red and royal on white, no outline, no drop shadow. Designed in 1969 and it has not dated a day.

Half the people who wear this cap could not name a player. That is fine. It is a graphic design object that happens to be a hat.

The panels

This is a genuine tricolour: white front panels, red down one side, royal blue on the back panels and the brim. Most throwback caps pick two colours and stop. The three-way split is why it photographs differently from every angle, and why it is harder to wear than a solid cap.

Cooperstown Collection means it is cut to the period's specification rather than the modern on-field one — a slightly taller crown and a flatter brim.

Sizing

59FIFTY is a fitted cap: the size is a measurement, not a preference. This runs 6 7/8 through 8, the full run. Measure around your head just above the ears and take the nearest size — a tape and thirty seconds beats guessing.

Wool blend, so it gives a very small amount over the first month and then stops.

Who it's for

Anyone who wants a cap with three colours to build around — it will pull a red, a royal or a plain white out of an outfit depending on what you pair it with. It is a loud cap. If you want a fitted that disappears, the black Bulls or the two-tone Dodgers do that job.

11 sizes. $52.99.

Shop the New Era Montreal Expos 1969 Cooperstown 59FIFTY Fitted — free US shipping over $150.