I know today is not Friday but the decision was made to move up the distribution of the Friday Footnote by two days in order to coincide with National Hat Day. Yes, there is a National Hat Day and it is celebrated on January 15 every year.
So what does National Hat Day have to do with Agricultural Education? In this Footnote, our guest columnist, Jim Conners, explores the types of hats/caps worn by FFA members over time. Take it away Dr. Connors.
Today and Then
If you visited the FFA Mega Store at last fall’s National FFA Convention you probably saw racks and racks of FFA baseball caps for sale. Millions of people, and thousands of FFA members wear FFA baseball caps every day. [Curators note; According to the National Hat Day officials, 51% of people who wear hats today wear baseball caps.] However, back in the 1930s and 1940s baseball caps were not as popular as they are today. While we don’t have an official FFA cap today to go along with the corduroy jacket, the Future Farmers of America has sold many unique caps throughout its history.
At the 1930 FFA Convention the Insignia Committee authorized the Pool Manufacturing Company of Sherman, Texas to sell a FFA Uniform which consisted of “..a dark blue shirt, trousers and cap with a yellow tie.” (FFA Convention Minutes, 1930). Sold separately, the cap was 50 cents.
The May 1931 issue of the Agricultural Education Magazine had an article and drawing describing the Pool Company FFA uniform. The description of the cap was (p. 180) “Made of same material as pant [khaki]. Emblem on side. Initials F. F. A. on other side. Gold braid around top. Imitation leather sweatband and poplin interlining. Special stiffening inside of interlining to hold shape“.
Figure 1. The FFA uniform, including the cap, sold by the Pool Manufacturing Company. Image from the Agricultural Education Magazine, May 1931.
In 1933, at the request of the Pool Manufacturing Company, the contract with the FFA was cancelled. A year later (1934) the FFA Board of Trustees authorized the Universal Uniform Company in Van Wert, Ohio to produce and sell FFA caps. That is the same company that still produces the official FFA jacket. This 1940s era brochure states, “Think of the pleasure and attention you will derive from wearing one of these attractive, snappy outfits.”
Figure 2. FFA hats/caps sold by the Universal Uniform Company in the 1930s and 1940s.
Garrison Cap
One of the hats pictured in the brochure is called a Swagger Cap. It is also called by different names such as a Side Hat or a Garrison hat. A garrison is defined as a permanent military installation or the troops stationed at a garrison. The brochure states that, “These attractive caps are made from the same corduroy as the jackets. Trimmed with an F.F.A. emblem and gold braid. You will like their smart, snappy appearance.” The Swagger or Garrison hat sold for $.80.
The movie “The Greenhand” was produced in 1939. At the 1:05:49 mark there is a chapter Greenhand initiation ceremony, and several FFA officers can be seen wearing the garrison style caps
Figure 3. Two styles of Garrison caps. The upper one is made of corduroy while the lower one is not.
Convention Cap
However, on another page of the brochure a similar style hat is listed as a “Convention Cap.” The brochure reads that the caps “…serve admirably as a badge of identification for members at conventions, stock shows, and whenever they get together for business or pleasure.” The caps sold for $.10 each.
Figure 4. An advertisement for the Convention Caps
At the 1:11:42 mark in “The Greenhand” movie, there is a scene where FFA members are checking into the national FFA convention and are given convention caps to be worn while at the convention. It appears this was a tradition. The 1934 FFA Convention Program guide states that all FFA members attending the Tuesday evening October 26 Arena Parade are to be wearing their convention caps.
Figure 5. The front and back views of the Convention Cap.
FFA wasn’t the only organization that wore the Garrison style cap. Several states adopted the Garrison cap for their Ag Ed/FFA organizations. The hat below is from Oregon. David Laatsch, FFA Historian and former Wisconsin agriculture teacher has similar hats from Missouri and Oklahoma.
Figure 6. An Oregon vocational agriculture cap.
Members of the 4-H clubs also had the opportunity to wear a Garrison cap. These were still being worn by 4-H members into the 1960s. The caps were often adorned with 4-H pins, felt patches or chevrons to indicate participation in different 4-H activities. These can often be found for sale on Ebay.
Figure 7. A 4-H cap.
Uniform Cap
The Universal Uniform Company brochure also included two different types of Uniform caps. This type of cap is also known as a Peaked or Service Cap often worn by military or police officers. The Peaked Cap is a military style cap with a flat sloping crown with band or peak (also called a visor).
Figure 8. Uniform Caps
At the October 1934 FFA Board of Trustees meeting a representative of the Universal Uniform Company priced the right cap at $2.00 and called it a military cap. The metal FFA emblem and the use of corduroy made it more expensive than the Overseas Caps on the left which sold for ninety cents. While you can often find Garrison caps for sale on Ebay, neither David Laatsch or I have ever seen or owned an FFA Uniform Cap in our years of collecting. However, there are photographs of FFA members wearing the Uniform or Band Caps.
FFA Band Caps
Below are two pictures of the aforementioned caps being worn by FFA Bands throughout the years. The first picture is the National FFA Band wearing a Garrison style corduroy hat with FFA emblem, similar to the one pictured above. The second picture is of the West Virginia Association band wearing the Uniform or Band style.
Figure 9. The National FFA band wearing Garrison caps
Figure 10. The West Virginia FFA band wearing the uniform caps.
The Baseball Cap
In the early days of the FFA it was common for a FFA chapter to have a baseball or softball team and to compete against neighboring chapters (See the Friday Footnote for March 18, 2022). After the FFA Supply Service started operations in 1948 they offered FFA softball uniforms for sale (see Figure 11). Of course the uniform included a ball cap. The plain National Blue caps cost $1.00 or $1.25 if you wanted FFA on the front of the cap.
Figure 11. An advertisement from the 1951 FFA Supply Service Catalog showing the FFA softball uniform with a plain ball cap.
Conclusion
While we often think of the changes and styles of the FFA jacket over the history of the organization, we rarely think of the different FFA hats that members wore. Currently, the FFA band and chorus do not wear special Band or Chorus labeled jackets and have not worn hats since at least the 1950s or 1960s. While there are dozens of different styles of FFA baseball caps sold and worn by all FFA members in 2025, the FFA Garrison and Uniform/Band hats will forever live in the archives of FFA history.
Special Thanks to David Laatsch, FFA Historian and former Wisconsin Ag Education Instructor/FFA Advisor for providing valuable information and dozens of photographs which could not be included in this brief footnote. If anyone is interested in seeing additional photographs, please contact me at james.connors@sdstate.edu and I can put you in contact with Mr. Laatsch.