Over the course of the next few days, we'll be offering the occasional tip for gift-giving -- keeping it all-local, far as you know. This particular item's devoted to the sports fan in your life, who might want, oh, a 1901 Dallas Griffins ball cap for his noggin or a Dallas Tornados tee. Or a Tony Romo replica jersey -- from his high-school playing days. Seems Burlington High School's making a small fortune off the $45 replica of Romo's No. 16 jersey, which you can order from the school's online store. They're also selling tees, sweatshirts and hoodies with Romo's name and number on the back. You'd best snap to, Eastern Illinois State.
But let's say your gift-giving interests are more retro than the late 1990s. The early-era ball caps are easy enough to find: Go to Cooperstown Ballcap Co. and type in "Dallas," which'll bring up 10 old caps for your choosing, among them lids for the 1914 Dallas Giants, the 1953 Dallas Eagles and the 1963 Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers. They run $33 a piece, but you'd best order now: All caps are custom-made to size, and take two to four weeks per order.
The folks at Dallas-based Section 219/Classic Sports Logos, which I wrote about years ago, are a little quicker, as they're merely ironing on to tees and hoodies the logos of extinct franchises, including such hockey teams as the Dallas Blackhawks and Fort Worth Texans, for which there's also a pretty nifty cap. (The whole list of local teams is available here.)
But if you're looking for throwback items a little harder to catch, Atlanta-based Distant Replays serves as your one-stop clearing house for, among other things, this Dallas Cowboys Original Logo Thermal (for $56), a reproduction of the 1950 Dallas Eagles home jersey ($175, ow) or, for $275, a wearable replica of the 1960-'62 Dallas Texans' helmet. I'm cheaping out myself, and picking up for the low, low price of $25 this reproduced Dallas Chaparrals pennant. Or this Chaparrals patch, which claims to be the real deal, for $10.
Tomorrow: Art attack! --Robert Wilonsky
