Capshot: Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Pro-Line

A rare departure for me: this cap is not a New Era product, but a Pro-Line cap.

Better known now as a Dodgers affiliate, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes were a San Diego Padres affiliate from 1970-71 and 1993-2000. Fun fact: the team actually moved into Rancho Cucamonga and acquired the Quakes moniker as a Padres affiliate in 1993. This particular cap is assuredly from the 93-98 era as you’ll soon see.

Gray crown
Teal brim & squatcho
Black eyelets
Teal & black Quakes wordmark

Even though this cap is a fitted cap, my quick Google research shows that it was never used as an on-field cap and is most likely a retail version. Teal was indeed the primary color of the 90s Quakes and is a very 90s color; the team has since gone to a more standard blue shade.

Here’s a better look at the Quakes wordmark. I always found the use of the fault line to break up the lettering to be a cool concept. Their current on-field caps have an embroidered fault line across the brim.

At the rear of the cap is where you find a Padres link. The interlocking SD in navy and orange is a reminder of better Padres colorways.

The underbrim and sweatband are rather standard for the 90s era. Gray underbrims and white sweatbands were the norm for baseball caps until the mid 2000s. White sweatbands still scare me, though this cap is in surprisingly good shape for being around 20 years old.

As seen on the label, Pro-Line is a cap company out of Forth Worth, Texas. I haven’t been able to find out much more about the company; a cursory Google search didn’t reveal much. To the left is a version of the MiLB logo and indicates this product is licensed.

Cap Availability Status: Rare

This cap is yet another example of eBay hunting. I highly suggest scouring eBay once or twice a week if you’re seriously interested in hunting rare or obscure caps.