Dallas Police Hats, 1963

[FedorafromOhio]

Last night I was watching a NatGeo special on the JFK assassination and took great note of the hats the Dallas police were wearing. Does anyone who happened to see the program have any notion of what model of Stetson the police wore during the era? It looks like an open road but the crown seems a little wider.

 

[Tomasso]

A photo wouldn't hurt.

 

[Inusuit]

They look like standard Open Roads or clones to me. The hat on the guy holding Oswald's arm looks too small for him. The crown may look wide becasue he has a narrow face.

 

[frussell]

Same Show

I watched the same show last night, and was surprised how much I was paying attention to the hats, instead of the conspiracy theory. Growing up pretty soon after this photo in Texas, we all called it the "LBJ" hat. I didn't know its real name until I was a grown man. Amazing to see the startled detective (sometimes keyboard player, depending on the version) from the famous photo is still alive and sharp as ever. He appears older in the photo than he must have really been at that time. Fascinating. Frank

 

[HATCO]

they are Resistol San Antones

 

[Atticus Finch]

...And, as I have learned here on the forum, ORs have not been of uniform and consistent demension throughout their history. Open Road brims vary from just over two and a half inches to three inches...depending on when they were made. Also, their crowns have been both higher and lower than modern ORs. The hats in the photo may have been almost new in 1963, or they could have been ten or twelve years old...much variation in the period from 1949 to 1963.

But, as disturbing as it is, I love to watch that old Dallas footage. IMO, that period was the golden era of the Open Road.

AF

 

[Atticus Finch]

they are Resistol San Antones

Thanks! Since I've been interested in Open Roads, I've wondered about what hat those guys were wearing. Did the Dallas PD have a contract with Resistol at that time?

Darn, I was hoping to save some money before Christmas, but now I've got to have a San Antonio.

AF

 

[rgraham]

Great show. Didn't really get into the conspiracy theory at all. It might have been the most interesting show on the assassination I've seen in years. It really brought me back into that time frame.

As far as the hats go, there were a lot of them. They all kind of looked like this to me.

 

[tonyb]

... Open Road brims vary from just over two and a half inches to three inches...depending on when they were made. Also, their crowns have been both higher and lower than modern ORs.

That's about the average range, but I've seen 'em with even narrower brims.

 

[cptjeff]

Great show. Didn't really get into the conspiracy theory at all. It might have been the most interesting show on the assassination I've seen in years. It really brought me back into that time frame.

As far as the hats go, there were a lot of them. They all kind of looked like this to me.

I thought the History channel 48 hours after one was really fascinating. Not having been alive then it's a little different, but as a history buff I found it a neat look at the minutia of the event. I've watched enough on the conspiracy theories to last me a lifetime, and I've also watched the history channel piece that methodically destroys all of them scientifically.

I also noticed the hats. got a laugh at first when they showed a cop, and then a second cop came in view wearing the exact same cowboy hat. Before I figured out that they were a part of the uniform. Just seemed so Texas.

 

[RBH]

they are Resistol San Antones

Thanks!

 

[Stan]

I watched as well.

Hi,

My favorite hat part is early on in the program.

They give JFK an OR style hat in a presentation at a press conference because he's known for *not* wearing hats - and said as much! The presenter had at least two in hand, one inside the other. He probably didn't know JFK's size and so had more than one handy.

JFK didn't put it on, although he moved like he was about to don it more than one time. Then, he quipped that he would put it on back at the White House later in the week, and if any of the reporters wanted to see that, just come on up to DC!

Sadly, that was not to be. It was a good joke all around, though.

I presumed that the Dallas police were all wearing Resistol brand hats, given that the Resistol plant is right down the road from them. Were they already merged with Stetson at that time, or hadn't that happened yet?

Note that Resistol made more than one model of OR clone, too. I have both a San Antonio and a Saddler (they still sport their original build tags and are so named), that look identical until one notices that the Saddler has a higher crown than the San Antonio - about 3/4" higher. The brims are both 2 3/4" though, so that makes the Saddler look a bit funny on my head vs. the San Antonio or my Stetson OR's....

BTW, this show was on last year as well. Then, I watched for the story and didn't pay much attention to other things. This year, I was looking at all sort of other things in the backgrounds. The hats, of course, and also other things we don't see much of any more like station wagons and payphones....

Later!

Stan

 

[FedorafromOhio]

Thanks

Thanks so much for the enlightening inquiries.

I thought that the hat given to JFK was a Shady Oak, or so claims the Peters' Brothers website. It looks like a very nice hat in any event. Might the ones the police wearing be Shady Oaks?

I,too, focused on the hats. It was a great era for hats.

Incidentally, contrary to what some think, JFK did wear hats. He wore a homburg at the Summit Meeting in Vienna in 1962.

 

[FedorafromOhio]

San Antonio

Sorry. I missed the post on Resistol San Antonio. How did they differ from OR's and for what period did Resistol make them?

 

[PabloElFlamenco]

Stan, that's my way of viewing movies, documentaries, or any other film footage: always looking at the background. Trying to find out where it is, when, etcetera. Any details...it's so important to properly "dress" video. And of course those Dallas policemen...1963...yes. LBJ. THE hat.

 

[Inusuit]

FedorafromOhio

For more than you ever wanted to know about Open Road style hats, use the advanced search function and search in "Hats", "Search Titles Only," , for "The Other Open Roads." Lots of information there about Resistol and other OR clones.

 

[Atticus Finch]

Incidentally, contrary to what some think, JFK did wear hats. He wore a homburg at the Summit Meeting in Vienna in 1962.

...And he wore this (slightly too small) hat in Milwaukee one brisk January day when he was still in the Senate...

Come to think of it...maybe this is really why he didn't like to wear hats. In those days there was no Fedora Lounge where one could get good advice on how to buy a well-fitting lid.

AF

 

[Atticus Finch]

They look like standard Open Roads or clones to me. The hat on the guy holding Oswald's arm looks too small for him. The crown may look wide becasue he has a narrow face.

Several Dallas PD officers wore hats that appear to have been too small for them. Check out the fit these three officers are rocking. Do you suppose the big fellow on Oswald's right put on his little brother's hat by mistake?

At least Jack Ruby looks squared away.

AF

 

[fedoralover]

they are Resistol San Antones

Other than the brand name, is there any difference in the look or the way they are made, materials wise??

This thin ribbon style has been around for a long time, I have an old stetson ad with a pic of an Open Road and it shows it with a wide ribbon, similar to a whippet.

fedoralover

 

[rgraham]

At least Jack Ruby looks squared away.

This has got to be one of the top ten all time amazing photos. An incredible moment in time captured on film. Conspiracy theories began to swirl just minutes after this shooting, and a whole new industry was born.