"Uncontested - The Champ"

[CONELRAD]

I picked up this Champ at the Dallas Vintage Clothing and Jewelry Show, along with a Knox Homburg.

It may not be as spectacular as Howard's up there, but it's a decent hat, and I'm always thrilled to find a vintage hat in 7 3/8 at a fair price. Plus it's got a wind trolley (that's not visible in the picture), and that's a feature that I always fall for. Brim is 2 3/8 inces, crown is about 4 1/2 inches creased, 5 5/8 open.

The felt is quite stiff, and I've been trying to soften it up, but I must say, this is the best fitting hat in my (very) small collection.

It had some disgusting brown crust of unknown origin on the plastic liner cover, but I managed to clean it up, and I wiped the liner down with a Clorox wipe, just to be safe.

Apparently belonged to a Lyle, originally.

The sweatband is very soft and supple, and I can turn it in and out with no problem.

It came with a Knox box, which worked out great, since I happened to pick up a Knox at the same show.

It has a classic mid 1950s look, and all in all I like it, it's a nice casual type of hat. I had always sort of wanted a Champ, for some reason (I suppose that I'd like to sample all of the vintage hat makers, if I could).

 

[Miamibruno]

Great hat, CONELRAD. I've never seen that logo on a Champ liner before. My favorite hat is a Champ. The felt on this is incredible.

 

[Alive'n'Amplified]

Gorgeous hats, CONELRAD and Bruno!!

 

[Alive'n'Amplified]

This is a superb Champ Deluxe hat that I recently received in a trade with a fellow member. Our trade worked out great. He preferred to trade the Champ vs. sell it outright, and his specs were interesting. He wanted the same hat, 5 1/2" OC, 2 1/2" brim, 1 1/5" ribbon, but in grey.

I first thought, "That's kind of a tall order, dude." But then I looked at my hat rack and saw my grey Dobbs FIFTEEN. It was everything he mentioned, except the ribbon is 2". I only wore it every once and a while, and I was a little hesitant at first, but after sleeping on it, I contacted him and told him that I was willing to trade.

He needed a few days to correspond with another member who was interested in the hat, but he didn't have anything worthwhile for him. When I first started reading his email, I felt down. It read, "I followed through with the other member...", and then I read the rest of the message, which basically said that nothing worked out. I was VERY excited, to say the least!!

Anyway, we made the trade and he expressed his thanks for a great hat, as did I. As I mentioned, I've been looking for a blue hat for quite a while. I used to have a Robley stingy, but I ended up selling it, because of the brim. I wanted something with a wider dimension. I figured I would have to get something custom made, which was fine with me. However, most of the felts available are dark blue or very light blue. This was the perfect medium shade.

The hat is thin and very lightweight, similar to a Borsalino Savoy that I have. Great for summer! After it arrived, I gave it a good brushing and steaming. Perked right up! The felt quality is very good; soft, but not as soft as the Dobbs. Since it's so thin, it dry creases like, well... a CHAMP! I can push the 2 1/2" brim up or snap it down and I don't have to apply steam. Notice the very modest underwelt and stitching.

I really like the liner, and I would love an expert to tell me how old this hat is. At one point, there were sweatband tags / stamps, but now they're gone. I wasn't aware that Champ had a Deluxe line, but I guess everyone had their good, better, best category. So on with the details...

Brand: Champ Deluxe
Felt Color: medium blue
Ribbon Color: dark blue / indigo
Size: 7 1/4
Crown: 5 1/2" OC
Brim: 2 1/2" w/ underwelt
Ribbon: 1 3/8"

This last pic was taken with two different lighting elements. Tried to capture the best colors of the ribbon...

 

[winter_joe]

Looks forties to me but, im no expert.

 

[bowlerman]

Again, beautiful champ. Does anyone else see that post 161 in this thread appears to have been submitted in 1972?
I hope it was edited, and I'm not just going crazy, cause the date is correct now!

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2

 

[mikespens]

I can see why your so pleased with the Champ Deluxe David, I'd feel the same if it were mine.

 

[ManofKent]

Lovely hat AnA

 

[Chepstow]

AnA, looks great the new Champ Deluxe, fantastic also the Color!

 

[Joshbru3]

1960's Champ Mini Open Road Clone

I have been looking for one of these Champ "mini" Open Roads for a while. I had one years ago and sold it and have always regretted it. Finally I found another. I am actually going to wear this hat as an "up-brim." With the short 2 inch brim, I like the way it looks as an up-brim.

Here's the auction picture.....




and here's the hat after some crown reshaping....

 

[Joshbru3]

1960's Champ Mini Open Road Clone (cont...)

 

[mikespens]

Congrats Josh, glad you found another. Very nice hat as are all the Champs I've come across. Being a fan of the stingy, I'd wear that with pride.

Nice to see this thread get some action too.

 

[mayserwegener]

Josh, It has a great look! I had a Adam Pacesetter (late 50s early 60s) with a similar form and brim width.

 

[ManofKent]

Nice find Josh.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Nice one even looks good with the cattlemens bash.

 

[hatophile]

That's a nice little hat Josh. I'm so used to the wider brim ORs I think I would have trouble wearing a smaller one like that, but is has a nice 50's look to it.

 

[Joshbru3]

Thanks, Gentlemen!! I have owned a few Champs and they have all been very nice hats. The felt quality was every bit as good as the 50's Royal Stetsons. Every once in a while I see Champs marked "Custom Quality" and once owned one. Those are really special hats. I like 2 inch, 2 1/8 inch, and 2 1/4 inch brims, but usually like really tall crowns with those brims. This hat has a 5 3/8 - 5 1/2 inch open crown but appears a bit taller because of the thin ribbon. I saw a musician wearing one of these "Mini" Open Roads as an upbrim and really liked the way it looked. This is the only hat I currently wear as an up-brim. I'm kinda digging it.

 

[LMS0035]

Newbie here. I recently acquired this vintage Champ felt hat. It appears to be a Pork Pie, maybe "The Penn" by Champ. Looks to be in excellent condition, no wear & tear, just some minor staining on the inside lining. Also, has the initials "JJB" inside. Just trying to find ANY info on it. Thanks!

 

[hatsRme]

Very, VERY nice hat.

 

[guitarmasta12]

Got my first Champ and my first hat check slip! The hat was sold in Syracuse, NY. I bought it from Florida and I live in NY. I brought it home to it's home state. The hat check was dated Dec 27 ,1955. So the hat is definitely mid 50s .