The only specimen we have seen for sale, let alone in a collection. The earliest American football headgear was created as the game was developing in its earliest days, and helmets were not yet even a glimmer in the eyes of the football gods, let alone the existence of a professional league. This style is undoubtedly the Princeton College cap and this is crucial as Princeton organized the first game (1869) and deserves credit for being one of the true original inventors and innovators of the great game of American football. The striking wool cap is similar to the photo shown here, right from the black and orange striped design (no you cannot see the color but those WERE the Princeton colors) and the unmistakable beanie top. The cap is in very good condition, with no major defects and no discoloration, but one can see that it had a rough and tumble life on the gridiron in the earliest days of the game. Recently discovered and fresh to the market, this has been examined by several early football equipment aficionados and it passed with flying colors. This is what you have been searching for all these centuries.