How to tip your cap

It’s such a simple gesture — a tip of the cap. Nobody knows for sure, but it seems to have evolved from the ancient custom of a soldier taking off his helmet when coming upon a friend on the battlefield. The gesture was meant as a sign of respect: “A man,” Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable says, “takes off his hat to show he dares stand unarmed in your presence.”

Over the years, tipping your cap has been a sign of respect and openness and vulnerability, a demonstration of high regard and gratitude.

There are numerous ways to tip your cap. You can respectfully touch the bill of the hat, you can barely tilt it forward or you can go for the full doffing of the cap where you take it high off your head.

Tipping your cap to the Negro Leagues is a simple two step process:

Step 1: Take a photo or short video of yourself tipping your cap to the Negro Leagues. If you would like to include some words — maybe about the cap you are using, why you feel connected to it, what the Negro Leagues mean to you, etc. — that would be great.

Step 2. Send the photo/video to photos@tippingyourcap.com. We’d love it if you posted on your social media using the hashtag #tipyourcap2020.

That’s all! We will be continuously posting photos and videos to honor the great players of the Negro Leagues on the 100th anniversary of their formation. In addition, we would love for you to join us in donating to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City. For 30 years, the museum — co-founded by the great player and manager Buck O’Neil — has been dedicated to telling the story of the Negro Leagues and the players who loved baseball so much they overcame the challenges of their time and played some of the most joyous and brilliant baseball ever played..