Why do Red Sox hats have 47 on them?

There are few items more divisive than a Red Sox cap. There’s an energy attached to Red Sox fandom that is seldom replicated in other places, and a team cap encapsulates that feeling. A Red Sox cap is its team, the Red Sox; its stadium, Fenway; its city, Boston; its home, America.

Part of that has to do with its founding: The Red Sox cap began as part of two Italian immigrants’ quests for the American dream when they moved to Boston in 1938. Arthur and Henry D’Angelo got their start as twin 12-year-old immigrants who barely spoke English. You didn’t really have to back then, if you lived in your own Italian-speaking community in the North End of Boston. The D’Angelo brothers peddled items outside of Fenway for a few cents. They started with two-cent newspapers, and grew into team memorabilia, like pennants and hats and T-shirts. Eventually, they had a company on their hands.

Henry and Arthur D’Angelo in their official team store in 1968.

SHOP '47 47brand.com

That company, now known as ‘47, is one of the largest manufacturers of MLB hats. It also has gear for the NFL, NBA, and more than 900 colleges. If you’ve ever worn a team hat or T-shirt before, there’s a pretty good chance you've worn something by '47. Arthur D’Angelo, now 91, can’t remember much about his beginnings anymore. His life has been here in this city, on this street, since the business officially began in 1947 (hence brand name).

Now, he sits in a chair in the middle of the store—a chair the shape of an oversized baseball glove—and he greets fans as they pass through. But before the glove chair, before the store, it was just Henry and Arthur, selling what the could on that same street outside that same stadium.

It began with a pennant.

Arthur D’Angelo can’t recall much about his start with the brand, but his son, Bobby, helps translate some of the stories he can recall his dad telling. Namely, that the brand so heavily focused on hats and T-shirts nowadays actually started with a pennant.

“After World War II, the country was a different place,” says Bobby. “My father followed the Freedom Train, selling American pennants. The first one he sold was a Declaration of Independence pennant. Today, it’s all about hats and shirts. In those days it wasn’t; it was completely different back then.”

After the Declaration of Independence pennant came the Red Sox ones. The Red Sox won the American League Pennant in 1946; the brothers thought selling sports pennants might work as well as peddling political ones. So they started "47 (originally Twin Enterprises). They sold the pennants alongside newspapers and, eventually, baseball caps. They built up enough money to buy property, choosing a small storefront next to a radiator factory on Jersey street in 1967—a storefront that now stands at 25,000 square feet.

“Back then, immigrants were always taught to buy land,” says Bobby. “So that’s exactly what my father did. The city of Boston isn’t going to get any bigger; you want to get a piece of it while you can. He bought three acres across from Fenway park, which we still have. God knows how much it’s worth now.”

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When it comes to business, it's still family first.

Arthur has four sons who run ‘47 now, and they are as connected to the brand and to the Red Sox as their dad. Bobby, Mark, David, and Steven each play integral roles in making sure the brand stays alive, and the passion for the Red Sox continues thriving right along with it.

Sam Kennedy, president and CEO of the Boston Red Sox, notes how special the family’s relationship really is. “Arthur is a Fenway legend and [as of spring 2018,] a Red Sox Hall of Famer,” he says. “Thirty years ago, he would take the time to interact with fans every day; he does the same today. The bond the bothers share over building and running a business together is so rare these days. They work together seven days a week and even go on vacation together. They are inseparable. It’s very special.”

That set of values was passed to the sons—the same kind of familial connection Bobby believes keeps the strength of Red Sox fandom alive. “If you’re a Red Sox fan, it’s in your blood,” says Bobby. “Even if you’re an 18-year-old and you feel like you don’t want to go to the game with your dad, or your dad’s dad—all of whom were or are Red Sox fans—just you wait. You can’t fight being a Red Sox fan if it’s in your blood.”

Bobby and Arthur aren’t worried about baseball fandom declining, either. And standing in their territory—the pro shop across the street from Fenway—it’s easy to see why. There are families, groups of friends, spanning across generations. There’s energy and excitement. There are lines to buy hats and hot dogs. Like Bobby said, it’s a happy place. Arthur still sits in his glove chair, smiling at the lasting empire he has built.

There’s an unparalleled connection between the brand and the team.

“I just wish he was younger so he could tell you all the stories he has,” says Bobby. “This didn’t happen by accident, you know? A lot of work—a lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into building this. This has never been about how much we can make. This is about a love for what he does. He is a die-hard Red Sox fan. He used to live and die by wins and losses because our business used to be dictated by that. He makes like it’s nothing, but believe me, it’s everything in his life.”

And the Red Sox love him right back. Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy’s own start with baseball and the team happened right here, in this store. He has since maintained a close relationship with ‘47.

“Growing up a mile from the ballpark, my dream was to work for the Red Sox and inside Fenway Park,” says Kennedy. “That journey began at 15 when I was fortunate enough to get a job at the '47 Team Store on Jersey Street. It confirmed for me that I needed to do everything in my power to pursue a career in baseball. I sold hats, pennants, T-shirts, and trinkets. You learn quickly that each person you interact with might be experiencing their first-ever ballgame and you are a part of a lifetime memory.”

That kind of intimacy and connection with the customer is exactly what the D’Angelos have worked so hard to maintain. “A lot of people’s first taste of Fenway park is here, in this store,” says Bobby. “They get to see my father; they’re treated well, and they get to see that it’s nice to be a Red Sox fan. This is a happy place.”

Arthur believes the same. He struggles to find the words, sitting in his chair, a flurry of people filing up to and out of the Fenway park landmark he built. “I do the same thing every day,” says Arthur. “I sit in my chair and I watch the people come by and I chew the fat with everyone. That’s my life. I love it.”

Christine Flammia writes about style, grooming, and more; she is the former associate style editor of Esquire and is currently pursuing a PhD in communications at Columbia.

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