New Era

Ehrhart's only child Harold and Rose's son wally soon started to work at the embryonic factory too, cementing the family foundations of the business that survive to this day. Ehrhardt taught his son every step of the cap manufacturing process from the bottom up. After two years of expansion, the fledging company was renamed the New Era Cap Company, and for the most of the decade enjoyed a plentiful run producing a full line of men's casual and uniform caps - although as of yet few sporting goods products. In the 20's 'ready to wear' fashions were enjoying huge popularity for the first time, and men's casual headwear was selling in unprecedented numbers. Among New Era's product line were caps that are today called 'Newsboy' or 'Flappers', eight panel wool caps with a short bill and a loose fitting crown top. New Era made several varieties, but its big seller was a fashion item, the 'Ivy League' or 'Gatsby' cap, made from 100% wool to match men's suits and sold as a high-end accessory for the well-dressed man. On September 26, 1929 Harold Koch married Marion Hughes - the business and family future looked rosy. Then the Great Depression hit America and the world was turned upside down.

1920. Ehrhardt Koch borrows $5000 from his aunt and starts up his own cap company, E. Koch Cap Co. Production starts on the 3rd floor of 1830 Genesee Street, on the corner of Bailey in Buffalo, N.Y. The company starts with 14 employees and the company produces 5000 dozen caps in 1920.

1922. "E. Koch Cap Co." is officially named "New Era Cap Company". The 1920's are very good to New Era, which produces a full line of men's casual and uniform caps, but few sporting goods products.

1932. Baseball enjoying massive popularity. Harold Koch decides that the time is ripe to get into the sporting cap business and convinces Ehrhardt to design New Era's version of the baseball cap.

1934. New Era's first pro baseball caps are produced: the Cleveland Indians Home and Away caps. There was no such thing as exclusive licensing back then, so each year the various companies would compete for the teams' business, as well as for minor league, international league, college leagues and local league teams. New Era's motto was, "quality first, quantity will follow".

Early 1940. New Era was now providing to a long list of local, minor league, college and Canadian baseball teams, as well as plain caps that local outfits around the country would sew lettering or patches on as needed.

Late 1940's. New Era debuts its adjustable size cap. Ehrhardt was worried that they wouldn't look as good as the fitted caps, but the sheer volume of orders couldn't be met any other way and they sold very well.

1950. New Era were supplying caps to the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, and Detroit Tigers, as well as to other teams under the 'private labeling' with Wilson and Spaulding. New Era Cap was by this time the only independent cap maker supplying big league teams.

1954. New Era's fitted pro cap is modernized, redesigned and named the 59FIFTY (AKA the "Brooklyn Style" cap) by Harold Koch, who introduces many design improvements and innovations while head of New Era.

Early 1960's Harold and David Koch call for the end of New Era's private labelling, a challenge that would take most of the 1960's to win over the teams, incentives were offered including cap cleaning and reconditioning.

1969. New Era supplies special caps for the Apollo 11 moon mission's Splashdown Recovery effort on the USS Hornet. All the later moon shot recoveries were also supplied with these unique handmade caps.

1974. 20 of the 24 pro teams were signed up with New Era and business was continuing to grow every year in all sports, from local to national level.

1976. Chris Koch is employed by his father David, and starts work at the Swan Street plant.

1978. New Era experiments with direct marketing and runs an ad in "The Sporting News" offering pro fitted baseball caps to anyone who sent in a cheque or money order for $12.99. Response was overwhelming and helped shape the boom in the fan driven pro licensing that hit the big time in the 80's.

Early 80's. The 80's would be a decade of a consistent steady growth in sales with New Era selling to college sports, local, AAA and international baseball, tennis, golf, custom special orders, the military and 23 of the 26 pro MLB teams.

Mid 1986. In conjunction with Major League Baseball, New Era unveils its Diamond Collection pro 59FIFTY cap - the same 59FIFTY as before but now sanctioned as an official on-field product at last.

Late 1980's. Wearing "the cap the pro's wear" is now a major element of baseball fandom.

1993. New Era is granted the first exclusive license with Major League Baseball to produce the on field pro baseball caps for all the teams.

1996. Filmmaker Spike Lee personally requests a red NY Yankees cap from New Era, starting both a global fashion trend phenomenon as well as a long relationship with New Era. Spike directed the company's first national TV ads in 1997.

1997. New Era unveils its first new logo in a generation, the "The Flag", which would appear on all New Era headwear from then on, and become a fashion statement in its own right.

Early 2000's. Chris Koch is named CEO and New Era's globalisation, having started in 1998 in Canada, now proceeds rapidly, with offices in Europe, the UK, Japan & Australia all within a two year period.

2006. New Era's world head quarters relocating back to its family origins in downtown Buffalo, NY. EK by New Era is launched in the same year as a nod to the classic fashion caps that Ehrhardt Koch was making 86 years ago.

Late 2006/7. New Era's opens its first flagship store in New York City's Greenwich Village, closely following by additional openings in Atlanta, Buffalo N.Y and European cities of London, Birmingham and Berlin.