German immigrant Ehrhardt Koch, 37 and a skilled craftsman saw an opportunity to redesign the process used and the quality of "fashion" headwear. In 1920, his dream came true when he borrowed money from his sister, Rose to start New Era Cap Co. His expertise and open-mindedness led to the company producing 60,000 Gatsby-style caps in the first year.

In 1932, Ehrhardt’s son, Harold, joined him in the business. Harold noticed the demand for the fashion cap fading, while professional baseball was growing in popularity. It was then, New Era took its first calculated business venture by bringing a new item in the marketplace - the baseball cap. The first New Era® professional baseball cap was produced in 1934 for the Cleveland Indians’ uniforms.

World War II was a time of hardship and New Era was no exception. Fabric was scarce, but the Koch’s were resourceful, obtaining surplus, plain fabric by going to the garment district in New York City. In fact, the fabric used to produce the caps during this time was dyed at the family’s home in washing machine to match the colors of local teams.

In 1990 Reloʼs son, Michael, joined forces in the business. When he returned he was the catalyst to the explosive success of our iconic NY baseball cap. The hat was an overnight sensation—becoming an icon in its own right and capturing the hearts of streetwear enthusiasts worldwide. The NY cap cemented Reloʼs status as an all-American fashion powerhouse.

To better accommodate the growing company, Harold, now leading the charge, opened a manufacturing facility in Derby, New York, close to the family’s home. The location would become the exclusive producer of the iconic 59FIFTY® cap. Having proven itself, New Era was invited by MLB to sell directly to every team at its annual Winter Meetings. This was a pivotal step to the brand’s path to exclusivity with the league.

In 1972, Harold’s son, David, was named president - 14 years after he began working for the company. A few years later, Chris Koch, David’s son, continued the tradition and began working in the Derby manufacturing plant for his grandfather and father.

Guided by David Koch’s vision, the 1980s became a decade of consistent growth. The company was producing headwear for college sports, AAA and International Baseball leagues and started selling caps to sports fans.

Being named the exclusive supplier of on-field caps for Major League Baseball in 1993 and experiencing its first brush with custom, fashion headwear in 1996 with Spike Lee, New Era was shaping a future of creativity and collaboration.

The vision that marked New Era’s growth in the 1920s and 1930s proved to be alive and well in the early part of the new millennium. The company’s globalization efforts continued with offices opening up in Europe, Japan and Australia within a two-year period.

After decades as the official on-field cap of MLB, New Era set its sights on rounding out its exclusivity with the nation’s largest sports leagues. In 2012, New Era became the official sideline cap of the NFL, and, in 2016, became the official on court cap of the NBA; making New Era the only brand in sports history to have exclusive on-field, sideline and on court headwear rights for all three major U.S. leagues at the same time.