What style is this Stetson?

[aandrews]

In the well-known photograph of Lee Harvey Oswald being shot by Jack Ruby (http://patdollard.com/wp-content/uploads/assasination.jpg), what style of Stetson hat is Detective James Leavelle, the man in the white suit, handcuffed to Oswald, wearing? Another gentleman in the foreground is wearing a similar hat. I remember that, in the South during the '60s, that type of short-brimed, Western hat was very popular.

I want to say that it was the "Open Road" (nowadays called the "Roadmaster"), but that doesn't quite match. The "Open Road" had a flat brim and both hats in the photo don't.

(Disclaimer: Disregard the article the photo is associated with; it was the only one I could find easily that included a large image of the famous photo.)

 

[Atticus Finch]

The question has come up before and I think we decided those are Resistols. Resistol made at least three OR clones, but I think Dallas PD officers wore Resistol San Antonios in the early 'sixties.

By the way, I didn't realize that Stetson had changed the name of the OR.

AF

 

[Yeps]

I would say that is an Open Road, or a similar hat by a different maker. Back in the day, the hats were much more malleable and could take on different shapes according to the whim of the wearer. Also, I have an Open Road from the 60s, and it definitely does not have a flat brim, it has a snap brim, and when I got it, it was curled up like that one.

Take a look at a bunch of different Open Roads from Loungers.

 

[Lefty]

The question has come up before and I think we decided those are Resistols. Resistol made at least three OR clones, but I think Dallas PD officers wore Resistol San Antonios in the early 'sixties.

By the way, I didn't realize that Stetson had changed the name of the OR.

AF

+1 on the Resistol.
The OR and the RM are both on sale now. The only differences I could see, as explained in the Ask A Question thread, are the colors in which they're available, and the felts in which they're offered. There might be dimensional differences, but they weren't listed in the sites I checked.

 

[carldelo]

+1 on the Resistol.
The OR and the RM are both on sale now. The only differences I could see, as explained in the Ask A Question thread, are the colors in which they're available, and the felts in which they're offered. There might be dimensional differences, but they weren't listed in the sites I checked.

Per HATCO (in a thread that is here on the Lounge somewhere but I'm too lazy to look for it), the Roadmaster is just an OR in natural color rather than Silverbelly, with much less stiffener in the felt. The felt grade, dimensions and factory crease of the two are the same. The OR hasn't been superceded; however, it seems the Roadmaster is no longer offered, although there are still some for sale here and there.

 

[Atticus Finch]

Some discussion of the Roadmaster here:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?42043-Stetson-Globester-anyone-have-or-seen-one/page2

I scanned around the 'net this morning. There are still some sites selling the hat, but size selection appears to be limited.

AF

 

[Sam Craig]

There were all sorts of variations on that style

Growing up in the West, I remember in the early 60s seeing lots of men wearing the dress/cowboy crosses
You used to find them by the gross in thrift stores, many with really narrow brims

Sam