When I heard that some of my family was going to attend Brockabrella Night at the Cardinals game earlier this year, I went a little nuts.

If you’ve been following the team for decades, like I have, you remember little things: Scipio Spinks with his Mighty Joe Young mascot; the inexplicable Steve-Carlton-for-Rick-F.-Wise trade; Juaquin Andujar’s unpredictable blood chemistry; enjoying a little schadenfreude when Sammy Sosa got caught corking his bat and so on.

But the brockabrella is a favorite baseball memory of mine. Purportedly invented by Lou Brock, the great Cardinals outfielder of the 1960s and 1970s, the umbrella/hat was brilliant in its simplicity. What do you wear at the game when it’s raining? Why, a Brockabrella, of course! You’d see them on fans all of the time during that era. Brock occasionally posed with it himself:

As Brock faded from the scene, so did his hat. But it’s hard to keep a good brockabrella down. It’s popped up for various promotional reasons over the years, showing up at a car dealership here and a fan giveaway there. I have always, always wanted one, but the opportunity to acquire this has been limited.

Thus, I was thrilled when, after traveling to Missouri to attend a family wedding, I was presented with a brockabella of my own that was acquired at the aforementioned game. I’ll wear it proudly: