Collection Title: MSU Beanies
Series Number: RG054-25-02
Processed and Cataloged by: Susan White
Date Listed: March 5, 2025
Date Span: 1920-1929
Size of Collection: .2 linear feet
Number of Boxes: 1 legal half sized document case
Type of Material: Memorabilia and ephemera
Condition of Material: Fair with minor fading
Arrangement: Arranged by material
Historical Information: ‘Dinks’, also known as ‘beanie caps’, were college initiation hats presented to incoming freshman in the early to mid-20th century in an effort to promote school spirit and community. Most colleges recommended that freshman students wear their dinks at all times during their first semester, often requiring them to tip their hats toward upperclassmen. Students could even face a student tribunal if caught without the dink. While popular in the early 1910s and 1920s, use of dinks wavered by the mid-1960.
Scope and Content: Collection consists of two Murray State Normal School beanie caps -- one for male students, one for female students –dated in the 1920s. Also included is an information card that offers a potential price for the beanies. These items were presented as a gift from WKMS.
Subject Headings / Descriptors:
Murray State Normal School (Ky.)
Memorabilia – Murray State
Sports – Baseball -- Vintage
Dinks – Hats – Beanie caps
