Premium

Calkins: Why Mister Hats is hanging up its hat forever

By , Daily Memphian Updated: July 21, 2025 6:39 PM CT | Published: July 16, 2025 4:00 AM CT
Geoff Calkins
Daily Memphian

Geoff Calkins

Geoff Calkins has been chronicling Memphis and Memphis sports for more than two decades. He is host of "The Geoff Calkins Show" from 9-11 a.m. M-F on 92.9 FM. Calkins has been named the best sports columnist in the country five times by the Associated Press sports editors, but still figures his best columns are about the people who make Memphis what it is.

“Without hats, there is no civilization,” wrote Christian Dior.

Of course, he wrote that in 1954.

That was 71 years ago. The scene at Mister Hats this week offered further evidence — as if we needed any more — that civilization may be teetering.

This is an excerpt of this story. To read more, please click here and subscribe.

Topics

Mister Hats Lansky Stetson Borsalino Panama Hat Bruno Mars Geoff Calkins Subscriber Only

It’s GivingTuesday week! Will you join the celebration?

Donate now to help power our free community news access program.

You
know the value of having unlimited access to The Daily Memphian’s news. When you subscribe, you get full access to our news. But when you donate, you help us reach all Memphians with quality, in-depth local news through
  • free access at over 300 schools and libraries
  • free podcasts and radio broadcasts
  • free newsletters
  • and more!
Pay it forward. Make a fully tax-deductible donation to The Daily Memphian today. 

Thank you for keeping up with local news. Thank you for investing in our community. 

Geoff Calkins on demand

Never miss an article. Sign up to receive Geoff Calkins' stories as they’re published.

Enter your e-mail address

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Comments

Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here