info needed - early cincinnati reds pinback

[Bumpus Jones]

Can anyone provided some background on this 1/2" pin? Is it from a series? Age and approximate value would be great!

Thanks,

Chris

[batsballsbases]

Chris,
Email sent about the pin. Al

[Dave4Reds]

Please post on here thoughts about the pin. I was an under bidder on this pin even though I was concerned that this may have nothing to with the Cincinnati Reds. It obviously predates Charlie Hustle. Could it possibly have something to do with the American Communist Party of the 1930-40s?

[springpin]

Dave,

This is one of several pins I've come across over the years that has unclear meaning. It seems to be baseball related given the use of a team name and a verb we associate with sports. I am certain it is not a pin supporting the Communist party. Their pins used sober words, not colloquial expressions as "hustle." Years ago I came across two pins, one that said "Reds" and one that said "Blues." They are in my book. I speculated they might be booster pins for the Kansas City Blues and (I believe it was the) Wichita Reds. Years later I found the Reds pin with a ribbon. The ribbon said something like, "McGreevy's 40th anniversary sale" (this is from memory and I may be a little off). I did some research on the store name, and I recall it was located in Rochester, NY. The pins was from the 1940s, as the company was founded at the turn of the century. The back paper indicated the pin was made by Bastian Brothers of Rochester, NY. I have no idea what Reds and Blues might have meant to the store. Perhaps they sponsored two local teams, but maybe the two colors have nothing to do with sports at all.

So, is your pin a Cincinnati Reds pin? Maybe, as I can't disprove it. It appears to be of the same vintage as the two pins I mentioned. Perhaps it too refers to the store, and perhaps somewhere out there is a "Hustle for Blues" pin. I have come across several pins that have the word "Reds" in them, all from this same era, that may or may not be related to the Cincinnati Reds. However, after discovering the pin with the ribbon, I have become more reluctant to automatically assume they refer to the Cincinnati Reds.

Sorry I can't give you a definite answer to your question, but this is what my experience has taught me.

Paul

[Dave4Reds]

Paul - thanks for the great info. I bid on this pin, but I just didn't feel comfortable with it being a Cincinnati Reds pin. Though I still like it and would have been happy to add it to my collection. BTW Paul, I love your book. I've scanned the pages about a thousand times...

[batsballsbases]

Dave,
That is what I told Chris about the pin. It may or maynot be associated with the Cincinnati reds baseball team. Could be for a college team,minor league team or something else. These type of pins are very hard to verify, Its kinda like this one ,I have always wondered about it it could be associated with a world series pin for the reds but without a picture of someone wearing it at the stadium or a game,very hard to tell. Pinback is of the older style teens to 20s or older. Just a neat little item to collect and if you get them fairly cheap a nice collectable pin!

[springpin]

Al,

Your pin is from around 1910-20. It has a wonderful history This was the era when civic and fraternal groups (as the Elks) would hold national conventions attended by thousands of their members. They weren't just your usual convention, but involved big-time staging and promotions. Cities would engage in heavy competition to host these conventions, given all the revenue they would bring in. The most prominent host cities were not New York or Chicago as we might imagine. The hotel rates were typically deemed too high for most conventioneers. So the conventions were held in cities large enough to accomodate throngs of attendees, but small enough not to gouge people financially. The great convention cities of the era were Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Cleveland. The city that hosted the most conventions was (of all places) Buffalo. Buffalo made its mark by having hosted a world expo in 1901, and became a favorite location for fraternal groups having their annual bash. These pins that state "_____ Next" were given out at the end of one year's convention, priming the attendees as to the location of the following year's affair. They were not intentionally sports related, but some sporting events would be scheduled by the host city to capitalize on all the people who would be visiting the city. For example, the National Boxing Association staged four fights in one day at the site of the 1925 Shriners conference. These "Next" pins also have a connection to major railroad lines of the day, as many convention attendees would arrive by train. The railroads would sometimes add extra cars to accomodate the many travelers.

Paul

[batsballsbases]

Paul,
Thanks for the info. That makes alot of sense about the "next" pin and its meaning. I always knew that this pin really wasnt associated with sports,but as we pin collectors like to say we can dream a little !!;);) Thanks Paul Al

[Bumpus Jones]

Thanks for everyone's input. I really appreciate it!

[Dave4Reds]

This is exactly why I keep coming back to this forum... The knowledge base is incredible. Thanks.

[cincicards]

Here are a few that I have:

60691
60693
Crookston Minnesota minor league postcard. I picked up the Crookston pin along with this postcard.
60737
60738