What is known about the Centennial Emblem
Not much can be found as to when the process of selecting a suitable emblem began . The National Baseball Centennial Commission did unveil a per posed design in October 1938.
Ford Frick hired Steve Hannagan in the summer of 1938 to create a marketing campaign for a National Commission, during that time Hannagan held a contest for a design, so he claimed, and presented it to the officially formed Centennial Commission in Chicago in October 1938. The design was to remain secret until it's unveiling at the national meeting in New Orleans on the 5th of December 1938.
In February 1939 a reaction to the design by Professional Baseball altered the image of a batter in the center of the emblem ( many though it was Joe DiMaggio ) to a caricature of a batter. Patches were made reflecting the change for Professional Baseball uniforms most teams complied and used the caricature patch. Except for Philadelphia Athletics and the Baltimore Orioles that used the original design on there Spalding made uniforms and I am not sure why, probably ordered their uniforms for 1939 to early. Please vist my web site
www.1939baseball.com
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Press embargo: for design image release