I was watching King Of The Hill on YouTube, a documentary about Fergie Jenkins and the 1972 Cubs, when I noticed on one of the videos to the right a screen shot of Steve Blass that caught my eye. It was a documentary about the 1971 Pirates and the screen shot was obviously from the studio setting that these 1971 pins used. I figured I would watch the whole thing to see if they used any other photos from the studio setting and sure enough I spotted three more, Bill Mazeroski, Bob Robertson, and Vic Davalillo. Apparently many of the Pirates posed for these photos but the only one known made into a pin is Roberto Clemente.

Very cool find, Eagle Eye! :D

Do you think someone used the photos without the photographer’s permission and was ordered to stop mid production?

Great find Cliff!

I think that is entirely possibe.

Or not. ;)

Not
 

I shared much of the back story on the pins a while back (in this thread I think). Another piece to the story is there was a dinner in Pittsburgh celebrating the Pirates WS victory and there were a number of the Pirates shot by this photographer that were blown up to use for the dinner. I don't know which Pirates were included and which not. But there were a bunch that were definitely photographed by the same photographer. I have not seen any other Pirate pins(but Clemente).

No new ones but I picked up a couple of Cubs I needed, a 3.5" Billy Williams and a 3" Milt Pappas, from an eBay Cubs pins lot auction. From what is known to exist, I now need the 3.5" Ernie Banks, 3" Johnny Callison, 3" Randy Hundley, and the elusive 3" Jose Ortiz. The lot also came with a signed 3" Paul Popovich. I'm not into signed items of what I collect and would prefer them not to be, but it was a very well done job by Mr. Popovich in some sort of silver ink or paint.

I saw that lot on ebay. You got a good deal. I considered going for it even though I didn’t need any of them just to resell, but I’m glad you got it to add to your collection. I need a couple of the ones you need so if they ever come up, we will probably fight it out. 😂

I was shocked it went for that little. Apparently the guy who has killed me on these Cubs pins over the past nine months or so, Mr. Big, didn't need or want any of them.

I have a Johnny Mize HOF pin that was autographed. The sig wiped off super easily.....but I don’t remember what “solvent” I used. :rolleyes:

Isopropyl alcohol, maybe?

from a 2018 Hake's auction of Paul Muchinski pins, we can now add Maury Wills to the list

That's awesome! A second Dodger. I'm guessing it's a 3" version in juxtaposition to the pin on the left of it.

There was a 1969 MLB 3.5" Ron Santo color pin that I need on eBay for the longest time a couple of years ago, the problem was that is was signed by Santo in sharpie or magic marker and the seller wanted $400 for it. When he eventually came down to $300 I decided that I was going to buy it and try to remove the signature from the clear plastic cover on the pin. Unfortunately someone else got it while I was putting $300 together at the time. It's just as well, I would have dreaded trying to remove Santo's signature. I still need that pin :mad:. The scan is from WorthPoint.

also I love that Santo appears to be wearing Glenn Beckert's helmet on that pin . . .

Occassionally I lose my collecting focus and wander off in a different direction. I am considering collecting these pins as they are not as pedestrian as many of the other 1970s pins. I have the Clemente and would like to add the other Hall of Famers. The Clemente is obviously difficult to find. Does anyone have any insight into the relative rarity of the rest?

Hall of Famers? Mays is super tough (and expensive).

Without doing any real research....based on my "gut"....the Hall of Famers have been bolded.

A's - Blue

Brewers - Bristol, Harper, Hogan, Joss, Koslo, Lockwood, May, Pattin, Roof, Saunders, Walton.

Cubs - Banks, Beckert, Callison, Hands, Hundley, Jenkins, Kessinger, Ortiz, Pappas, Pepitone, Popovich, Santo, Williams.

Dodgers - Allen

Giants - Mays (incl. Friars Club variations), Perry(?).

Mets - Seaver.

Orioles - Palmer, Powell, B. Robinson, F. Robinson.

Pirates - Clemente (Hernandez and Oceak photo proofs seen, but not actual pins).

Reds - (Bench and Rose photo proofs seen, but not actual pins)

Red Sox - Aparicio, B. Conigliaro, Culp, Griffin, Josephson, Kennedy, Petrocelli, Scott, Siebert, Yaz.

Senators - McClain, Howard.

White Sox - John, Melton, Reichardt, Richard

Looks like 50 known, with Perry rumored. Size, pose, finish and/or whether they have the facsimile autograph can vary.

Who needs to be added/deleted?

Thanks Rob, I picked up an Ernie Banks and Frank Robinson last week. I see 11 total HOF members total on the list of known pins. Are any of them more difficult to find than the others?

Not sure. Nothing matters except the Giants! :p

Sorry Rob no Giants or Bucs for that matter! I picked up these two last week they arrived today.

looks like you got the 3" matte Ernie Banks and the 3.5" glossy Robinson.
I consider the 3" version to be the "standard" for this series, based on the theory that the pin I bought outside of Wrigley in 1971 was the 3" Pepitone.
you'll notice that the 3.5" versions aren't as sharp, and have a gloss laminate on them; also there is an additional 3.5" version that uses different signatures; these are decidedly inferior, especially when you compare them with the 3" beauties with the brown ink signatures
ALL of them are scarce, frankly. some of the players listed above are evidenced by only a single known example

Thanks for the information. You are correct the Banks image is much more defined and clear. My Clemente is the same size as the Robinson and has the cover. I know there is a version without the autograph. Do you know if it comes in a smaller version as well?

Don't know for sure about the Clemente, having never even seen one IRL. but it APPEARS that there is a 3" version . . .

Luis Aparicio and Billy Williams are HOFer’s , Vida Blue, Boog Powell, and Frank Howard are not. Also, Tom Hansen discovered the Maury Wills Dodgers pin recently and it needs to be added to the checklist.

But Harold Baines is. SMH.

New list:

Hall of Famers have been bolded.

A's - Blue

Brewers - Bristol, Harper, Hogan, Joss, Koslo, Lockwood, May, Pattin, Roof, Saunders, Walton.

Cubs - Banks, Beckert, Callison, Hands, Hundley, Jenkins, Kessinger, Ortiz, Pappas, Pepitone, Popovich, Santo, Williams.

Dodgers - Allen, Wills.

Giants - Mays (incl. Friars Club variations), Perry(?).

Mets - Seaver.

Orioles - Palmer, Powell, B. Robinson, F. Robinson.

Pirates - Clemente (Hernandez and Oceak photo proofs seen, but not actual pins).

Reds - (Bench and Rose photo proofs seen, but not actual pins)

Red Sox - Aparicio, B. Conigliaro, Culp, Griffin, Josephson, Kennedy, Petrocelli, Scott, Siebert, Yaz.

Senators - McClain, Howard.

White Sox - John, Melton, Reichardt, Richard

Looks like 50 known, with Perry rumored. Size, pose, finish and/or whether they have the facsimile autograph can vary.

Who needs to be added/deleted?

If Baines was in this set would you have bolded him? :D

Time to update the checklist, ooo-ribay. I figured that there were more White Sox considering how many Cubs there are, and I found a eBay listing where someone got a steal on a large lot of them, $30. I would have been sick if it was Cubs instead. The new players are Mike Andrews, Tom Bradley, and Ed Hermann. I would suspect there are a few more White Sox to be discovered. ETA: I just noticed that the White Sox pins have severe rusting on the back but it was still a good deal.

New list:

Hall of Famers have been bolded.

A's - Blue

Brewers - Bristol, Harper, Hogan, Joss, Koslo, Lockwood, May, Pattin, Roof, Saunders, Walton.

Cubs - Banks, Beckert, Callison, Hands, Hundley, Jenkins, Kessinger, Ortiz, Pappas, Pepitone, Popovich, Santo, Williams.

Dodgers - Allen, Wills.

Giants - Mays (incl. Friars Club variations), Perry(?).

Mets - Seaver.

Orioles - Palmer, Powell, B. Robinson, F. Robinson.

Pirates - Clemente (Hernandez and Oceak photo proofs seen, but not actual pins).

Reds - (Bench and Rose photo proofs seen, but not actual pins)

Red Sox - Aparicio, B. Conigliaro, Culp, Griffin, Josephson, Kennedy, Petrocelli, Scott, Siebert, Yaz.

Senators - McClain, Howard.

White Sox - Andrews, Bradley, Hermann, John, Melton, Reichardt, Richard

Looks like 53 known, with Perry rumored. Size, pose, finish and/or whether they have the facsimile autograph can vary.

Rob,

An addition to your list:

Nice Joe Horlen, Bob! How big is this pinback?
Keep an eye out for one of these Bad Boys for me...

Scott,

Thank you.
Will do!
This is the first one I've ever seen. I didn't even know one existed. It's 3 inches.

New list:

Hall of Famers have been bolded.

A's - Blue

Brewers - Bristol, Harper, Hogan, Joss, Koslo, Lockwood, May, Pattin, Roof, Saunders, Walton.

Cubs - Banks, Beckert, Callison, Hands, Hundley, Jenkins, Kessinger, Ortiz, Pappas, Pepitone, Popovich, Santo, Williams.

Dodgers - Allen, Wills.

Giants - Mays (incl. Friars Club variations), Perry(?).

Mets - Seaver.

Orioles - Palmer, Powell, B. Robinson, F. Robinson.

Pirates - Clemente (Hernandez and Oceak photo proofs seen, but not actual pins).

Reds - (Bench and Rose photo proofs seen, but not actual pins)

Red Sox - Aparicio, B. Conigliaro, Culp, Griffin, Josephson, Kennedy, Petrocelli, Scott, Siebert, Yaz.

Senators - McClain, Howard.

White Sox - Andrews, Bradley, Hermann, Horlen, John, Melton, Reichardt, Richard

Looks like 54 known, with Perry rumored. Size, pose, finish and/or whether they have the facsimile autograph can vary.

Already known and not in hand yet, I spotted it on eBay with a very reasonable Buy-It-Now and couldn't hit the PayPal payment possibly any faster. I still need Johnny Callison, Jose Ortiz, and the 3.5" Ernie Banks, but I wouldn't be surprised if a Ken Holtzman or a Jim Hickman are eventually discovered.

fantastic find! eBay did NOT alert me to this special nugget. (or the white sox specimens posted last year). sigh. lends hope that there are others

I love this series of pins….so random and mysterious.

I’d still like to see a picture of the rumored Gaylord Perry pin a member claims to have (or have had). I’m not really convinced that one exists.

I went to the Chicago NATIONAL in August (2021) specifically seeking out more of these pins. I brought a sample along to jog vendors' memories . . . and didn't find a single example. They seem to be getting harder to find!

After discovering these pins a few years ago through this thread, and searching high and low, I've found exactly three of them, so I have no doubt they are tough. A couple weeks ago, I missed a Jim Palmer pin with a BIN by just seconds ...

A collector in a Clemente Facebook group just shared this pic with me. He doesn’t own them they reside in the collection of one of his friends. Sorry for the poor quality. Nonetheless it appears that there may be 4 Clemente versions: 2.5”, 3”, 3.5”, and the 3.5” previously shared by Howard without the autograph. (Also pictured) I shared this link with him hoping that he or his friend can post better photos.

I’d love to see a better picture, too, because the smallest pin looks like it could possibly be a knock-off. Maybe, maybe not….

I agree Rob

Looks like the same background but slightly different pose. I'm leaning toward legit. Very interesting.

In the small one, it looks like PI is visible. In the others, it’s only the P.

Also appears to me that the head and bat angles are slightly different. A cool discovery if this is a variation on an already super desirable item.

Sure would like to a better picture!

This is the best I can do so far. I’m trying to get him to email me a better photo. The photo on this version does seem different. The head is more turned and the hands align with the Pirate team name differently.

Thanks, Mike. Here's a side by side. Do we know of other players shown in different poses?

FWIW - the small pin still doesn't lokk "right" to me. Maybe it's because we don't (as of yet) have a better picture?

A photo of the back would also be helpful.

I agree, I would vote relatively recently made knock off. It is cool that it has a different pose.

Same pose as shown in post 55 of this thread.

You are absolutely correct Clint.

...which makes me think someone could "bootleg" it.

Could be. I do think a photo of the back would be helpful in figuring this out.

Yeah, the Badge-A-Minit. logo would definitely be a red flag. :p

Here are more photos. No matter the consensus of opinion we can now confirm that it was issued in two sizes. Member ballpark Frank got these photos for me and I want to recognize his time and effort. Thanks Frank!

Yes, thanks Frank!

The “two sizes” are 3” and 3”, yes? And the smaller one would be a fantasy piece (based on the back)?

The Brewers are smaller than 3”, someone might have given the size in an earlier post. ETA, the Brewers are 2.25” according to Tom Hansen in an earlier post.

Another small version of the Clemente pin just surfaced within another collection. I’ve requested and hopefully will receive better photos.

The owner of the second small pin just sent these two photos. He says it’s 2”.

Good sleuthing and thanks for tracking these down.

Proofs no longer. Here are pics of Bench and Rose

could this possibly be a modern repo?

Glad to see this thread resurrected.

I’m holding off on changing my “checklist” until Mike verifies his Reds.

I’m still on the hunt for a Gaylord Perry Giants….which is only rumored to exist.

These are not mine. They are on a Facebook page. I will reach out to the poster.

It looks like maybe Bill was talking about the Clemente…my bad…but more info on the Reds would be good, regardless.

Wow! They look good on the front but the backs would be the proof. The photos on the Bench and Rose pins look very clear and not like laser copies.

I think they are legit. I am unable to show pics at the moment but the facsimile signature on the Bench proof on the first page is in a different location than on the Bench pin, I think if someone made a bootleg pin from the Bench proof pic the facsimile signature would be in the same exact location as the proof pic.

Great observation.... I agree. A couple of Holy Grails there.... thanks to Mike for finding and posting!

Hi Mike Just my 2 cents but I dont thing that pin is real. Looks like a very modern repro... I wouldnt buy it...

Do you know the size of the Rose and Bench, Mike? I’m dubious if they’re 2”.

There’s a Bernie Carbo and Tony Perez as well. Mike if you search that same Facebook page you’ll find pictures of them. They were shown about a year ago along with I believe the Rose proof.

Here are pics of the 1971 Johnny Bench pin proof and the 1971 Johnny Bench pin for comparision, if someone used the proof pic to make a bootleg Johnny Bench pin then the facsimile signature would be identical on both but the facsimile signature is in a much different (and better) position on the pin.

The owner of the pins has submitted a request to join Net54 and join in on this discussion. He has been waiting for a confirmation email much of the day. In the meantime he told me to post these for him. He is a Cincinnati Reds collector since 1970. This is what he told me in the course of our chat. He purchased the Bench for $750 and obtained the Rose in a large trade. He has the Rose proof and a friend has the Bench proof. He found pictures of Perez and a Carbo examples from this set. He has never found them but is searching for them. Clint the Perez and Carbo photos may be the ones you were referring to. Nonetheless this gives me hope for more Pirates examples from whatever constitutes this set.

Fantastic! If there's a Bernie Carbo then it's very possible there is a Lee May, Tommy Helms, Dave Concepcion, Gary Nolan, or a Don Gullett.

These damn pins are so simple yet so cool. It's amazing how much of a mystery their origin continues to be.

Great finds, Mike! Makes me think maybe their is a Gaylord Perry Giants out there.

New list:

Hall of Famers have been bolded.

A's - Blue

Brewers - Bristol, Harper, Hogan, Joss, Koslo, Lockwood, May, Pattin, Roof, Saunders, Walton.

Cubs - Banks, Beckert, Callison, Hands, Hundley, Jenkins, Kessinger, Ortiz, Pappas, Pepitone, Popovich, Santo, Williams.

Dodgers - Allen, Wills.

Giants - Mays (incl. Friars Club variations), Perry(?).

Mets - Seaver.

Orioles - Palmer, Powell, B. Robinson, F. Robinson.

Pirates - Clemente (Hernandez and Oceak photo proofs seen, but not actual pins).

Reds - Bench, Carbo, Perez, Rose.

Red Sox - Aparicio, B. Conigliaro, Culp, Griffin, Josephson, Kennedy, Petrocelli, Scott, Siebert, Yaz.

Senators - McClain, Howard.

White Sox - Andrews, Bradley, Hermann, Horlen, John, Melton, Reichardt, Richard

Looks like 58 known, with Perry rumored. Size, pose, finish and/or whether they have the facsimile autograph can vary.

Ugh! The mere image of that Perez Pin is killing me.

just when I give up on these pins we discover more of them. I can't believe the only Mets pin is the Seaver . . .

Perry
 

I am pretty sure I had/have the Perry. If I still have it - I just don't know where it is burried!!

You gotta find it! The not knowing is killing me!

Looking for a reason to bump this thread I came across a very recent sale of the Clemente version.