Wait, can we go back to Mr. Epstein's alleged legal troubles?

As I read this, the defendant/petitioner/appellant was a guy called William B. Stayback--not Epstein. Mr. Stayback was convicted for filing false tax returns for his business, which apparently functioned under a multitude of different names; none of which were called Epstein Novelty Co.

It looks like Stayback did business with Epstein; perhaps he supplied them with raw materials for the latter's production needs. It was income from these sales to Epstein (and others) that this Stayback fellow failed to report as income; and, apparently, went to prison for....

I just want to defend my man Epstein from any further libel by this thread, is all ;)

He's still guilty of being a tightwad. Greg has proven that beyond a reasonable doubt.

I retract my judgemental statement, and owe the great Epstein an apology. Epstein was a mensch!

You're right: I do believe the "left footed punter" artwork to be associated with Trench. Similarly, I attribute the "moon-lit batter" artwork to be by Trench. There may be no consensus among this thread as to who made them; but, they were both 26" long and undoubtedly by the same maker, as the two Brooklyn Dodger pennants below illustrate....

Around the same time that these two graphics/series were being produced, late 1940s/early 1950s, a third series surfaced. It too consisted largely of 26" long pennants. It was the "insert ballpark name" series, for lack of a better name. It too was by the same maker, as these New York Yankees pennants illustrate....

All three series involved 26" long, 3/4 size pennants. More importantly, all were made by the same company. Further, the "insert ballpark name" series represented a really cutting edge pennant for its day. Look at how many colors this maker used! Four colors? Two pairs of tassels? Who else was making pennants that nice by 1950? Who else (save maybe Epstein) had this big of market share by 1950? That distinctive serif letter font--who else relied on that as heavily as Trench throughout the 1940s and 50s?

There really isn't anyone else ... is there?

Still not convinced? Look at these two Eagles pennants (courtesy of fballguy's / feltfootball.com).... There's your left footed punter; and, underneath him there's a companion pennant from the same maker bearing yet another graphic associated with Trench.

Look, it may not be proof beyond a reasonable doubt, but, for me, all signs point to Buffalo, NY on this one. Which means, all three of the pennants Greg identified in post #7205, with that kooky letter font, are also, in my opinion, by Trench.

This shouldn't surprise us: they were a really big, successful company.

Well, you've convinced me.

Any additional thoughts about AMCO Emblem as the maker of the football runner pennants? Given their ad and the painted pennants "division" of their business?

Found a picture of this Ohio State pennant. Definitely a lot closer to the one depicted in Rob's ad. This one is full size however.

I don't think I have ever seen any of the runner style pennants (using any runner graphic.... of the many out there) in an 11.5 inch size. Have you? Makes that ad rather strange.

Never. Maybe they were made of disappearing felt. :eek:

Very interesting how you showed the progression and interchange of fonts and graphics. I know I’ve asked, but I’ll ask again….do you think this is Trench as well or did someone steal the “moon-lit batter”?

Counter argument:

If the “insert ballpark name” pennant was made by Trench, then Trench made the top two pennants pictured below in the same year for the same team. They share nothing in common. Not the texture of the felt, the spine, the stitch, the graphics, etc. all very different. The middle two share almost everything in common and seem obvious to be from the same company. ‘51 Cinderella Boys Giants is also a match and has a very different scroll graphic than what Trench uses. Bottom is Trench.

All are full-size.

I dunno, those top two look similar to me.... Same serif letter font used. Both have tassels. Both are polychromatic. Obviously, they're different styles/sizes, but there's nothing inconsistent about them. (I'm not convinced that stitching characteristics are a reliable indicator of a pennant's origin.)

I think by 1950 the "insert ballpark name" series was rather tired and being phased out. It had enjoyed a good run. Scroll pennants were the new fad, and Trench (along with others) went all-in on them. Same with full size pennants. These two 1950 pennants simply illustrate that transition point, for me.

Why wouldn't Trench (or whoever you think made these) make more than one NL champs pennant for a team? This enabled them to offer both a 3/4 and a full size pennant, presumably at different prices. That makes perfect business sense to me.

Regarding materials used, we also know that Trench was an innovative company, and they certainly experimented with new production techniques and materials throughout the 1950s. Sometimes they used 100% wool felt; mostly they used a wool/rayon blend; and they even tried that flannel-like cloth material for a time, too. So, for me, if the materials truly differed, this may explain why.

I agree that the bottom one is by Trench. The third one, however, I believe is by AMCO. (I also believe that AMCO is the maker of the double-wide scroll pennant you referenced. I'll have more to say about that later on Pennant Fever when I cover them.)