[thetahat]

Now here’s a pennant mystery for our pal Kyle.

You might have seen before the late 40s/early 50s Tigers “Johnny Groth” pennant. Why Johnny Groth? He seemed like an okay player - he played OF - but only 5.8 career WAR, just an ordinary regular. No such pennant for George Kell, Vic Wertz or another half dozen better players. Odd.

Well Marc tipped me off to this weird 1960 Pirates pennant on eBay. Not a full team scroll but just the lineup … who is playing shortstop? “Groth”.

Now wait a minute. The SS was Dick Groat, not Groth. Johnny had finished his career as a reserve earlier that year … for Detroit. Never played for Pittsburgh.

So what is it about Johnny Groth? Well one thing is very clear: these are both WGN pennants. Same style and the font used for player names is a giveaway.

Pulling up Johnny Groth’s SABR bio, you learn he was born and raised in Chicago, and his father was an electrotype salesman. So … looks like hometown boy got some extra love!

Johnny passed away last August at age 95 … had 28 grandchildren …