Help needed - Wrigley Field team flags

[ooo-ribay]

Originally Posted by whitehse

I used to work in the Stadium Operations department at Wrigley back in the 1980's and am pretty familiar with these flags as the Stadium Operations group is the one that oversaw the grounds crew which are the people responsible for the flags.

First of all Denny Graziano is a Chicago area dealer who I believe specializes in Sports championship rings but back in the day he sold a large amount of Chicago sports memorabilia. I have known his for decades and he is a good guy.

Your pennant and others just like it used to be sold at the Cubs fan convention every year to collectors just like yourself as game used. If they still do it I have no idea but back in the day these were easily purchased from the team. The pennant you have flew over the scoreboard as these were the pennants that displayed the city names. And in case you were unaware....the order of these pennants are changed on the flag pole each day in order to show the standings for the teams in the division. It is rare to see a Chicago team pennant at the top of the pole!

The other pennants you are seeing with the team name are those that fly on the roof of Wrigley Field and can be seen inside and outside the ball park. Usually the team name flags are spread out on their own flag pole with a Cubs logoed pennant interspersed between the team pennants.

So the long and short of it is.....

City name-Flew over the scoreboard to indicate team standings in the division on that specific game day.

Team name- Flew over the roof of the old ball park around the top of the upper deck.

I hope this helps. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Thanks

Awesome information, Andrew! It could be they were still using the city names when you worked at Wrigley in the 1980's. That is consistent with what Mike says. I know that these days, they are using team names in team colors on the "yardarms."

Mike mentioned the difference between grommets and D-rings but, with all due respect, I'm not sure that would be an identifying location characteristic. Either one will work with a snap hook on the ropes. The Pirates flag that Tom owns has the D-rings.

The only thing I can't reconcile is the purple and white color of my San Francisco flag...every other example I have seen (for other teams) is done in a color scheme that "makes sense." In the B&W pic posted earlier, it's impossible to know the colors. I would love to know who produced thes flags in the past and if the same company is providing them today. I have a bunch of Giants flags from the Bay Area and they are stamped "Paramount Flag Co." I'm going to keep digging. At least to me, this is as Arte Johnson would say on Laugh In...."Vedy interesting!"

P.S. I'm really not liking the NL West standings in the picture below!!

[ooo-ribay]

Here's a great old picture, pre 1958, but, of course, I can't make out a damned thing!

[andypcl]

Hi Rob, I thought I'd chime in with my flag. I think I've shown you this but it's 7 feet long from tip to tip and it seems like a heavier material than the others pictured. It's actually pretty heavy duty material. I've also wondered about it's origin.

[ooo-ribay]

Originally Posted by andypcl

Hi Rob, I thought I'd chime in with my flag. I think I've shown you this but it's 7 feet long from tip to tip and it seems like a heavier material than the others pictured. It's actually pretty heavy duty material. I've also wondered about it's origin.

Ooooooooo! Way cool! But due to the size, material and place of manufacture, I'd have to say it's not a Wrigley flag. One thing that seems pretty consistent about the Wrigley flags is their 70" length.

[andypcl]

Yeah, it's been a mystery to me as to where this one may have flown. I'd like to think it was at Candlestick. Too bad it doesn't say "1962 N.L. Champs" or "Welcome Giants"

[whitehse]

Originally Posted by ooo-ribay

Awesome information, Andrew! It could be they were still using the city names when you worked at Wrigley in the 1980's. That is consistent with what Mike says. I know that these days, they are using team names in team colors on the "yardarms."

Mike mentioned the difference between grommets and D-rings but, with all due respect, I'm not sure that would be an identifying location characteristic. Either one will work with a snap hook on the ropes. The Pirates flag that Tom owns has the D-rings.

The only thing I can't reconcile is the purple and white color of my San Francisco flag...every other example I have seen (for other teams) is done in a color scheme that "makes sense." In the B&W pic posted earlier, it's impossible to know the colors. I would love to know who produced thes flags in the past and if the same company is providing them today. I have a bunch of Giants flags from the Bay Area and they are stamped "Paramount Flag Co." I'm going to keep digging. At least to me, this is as Arte Johnson would say on Laugh In...."Vedy interesting!"

P.S. I'm really not liking the NL West standings in the picture below!!

Just a thought but could sun fade have caused the change in the color of the pennant?

[ooo-ribay]

Originally Posted by whitehse

Just a thought but could sun fade have caused the change in the color of the pennant?

I doubt it. I have a buddy with two of nearly the exact same bluish/purplish San Francisco flags...