Hey, pennant guys

[Darner]

Picked up this Phillies pennant. I'm unsure of its year but I suspect it is from 1943 because the Phillies logo resembles one used on a 1943 scorecard. It's not an exact match but it's close and that scorecard logo only appeared that year. New ownership switched to the Phillies Blue Jays in 1944 then settled on a shorter-looking wordmark in the 1950's and '60's.

[perezfan]

Never seen that one before... Great Find!

[Duluth Eskimo]

I would have guessed mid 40’s to early 50’s if you asked for a time period estimate. I believe there was a series of full sized that match this style. I don’t recall seeing this exact style, but I’m not much of a Phillies watcher.

[thetahat]

Originally Posted by Darner

Picked up this Phillies pennant. I'm unsure of its year but I suspect it is from 1943 because the Phillies logo resembles one used on a 1943 scorecard. It's not an exact match but it's close and that scorecard logo only appeared that year. New ownership switched to the Phillies Blue Jays in 1944 then settled on a shorter-looking wordmark in the 1950's and '60's.

First: awesome pennant! I am exclusively a pennant collector in the heart of Phillies country, and I've never seen this before. (So if you ever want to trade/sell …. )

Now when I saw this the first pennant that came to mind was this one from the 1969 Trench series … the city name is not a perfect match in font but very, very close, about as close as "Phillies" is to that in the yearbook. Obviously yours is older.

But I'm gonna take an educated guess though and say early-mid 60s. Looks a lot like a Keezer pennant, by the style of tassels. There are two other Keezer Phillies from earlier years, though … if this is a third that would be unusual. Now it's hard to see in the picture, but the white strip … is there only one row/line of stitching, as opposed to two? If it's just one down the middle, as it appears, then I will definitely say early-mid 60s, as I have a couple similar pennants with that rare stitch pattern and one of them is an LA Angels pennant. This is rare in that you're supposed to be able to slide a dowel inside that strip, but for these pennant the stitching makes it impossible. I'll have to dig it up …

[Darner]

Interesting information. I did notice the unusual single row of zig-zag stitching. I'd like to see the other pennants you're comparing it to. If it's from the 1960's, it's pretty oddball graphically.

[thetahat]

Originally Posted by Darner

Interesting information. I did notice the unusual single row of zig-zag stitching. I'd like to see the other pennants you're comparing it to. If it's from the 1960's, it's pretty oddball graphically.

Here ya go. Turns out I have three from this series. Very unique. I like the simple designs. Also including a pic of some of my Phillies pennants, the two on the second row from bottom are both Keezer pennants.

[murphusa]

Originally Posted by thetahat

First: awesome pennant! I am exclusively a pennant collector in the heart of Phillies country, and I've never seen this before. (So if you ever want to trade/sell …. )

Now when I saw this the first pennant that came to mind was this one from the 1969 Trench series … the city name is not a perfect match in font but very, very close, about as close as "Phillies" is to that in the yearbook. Obviously yours is older.

But I'm gonna take an educated guess though and say early-mid 60s. Looks a lot like a Keezer pennant, by the style of tassels. There are two other Keezer Phillies from earlier years, though … if this is a third that would be unusual. Now it's hard to see in the picture, but the white strip … is there only one row/line of stitching, as opposed to two? If it's just one down the middle, as it appears, then I will definitely say early-mid 60s, as I have a couple similar pennants with that rare stitch pattern and one of them is an LA Angels pennant. This is rare in that you're supposed to be able to slide a dowel inside that strip, but for these pennant the stitching makes it impossible. I'll have to dig it up …

the date is on the pennant by the MLB logo 1969

[thetahat]

Originally Posted by murphusa

the date is on the pennant by the MLB logo 1969

As a side note, that's the date of the trademark and it has been applied to pennants from the early 70s. NFL pennants (also Trench?) have 1967 dated trademark used for at least 3-5 years beyond.

This white Phillies one is highly likely to be from 1969 as it is cloth, not felt, and of the same style as a Seattle Pilots I own.

[Darner]

Great stuff, Greg! The construction sure suggests the Phillies was part of that series. Interesting that the three pennants you have use "official" team logos. The Phillies logo is just plain weird and quite unlike anything I've seen from the 1960's.

[perezfan]

Here is one of mine with the same criss-cross stitching. I'd thought it was a 1950s pennant, but guess it's actually early '60s, based on Greg's info.

It's similar to the Phillies with regard to the earlier logo being utilized. The "Batting Sock" Mascot was employed by the Red Sox from 1950 - 58. I guess that Keezer liked it enough to extend it a few more years.

I wonder how/where these were originally sold, as they are next to impossible to find today. Probably not ever sold at Stadiums, as a stick could not be inserted. Perhaps through Sporting Goods Stores, Department Stores or similar retail outlets. I also have the Reds pennant, and had a chance at the Cubs from this series a couple of years ago. But it was altered just badly enough to keep me from buying. Have not seen any others from this series since then... super rare!

[thetahat]

Mark, great pennant! Love that swinging sock graphic. Super cool.