Hey, pennant guys

[bocca001]

Some holiday season pennants for me. Thanks to Mark for the super rare Giants variation. The Astros in the pic is an upgrade and tough to find in such nice shape.

I also decided to fill in the 1970s for the Astros. The center pennant is new and tough to find in blue (very easy to find in white). The bottom pennant is the "VET" version. I'm going to keep an eye open for a non-VET version of that pennant to see if one exists.

[thetahat]

Originally Posted by bocca001

Some holiday season pennants for me. Thanks to Mark for the super rare Giants variation. The Astros in the pic is an upgrade and tough to find in such nice shape.

I also decided to fill in the 1970s for the Astros. The center pennant is new and tough to find in blue (very easy to find in white). The bottom pennant is the "VET" version. I'm going to keep an eye open for a non-VET version of that pennant to see if one exists.

Very nice Astros pennants, Marc. I agree, the upgraded Astros is more common in uni-color paint (orange), and the other ones I've seen seem to be cut weird. That includes the two sided Colts/ Astros. I think they are Ad Flag pennants which are notoriously cut bad. Yours looks crisp and straight, however.

I knew I had a blue Astros pennant and I just checked and found that it is the same as your bottom one, it is also a VET pennant. As far as the two above it, do they both have the '69 trademark?

[thetahat]

By the way, regarding the earlier discussion on that early 50s series of pennants, I believe this pennant here is by the same company, and it lends even more credence to Domer's belief that they were made by WGN. Same type of baseball scene graphic, block letter font is similar, same spine, stitching... and the game was held at Comiskey.

[thetahat]

So I have decided to try and complete the 1969 set of team pennants (even though I have no more room to display). The cloth pennants from this set have a great texture to them, hard to describe but they are well made. While the 1969 MLB trademark was used seemingly for a few years, my guess is that the cloth '69s are exclusively from that year. So I want to complete the set entirely in cloth. As a side note, the Indians has a 1970 trademark which I had never seen elsewhere, and I recall seeing a 1968 TM'd Twins pennant. The Pilots is my favorite ….

Lastly … does anyone think that the Phillies pennant in the pic is a candidate for the bleach mixture? I live in the heart of Phillies country and this darn pennant is so hard to find, this yellowed one was all I could get in 20 years.

[MK]

Just added this to my collection.

[Duluth Eskimo]

Originally Posted by MK

Just added this to my collection.

That’s got to be a fairly tough pennant. Don’t think I’ve had that one before. I have a couple of Millers pennants in that design and have seen other teams, but not Cubs.

[Duluth Eskimo]

Originally Posted by thetahat

So I have decided to try and complete the 1969 set of team pennants (even though I have no more room to display). The cloth pennants from this set have a great texture to them, hard to describe but they are well made. While the 1969 MLB trademark was used seemingly for a few years, my guess is that the cloth '69s are exclusively from that year. So I want to complete the set entirely in cloth. As a side note, the Indians has a 1970 trademark which I had never seen elsewhere, and I recall seeing a 1968 TM'd Twins pennant. The Pilots is my favorite ….

Lastly … does anyone think that the Phillies pennant in the pic is a candidate for the bleach mixture? I live in the heart of Phillies country and this darn pennant is so hard to find, this yellowed one was all I could get in 20 years.

Some of these 1969 cloth pennants can be very difficult to find. There are different color variations for at least some of the teams as well.

[bocca001]

I looked around a bit tonight and found all three of Greg's VET pennants (Reds, Pirates, Braves) on ebay wihtout the VET label. The Pirates pennant also exists with the ASCO symbol, and an almost identical Reds version with 1975 champs added also exists with the ASCO symbol.

I also came across this Braves pennant with a different label. Almost looks like an AB (for Atlanta Braves?)

[Domer05]

Originally Posted by bocca001

I looked around a bit tonight and found all three of Greg's VET pennants (Reds, Pirates, Braves) on ebay wihtout the VET label. The Pirates pennant also exists with the ASCO symbol, and an almost identical Reds version with 1975 champs added also exists with the ASCO symbol.

I also came across this Braves pennant with a different label. Almost looks like an AB (for Atlanta Braves?)

Never seen this mark before.... "PB," perhaps? Could be "AB" as well....

As with "VET" and previous mystery marks we've debated, I feel pretty good this Atlanta Braves pennant was made by Trench. The two fonts used for the city and team match those used by Trench for many, many years. Same with the artwork, which I recall first seeing on some late 1950s pennants of theirs. And, by 1969 or so, MLB pennants were pretty much limited to Trench, ASCO, Keezer and WGN--with these last two being unlicensed, as best I can tell.

If so, that suggests this mark is likely a concessionaire's mark. Perhaps some new company running merch out of Fulton County Stadium?

Many of these suspected concessionaire's marks, I've noticed, consisted solely of initials, e.g., "ARA" (Aramark); "VET" (???); "WC" (??); "SS" (Sportservice); and "ABC" (ABC Vending Co.). Now "PB" / "AB." Doesn't give you much to research, does it? The only exceptions that come to mind were "Charles Shear" and "Canteen Corp." These concessioners, unlike the others, didn't hide their identities behind some vague initials.

[bocca001]

Originally Posted by thetahat

Very nice Astros pennants, Marc. I agree, the upgraded Astros is more common in uni-color paint (orange), and the other ones I've seen seem to be cut weird. That includes the two sided Colts/ Astros. I think they are Ad Flag pennants which are notoriously cut bad. Yours looks crisp and straight, however.

I knew I had a blue Astros pennant and I just checked and found that it is the same as your bottom one, it is also a VET pennant. As far as the two above it, do they both have the '69 trademark?

Hey Greg- the top one has the 1969 trademark. It is moderately stiff felt. I also have earlier versions with tassels, but no trademark.

I'm pretty sure that the one in the middle is from the late 1970s. I have seen Astros team pics from the late 1970s with the white version of that pennant in the background.

I'm not sure about the year of the VET pennant, but I'd say late 70s early 80s. I still think it is interesting that most (if not all for some teams) pennants with these designs have the VET stamp. Did you pick up your Astros version long ago at a Phillies game (when you or your dad picked up the Rangers and Padres that you showed earlier) or more recently?

[thetahat]

Originally Posted by bocca001

Hey Greg- the top one has the 1969 trademark. It is moderately stiff felt. I also have earlier versions with tassels, but no trademark.

I'm pretty sure that the one in the middle is from the late 1970s. I have seen Astros team pics from the late 1970s with the white version of that pennant in the background.

I'm not sure about the year of the VET pennant, but I'd say late 70s early 80s. I still think it is interesting that most (if not all for some teams) pennants with these designs have the VET stamp. Did you pick up your Astros version long ago at a Phillies game (when you or your dad picked up the Rangers and Padres that you showed earlier) or more recently?

I think I got the blue one at a flea market many years ago. The three pennants I have pictured are all VET pennants, actually purchased at Veterans Stadium. Also I have a pic of my other Astros pennants (no VETs)