Hey, pennant guys

[ooo-ribay]

Beauty, Rick!

[murphusa]

cool find yesterday

[ooo-ribay]

[perezfan]

That Bum in a cloud above the Coliseum is one of the truly great post-war Pennants on so many levels. Probably the Dodgers first-ever pennant after leaving Brooklyn. Two Beauties!

[thetahat]

Originally Posted by perezfan

That Bum in a cloud above the Coliseum is one of the truly great post-war Pennants on so many levels. Probably the Dodgers first-ever pennant after leaving Brooklyn. Two Beauties!

I agree with Mark, that Trench CEO might not have cared much about quality (per Kyle’s interview) but he had some creative designers. Beautiful pennant!

[thetahat]

I wonder though, is the Bum dreaming about future Dodger Stadium? The little baseball trademark seems more early 60s to me. I would think the other Bum in Coliseum pennant might predate it, or coincide ... or who cares it’s awesome no matter what!

[perezfan]

I bet they were sold concurrently. Just a hunch with nothing to back it up.

We’ve all seen the pics of stadium vendors selling Pennants. And back then, it wasn’t unusual to see 4-5 different variations being peddled at the same time.

I guess we’ll never know for sure unless a definitive photo surfaces... which is highly doubtful. Almost as doubtful as the Trench CEO recalling it from memory.

[rlevy]

Originally Posted by perezfan

I bet they were sold concurrently. Just a hunch with nothing to back it up.

We’ve all seen the pics of stadium vendors selling Pennants. And back then, it wasn’t unusual to see 4-5 different variations being peddled at the same time.

I guess we’ll never know for sure unless a definitive photo surfaces... which is highly doubtful. Almost as doubtful as the Trench CEO recalling it from memory.

Kyle, I've seen that 1954 yearbook cover so many times and never recognized the Bum connection with the LA "New Home" pennant until you mentioned it.

It was almost certainly sold outside the Coliseum since it was very unlikely O'Malley would have permitted anything picturing the Bum to be sold inside at his concession stands. The Bum didn't fit the image O'Malley was trying to present - the Dodgers were a successful franchise, not likable losers.

We've discussed this before, but I just saw a video on PBS discussing the history of the Dodgers, and there was a wide screenshot of O'Malley at a May 1958 news conference trying to sell the public on voting "Yes" for a new stadium at Chavez Ravine. Pictured behind O'Malley are the 1955 Championship Banner, and an LA Dodger pennant with no Bum in sight
The screenshot and my pennant are pictured below.
1958 O'mally with pennant 3.jpg
1958 press conference with O'Malley.jpg

[Domer05]

Originally Posted by thetahat

I wonder though, is the Bum dreaming about future Dodger Stadium? The little baseball trademark seems more early 60s to me. I would think the other Bum in Coliseum pennant might predate it, or coincide ... or who cares it’s awesome no matter what!

Believe it or not: this "new home" was what Walter O'Malley envisioned as his Brooklyn Super Stadium, a facility he hoped to construct atop a train station, providing convenient transport to/from the suburbs via the Long Island Express. At one point, O'Malley's super stadium was to be a domed ballpark--first of its kind, well ahead of the Astrodome.

The image was created by legendary artist Willard Mullin and originally appeared on the cover of the team's 1954 year book.

We can thank urban planner Robert Moses for thwarting O'Malley's grand plan. Moses was only willing to allow for a stadium in Queens--not Brooklyn. This, O'Malley said, was the straw that broke the camel's back. He promptly met with LA City Council members who offered him Chavez Ravine, and the rest is history....

The above notwithstanding, this didn't stop Trench from "appropriating" the artwork on to one of their pennants a few years later. This time, they swapped out the image of the super stadium for, of all things, a halo.... With this alteration in mind, they must have felt the "new home" reference was obvious: Dodger Stadium, in the city of Angels.

As talented as Trench's Art Department was, they too had no qualms stealing other artists' work. The other bum depicted on Trench's other Coliseum pennant was also a Willard Mullin creation. The tiny headed giant depicted on NY and SF Giant stadium pennants by Trench was also, I believe, a Willard Mullin illustration.

Note the SportService logo in the bottom left corner.

[ooo-ribay]

Great info, as always, Kyle!