question about old pennants

[lefty147]

Hi Greg, Nice to see your pictures here. You had emailed me some of those pictures after getting the pennant book and they are great to see again. I had actually forwarded a couple of those to "perezfan" to see. I was going to email you shortly anyway to get some single pictures of the ones that were not included. Mike

[perezfan]

Awesome collection... thanks for posting! The 1924 Washington is exceedingly rare and is easily worth a couple grand. Never seen another!

That's easily the best Astros Pennant around, and is seldom-seen as well. I have that one, and it took me years to find. There is a similar Angels Pennant from the same year/same manufacturer (and equally rare). I don't know if these are Keezers, though... in fact I would bet against it.

A big question for you... it looks like there is an oversized Blue Pennant to the right of the '46 Red Sox and under the Orioles Mini. 95% of the pennant is cut-off, but I am betting it's a Cubs Pennant from the teens (with the Swinging Bear Mascot). Can you possibly post a pic of this one (even if it's not the Cubbie?) Would love to see what it is...

Thanks again... you have a wonderful collection!

[perezfan]

Also wanted to add that I love the Lopez Limited Indians Pennant (seen in the mirror reflection). For me, that one is tied with the 1955 Bklyn/NY Fringed World Series Pennant, as best pennant of the '50s.

[Rob D.]

Here's an easier-to-see example of the Lopez Limited pennant Mark references:

[perezfan]

Thanks Rob...

That magnificant old train really just captures the era. What a pristine example, too... I love it even more on the jet black felt!

[jcmtiger]

Greg, do you have this one?

Joe

[thetahat]

Hi Joe,

No I don't but that's a fantastic pennant!!! I don't think I've ever seen one with a starting lineup! Condition looks amazing. Thanks for the picture and Happy New Year!

Greg

[thetahat]

Thanks for all your replies .... Mark, we've actually communicated before, I finally figured it out. Attached are a couple pictures, including the Cubs pennant you asked about.

Then I have a picture of some of my favorites, they are all from the same series (except for the Colt 45s) and have great graphics. My very favorite is the Reds pennant - looks like Brutus from old popeye cartoons, and for some reason he is holding a bomb. Can anyone explain this to me? Eventually I'd like to complete the 'set", I need six or seven more teams.

Happy New Year everyone, and thanks for the warm welcome!

[mjkm90]

Greg,

You have some super rare pennants in your amazing collection. I'm a Cubs/Tigers collector primarily. Thanks for posting the oversized Cubbie.

Can you tell us a bit about your collecting history? What all do you collect, areas of focus, what got you started, etc. It's always fun to hear about the evolution of collections on the memorabilia side.

[thetahat]

Hi Mike,

I guess it started when I was a kid - I'd get a pennant every time I went to a Phillies game. (I am from Southern New Jersey.) This was the late 70s and80s, so they were the paper ones, but still they looked nice on my bedroom wall. When I got older and wanted to decorate my basement/game room, I looked for similar cheap pennants at yard sales. I also stopped by Mitchell and Ness' store in Philly - this was right around the time they started making repros - at least I think it was. So I gobbled up a bunch of those. The one day I bought a bundle of vintage old pennants at a flea market, dirt cheap - they were mostly from the early 60s, lots of stadium pennants. From then on, repros wouldn't cut it, and my hobby grew and grew to the point where I need about three basements to display them all.

I guess I have a slight tendency towards Phillies pennants, but basically I like any pennants that look neat. I am at the point now that I strongly prefer pennants that are dated in some way. I guess I like STL Browns stuff, too, and would love to get or even see other variations besides the two or three we always see.

You have interest in two teams with beautiful pennants - the Tigers, of course, are the very best, especially all the dated ones from the 1930s thru (I think) 1951. The '51 all-star pennant with the city shield is one of the very best. The Cubs have nice ones, too .... I have one that is bright yellow and looks to be a large version of those mini-pennants from the late 30s.

Take care

Greg

[perezfan]

Greg...

GREAT stuff! I remember now, that we corresponded many months ago. It was about the oversized Cubs pennant and other things... right?

Thanks for posting the great set with the mascot on the left and the player vignette in the middle. That is one of my favorites too. I have found the St. Louis Browns to be the toughest, followed by the Boston Braves. I finally nailed down the Brownie a few years ago, but have been outbid on the Brave 3 times. It always goes for around $275 - $300.

There was a set of pins recently posted here on Net54 with the same exact mascots as in this set of pennants. It was interesting to see, as these particular unusual mascots have not been seen anywhere else. I traced this interesting pennant set to 1951, as a seller had a few of these- most of which were dated on the backs.

I share your interest in the Reds pennant (and great Avatar, btw!) That Mascot is vastly different than any other the Reds have ever had. Definitely more ominous than the friendly Mr. Red Baseball Head Guy. I have seen perhaps 5 of these in 20 years of collecting (Pennants + Reds stuff), and a few times it has been referred to as the "Mad Bomber" Pennant. I guess that's as good a name as any for it...

Thanks again for the terrific posts!