Early All Star Pins Baseball? Maybe Not

[springpin]

All-Star game pins are always difficult to identify. As I stated in the introductory comments of this section in my book, pins that say "All Star" could also be from various minor leagues, as well as non-baseball sports (collegiate football being the most likely). I am unaware of any basketball all-star game pins (except high school). I don't believe there are any NBA-related all-star game pins. Probably also true of NHL hockey. The most likely source besides baseball would be the East-West and North-South collegiate all-star games. They were typically played in the same place every year. I believe San Francisco was the usual site for the East-West game, and I'm thinking a city in Alabama (Montgomery, maybe) for the North-South game. I have pins that simply say East, West, North, or South. I have always assumed these were collegiate all-star game pins. As a single day event, it makes little sense for a vendor to produce a large quantity of all-star pins. As soon as the game is over, the (dated) pin would be obsolete to any prospective buyer. But by making them generic, the vendor could sell the leftover stock at the same site for the following year's all-star game. The pin in question in this post is unusual in its specificity. Glad some information has been unearthed about it. And Randall, your specimen is exquisite.