As some of you know, I am an avid collector of oddball Dodger memorabilia. The stranger and more unique an item is, the more likely I'm interested in adding it to my collection.
Unfortunately, I am far from an expert in this hobby field. I run into items, all of the time, that I have scant information on. For instance, check out the above lapel pin. It is a Dodgers NL Championship pin with blue and white ribbons. The baseball is about the size of a half-dollar coin and it is a rather flimsy (i.e. cheap) kind of plastic.
A number of years back I acquired a similar example for a very low price about about $5 delivered, after realizing that they were old and rather plentiful on the market. If you spend enough time on eBay you'll see hundred of similar examples for sale.
Well, over the past few days I've been communicating with a person who has a large grouping of these pins still attached to an original cardboard display, and they wanted to know more about it. Unfortunately, my knowledge is limited.
From my understanding, they were produced in the 60's - likely for the 1966 season (the Dodgers won the pennant that season). I do not exactly recall why I think it's from this era, so if I'm wrong please let me know. And considering the plentiful nature of them, I figured they were either a give-away at Dodger Stadium or a cheap concession stand item. Based on my discussion with this collector, that appears to be wrong.
They mentioned that it was displayed from a local (Lancaster) gas retailer; which makes me wonder if this is a Union 76 Dodger promotion. After all, the Dodgers and Union 76 were constant marketing partners back then. Unfortunately, my contact could not recall if the retailer was Union 76.
So, I am writing to ask all of you... does anybody here recognize this pin?
If you do, please let me know. This collector would love to know.
Below are pics of the advertising display. As you can see, it's rather bland. Also, it appears to have been manufactured by a Santa Monica company called Morlin Mfg Co.
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