This popped up in my random eBay searches as a 1962 MLBPA Pin. I snatched it up for .99 with 1.50 shipping.
To give you a sense of this pins size, that is a nickel holder it is in. It came in the holder and I am going to leave it that way because how else will I store it. They actually make pages that fit these coin holders and I have one with assorted Red Sox pins and coins in it already.
I was all set to post about my great vintage buy when I thought I should check the Standard Catalog and see if it is really called MLBPA Pin. I found out that yes that is what it is called but it is in no way a 1962. It turned out to be a 1969 MLBPA Pin. That still sounds vintage but it was actually printed in 1983. The difference between the originals made in 1969 and the reprints, and you are just going to have to trust me because I have no way to scan it, is that on the curve of the pin where it transitions from front back mine says Made in USA. The original 1969 version should say Winona, MINN.
Trivia Time**: When did the US move to the two letter state abbreviation?
The reprints are not exactly reprints either because they are mostly different players than the originals. Doerr is on of the ones that isn't in the original set so if I had taken the 5 minutes to check my Standard before buying it I would have known. It was only $2.49 total so at least I didn't spend much on it. There is a blue version of this same pin. The only other Red Sox in the set is Ted Williams. Oddly I see plenty of the blue version online but I do not see any of the Williams in a Red version.
**It was 1963 six years before they printed MINN on the original pins. I guess is took a while to catch on.
3 comments:
It's still a cool little pin of a great Hall of Fame player!
If you haven't seen Gary Gulman's routine about the two-letter abbreviations--he says he saw a documentary about it, but it doesn't exist--it's downright hilarious. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLECCmKnrys
I realize that when I saw your question I thought "early 1970s", entirely because Gulman says that here, freely admitting he's just making it up.
Good info. If I had stumbled across this at the flea market, I would definitely think it's vintage. I'll have to remember the USA thing on the back. By the way... it's still a cool addition to your collection and like you mentioned, it was pretty affordable.
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