Cleveland World Series press pins

[Rob D.]

This month I was able to cross off a longtime nemesis from my want list. Adding a Cleveland 1920 World Series press pin completed my collection of Indians Series and All-Star press pins. Although press pins aren't nearly as "hot" these days as they were 15-20 years ago, I've always liked them. Especially intriguing to me are the phantom pins that were not produced in large numbers or distributed, because the Indians failed to make it to the Series. My group, pictured below, includes all of the known phantoms, but there's always a chance a new one could surface.

Though it's easier to put together a set of Cleveland World Series press pins than, say, a Yankees or Cardinals collection, it still took me about 15 years to finish this project. I probably should put an asterisk after that last sentence because there actually are two versions of the 1920 pin. In addition to the one pictured below (top row, far left), there's also a more attractive celluloid example. That is my white whale for now, and I know of three that have been offered at auction. Until I add a celluloid version, my collection technically isn't complete. But it's good for now.

Pins are displayed chronologically left to right, with the Series pins first, followed by the All-Star pins. I've included a few facts you might find interesting.

• The 1920 pin, the one that was toughest for me to get, is by far the most boring.
  
• There are two versions of the 1948 pin. The first example (second from left, top row) is the more common of the two. The one next to it is more crudely done. Many think it was produced locally and at the last minute after the Indians front office discovered it did not have enough of the first version for all of the members of the press. I've heard this explanation from more than one source, but it could just as easily be an urban legend as it could the truth.
  
• The first phantom of the group is from 1951 (fourth from left, top row). Note the similarity to the design Cleveland used for the 1954 All-Star Game pin (fourth from right, bottom row).
  
• The next phantom, from 1952, is similar to the design used for the 1954 Series pin (far right, top row). I didn't know a 1952 existed until a few years ago.
  
• There are two other 1954 pins (second and third from right, top row) that are prototypes rather than phantoms. These came from the estate of a Balfour executive and are incredibly scarce. I've never seen other examples. The dark eyes on the blue prototype kind of freak me out.
  
• The 1955 phantom (far left, bottom row) is seen more often than the other phantoms but is still pretty tough. I think the pin next to it is a prototype. I bought it off eBay years ago simply because I couldn't not buy it. It's strange because it's crude enough to make you think it wasn't professionally done, but it looks good enough that you think it had to be professionally done.

Pins from the 1995 and '97 Series finish the run.

The All-Star pins are fairly ho-hum. I wish there had been a press pin made for the 1935 game, but alas, there wasn't.

One interesting note regarding the 1963 All-Star pin: Look in any of the price guides from 20-30 years ago and you'll see the 1963 pin is listed with a much lower value than its counterparts. Something like this:

1960 -- $125
1961 -- $125
1962 -- $100
1963 -- $50
1964 -- $100
1965 -- $100

In truth, the '63 pin isn't more common than others from the early 1960s. I really believe the reason for the low value listed in guides is because of a Cleveland-area dealer from years ago named Jim Kovacs. Supposedly in the late 1970s he came across a stash of 20 or so 1963 pins. He ran the same ad in SCD for weeks and weeks and weeks, apparently because he didn't sell many. But it left the impression that a ton of '63 pins were out there, when the truth was Kovacs didn't have that many. But once the guides listed those low prices, it was established -- incorrectly -- in the hobby that the 1963 pin is really common.

OK, enough of my babbling. Thanks for hanging in this long.

Rob

[GoldenAge50s]

Beautiful run of pins Rob--Kudos on completing the collection!

[stone193]

Hi Rob

Thanx for taking the time to outline your pins and adding a little something extra.

It's very apparent how much you enjoy this - and I appreciate your enthusiasm.

On the '63 All-Star pin - approximately what year do you think they were being run in SCD?

To back up your position - I have an old Baseball Collectibles Beckett from 1988 which lists the pin for $150.

So if the sale was in the early 90s? That would give credence to your position.

I enjoyed the writeup - I know it takes more time than some may give credit.

[Scott Garner]

Rob,
Congrats! This is an impressive collection. Nice job!

[novakjr]

Rob, those are very nice. As an Indians fan/collector, I appreciate the hell out of getting to see these and the rest of your Indians memoribilia on here. Thanks again, for your hard work.

[Rob D.]

Mike R.,

Jim Kovacs' ads ran in SCD for a long time, maybe spanning two years (1979-80? 1980-81?). He was a regular advertister. Not every week on the back page like Hall's Nostalgia, but he had a good-size ad every other week or every three weeks. And always included was the 1963 All-Star press pins for sale for like $50 (not sure of the price; I'm going on memory). I always noticed that, because I would see Kovacs set up at mall shows -- and he never had any press pins with him. I was a teenager at the time, and Kovacs was famous for being incredibly rude to seemingly anyone younger than 30, so I never got up the nerve to ask him about the press pins.

It was years later that a veteran collector friend and I were talking about the old days, and he related approaching Kovacs and asking him how many 1963 All-Star press pins he once had.

"Ah, not that many," Kovacs said. "I always included that in my ads to attract attention and maybe drum up business."

And all that led to the accepted school of thought that the 1963 All-Star press pin is available in larger-than-normal numbers.

I dug out my copy of SCD's Complete Guide to Baseball Memorabilia from 1992. Here are the values listed for All-Star pins from 1960-64:

1960 Kansas City: $350-$500
1960 New York (Yankees): $400-$500
1961 Boston: $600-$700
1961 San Francisco: $650-$750
1962 Chicago: $425-$500
1962 Washington: $350-$400
1963 Cleveland: $100-$175
1964 New York (Mets): $250-$300

Malloy's Sports Collectibles Value Guide from 1993 lists these values:

1960 Kansas City: $350
1960 New York (Yankees): $375
1961 Boston: $600
1961 San Francisco: $650
1962 Chicago: $450
1962 Washington: $300
1963 Cleveland: $100
1964 New York (Mets): $250

Thanks for the kind words.

Rob

[benchod]

Wow Rob' congrats
Dare we say mission accomplished?
Enjoyed your write up about the pins.
Do you have a scan of the 1920 celluloid pin?

[Rob D.]

Originally Posted by benchod

Wow Rob' congrats
Dare we say mission accomplished?
Enjoyed your write up about the pins.
Do you have a scan of the 1920 celluloid pin?

Craig,

Here's a scan of an example MastroNet sold in 2004:

[wrapperguy]

Rob,
I collect press pins also and that is a terrific group. I, too, needed the 1920 Cleveland but the two lots in which those pins resided went too high. Now I know why. Congrats!

[JLange]

Rob, that's a great group of press pins! Nice to see them all in one location!

[benchod]

Thanks for posting the scan,
That celluloid pin is nice

[HRBAKER]

Rob,
Top drawer indeed!
Very nice and thanks for the bonus commentary as well.

Jeff

[Thedodgerbum]

Hi Rob,

I just joined this site after seeing your Fantastic Indians press pin collection! It is great! I have the almost complete Dodger press pin collection that comes close to what you have put together. I am shy a phantom prototype pin that was sold years back and will probably never find. From your photos I can quickly tell that you have picked up pins from Bob Grabowski, as I have only seen a couple of the prototypes that he had picked up years ago from the son of the Balfour designer who actually made the pins named Robert Shorrick. Bob G. is a fantastic and knowledgable collector! I probably bid against you at one time for some of those pins (sorry). I have a complete collection of World Series press pins from 1930 on, minus 3 elusive pins, plus a handful of the pre-1930 hard to find pins. I am very new to setting up a web site, but started to set up my site and have some of my Dodger press pins shown and you may enjoy looking. Only I have not had time to finish the site and still can't get my emails through the site as I need to contact the company I went through for tech help, but you can see the press pins at TheDodgerBum.com. Click on the press pin tab! Anyways, thanks for posting such a great comprehensive collection here. It made my day to look at what you have put together knowing how hard phantoms and prototypes are to even find, let alone put together in one collection! Congrats! By the way, I think I bid against you for that elusive 1920 pin on a private auction site. I remember trying to buy it to match it with my two 1920 Dodger Press Pins. I have one 1920 with the clasp, and one with the screw on backing. My Dodger pins include the 1916 (both screw on and clasp backing), 1920 (both backs), 1941 (both backs), the only 1941 prototype known (colors reversed), the 1946 phantom, 1947, 1949 (both backs), the only 1950 grey phantom prototype, the only two 1950 blue phantoms I have ever seen, the 1951 phantom, the 1952 (all 3 back styles), all 3 versions of the 1953 pins, the 1955 (both clasp and screw post), and then all of the pins after moving to LA (1959, 63, 65, 66, 74, 77, 81, 88) plus the modern phantoms, as well as all three All Star games hosted by the Dodgers (1949, 1959, 1980). Obviously I am a little fanatical about press pins! Sorry for the long post, but love what you have done with your collection! Can be reached at email huppkeith@yahoo.com should you like to talk more about the pins. I retire soon after years of being a workaholic so looking forward to being more involved in the hobby (addiction). Take care! Keith

[perezfan]

Great stuff, Rob.... beautiful grouping and great accomplishment.

It's interesting to note that only the very first and last Pins fail to feature Chief Wahoo. Otherwise, his mug makes it onto each and every Pin.

Also (with the understanding that few besides me would care) I find it interesting that the other version of Cheif Wahoo (pictured below) was never used. I thought that this even less politically correct version was thier primary Mascot from the mid 1940s to early '50s. Side by side comparison below...

[Rob D.]

Hi Keith,

Thanks for resurrecting this thread and for the kind words. I enjoyed looking at your site.

You're 100 percent correct that I got some of the phantoms from Bob. I vividly remember about 6-7 years ago the Saturday morning I got up and saw that they had just been listed on eBay. I didn't know what to think because I'd never seen them before. He only had one of the '54s listed, and after I spoke with him on the phone, he mentioned the other one. I was pretty happy he sold me all the Indians he had. Just a case of fortunate timing on my part.

I still haven't added a celluloid 1920 Cleveland World Series press pin to my collection (haven't even seen one come up for auction). This past spring I was lucky to find sort of a "placeholder," which is shown below. Though it's not a press pin, it is celluloid, it's from Cleveland and from 1920. Three out of four isn't bad, I suppose.

Again, thanks for the nice comments.

Rob

[Rho68]

Does anybody have his contact info ? I have purchased several pins from him as well, but lost all of my email contacts and can't find him on Ebay. Any help would be appreciated !

[pbspelly]

I asked this in an earlier thread but never got a response:

Was it common for players to get press pins? I have an All-Star Game Press pin from the '30s or '40s that was in possession of my grandfather, Billy Sullivan, Jr., who was a player at the time (but never an All-Star). I always wondered why he had it. Does it mean that he might have been acting in some journalistic capacity at the All-Star game, or were these pins just given out to players that asked for them or invited as a guest?