Need help about this 1960's Cubs Patch

[perezfan]

You'll never know its origin. It could have been on the sleeve of Ernie Banks, Fergie Jenkins, Billy Williams, Ken Holtzman, Glenn Beckert, Don Kessinger, Bill Hands, Rich Nye, Adolpho Philips or Ted Savage. (I tried to rank them in descending order of stardom, though I'm sure someone will take issue, haha).

Or it could have been an "extra" that never even got sewn to a sleeve. Without provenance, it will always remain a mystery. Regardless, I love pieces like this. The Cubs sleeve patch is one of the true mid-century classics, along with the Screaming Brave, St. Louis Brownie, Chief Wahoo and Mr. Red.

Yours looks to be authentic, but do keep in mind that knockoffs exist. Here is one such modern example that is pretty well executed. It would not be difficult to age this patch by exposing it to the elements and running it through the washer a few times....

https://www.sportsworldchicago.com/c...emblem-source/

[icollectDCsports]

Yep -- also possible it's a reproduction even if the measurements are correct. And given the photo Cliff provided above, it does seem that if original it could've been applied to a minor league or MLB jersey -- or both if the Cubs recycled jerseys down to the minors like many teams of the day did.

[Cliff Bowman]

Originally Posted by perezfan

It could have been on the sleeve of Ernie Banks, Fergie Jenkins, Billy Williams, Ken Holtzman, Glenn Beckert, Don Kessinger, Bill Hands, Rich Nye, Adolpho Philips or Ted Savage. (I tried to rank them in descending order of stardom, though I'm sure someone will take issue, haha).

I think you missed a certain third baseman .

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by Cliff Bowman

I think you missed a certain third baseman .

Ah crap... it felt like I was missing a key one as I rushed to sneak in a post before running errands. After Banks, let's call it a 3-way tie between Santo, Jenkins and Billy Williams. Then let's insert Randy Hundley inbetween Kessinger and Bill Hands. Not that anyone gives a hoot!

Just for the sake of comparison, below is a pic of my only Cubs patch. This is Steve Hamilton's 1972 Cubs Home Jersey, and the patch looks pretty identical to the one posted by the OP. Hope this helps.

[69Cubfan]

I really do appreciate all of the input on this patch. You all have very valid points, which is why this website is so valuable. I bought this so long ago that I just cant remember how it was described to me at the time, but it caught my eye back then and I had to have it for my collection. I know the Cubs changed the style of the Cubbie bear in the early 70's, like the last post shows, the ears were more softly curved rather than what I call the mickey mouse distinct shaped ears of the 68-69 period, which is what I have shown. As far as the minor league jerseys having this patch, all I know is that most of the major league jerseys got recycled to the minor league players, but not really sure what type, if any, alterations were made to them once they received them. I will continue trying to research for more info on this neat piece, and will also continue checking back here, and will post any findings that I can come up with. Thanks again guys for your input!!!!
Gary

[Tripredacus]

I wanted to point out, as it seems to have been missed. The patch in the op does not match the one shown in the Banks photo. In the one in the Banks photo, the stitching is different. For a clue, look at the patter on the blue around the eye/face area. In the OP photo it just goes straight across, in the Banks photo, the stitching matches the curve of the shape.