1910 b-unc felts

[matty39]

I recently acquired several 1910 unc felts from a fellow board member to go along with the several I already own. A few years ago I wrote Bob Lemke, asking him if these could be added to the Standard Catalog as a new find. He responded by saying that since they were hand cut and knowing little about them, he was reluctant at that time to do so.
Since then I have put together a checklist of all the felts that I am aware of and the colors that I have seen. They are listed here. If anyone has additional felts or any additional information, please post. Scans would be great.
Ainsmith red and green, Bender green, Cobb red, Herzog green, Lajoie blue, Lange ?, Lord blue, Mathewson green, McBride red, Meyers red and blue, Richie green, Wheat green.

[Leon]

I have had the McBride for several years. I would also have mixed feelings about including them in official catalogs.....but knowing what gets listed, and has stayed listed, I would probably include them if it were me. I have a feeling there will be a day when we find these were cut form something larger, but even if that were the case, there is precedence for cataloging. They are kind of crude but also neat because of it.

[Tao_Moko]

Do these feel like BF2 pennants? Thicker or thinner?

[matty39]

I suppose comparable to a bf2, maybe a little lighter.
An interesting note: the Stirling Sports Card Catalog, published in 1977 has them listed under early candy and gum issues calling them "baseball caramel felts"

[ValKehl]

Leon - What I find interesting about your McBride felt is that McBride was not a catcher; rather, he was one of the best, if not the best, defensive shortstops in the A.L. during his years with the Senators; but, unfortunately, he didn't hit for much.

The Meyers felt in this thread and the Eddie Ainsmith felt that Rob D. just sold on the B/S/T have this same catcher pose, which is correct as Meyers and Ainsmith were both catchers.
Val

[birdman42]

I have a ("the"?) red Ainsmith. It's not as stiff as some of the BF2s, but about the same thickness.

Note that there's a bit more of a "W" on the sleeve of my Ainsmith than there is on ex-Rob's. The McBride has a very distinct "W." And while the pose is the same for Meyers, McBride, and Ainsmith, the picture isn't quite the same. Look at the way the folds fall on the uniform and the sock patterns. These were not just one-pic-for-all like the E-91s.

Is the Stirling catalog worth picking up? I see one on eBay and one on Amazon.

Bill

[Rob D.]

Originally Posted by birdman42

\
Is the Stirling catalog worth picking up? I see one on eBay and one on Amazon.

Bill

Bill,

I think it is. I have my original copy that I bought in the '70s and refer to it every now and then. There are a few issues of cards found in this book that I don't think I've seen elsewhere.

Rob

[vintagecpa]

I was curious how the felts have been narrowed down to the year 1910? I've never seen one, but they look like they came from some type of promotional pennant, perhaps given out at a ballgame.

[matty39]

I think the dating is kind of a guess. Meyers first year with the Giants was 09 and Ritchie's last year was 1913. So 1910 sounds pretty good.

[birdman42]

Mike,

The date is an estimate based on player/team dates. Frank Ward had them as ca. 1912. The range is based on who was with what team.

• Lew Richie was with the Cubs 1910 to 1913.
• Buck Herzog was with the Giants 1908-09, '11-'13, and '16-'17.
• Bris Lord was with the As 1905-07 and 1910-12.

Certainly any player could have been shown with a former team, but based on this data I'd say that the best guess is 1911 or 1912.

As to these being cut from a larger piece, maybe a pennant, the material feels like that's a possibility, but I'm not aware of any larger pieces with an image like these.

Bill

[ValKehl]

Eddie Ainsmith's first year with Washington (and in the major leagues) was 1910, and he appeared in only 33 games. He appeared in 61 games in 1911 and again in 1912. So, I would think that 1911 is the earliest year, and 1912 perhaps more likely.
Val

[Tao_Moko]

Originally Posted by Leon

I have had the McBride for several years. I would also have mixed feelings about including them in official catalogs.....but knowing what gets listed, and has stayed listed, I would probably include them if it were me. I have a feeling there will be a day when we find these were cut form something larger, but even if that were the case, there is precedence for cataloging. They are kind of crude but also neat because of it.

Leon's Mcbride has what looks like part of another banner to the left of the "M" in his name. Kind of looks like there might have been at least two images per felt. It would be coincidental if all felts coming from different collections were hand cut so i wonder if these were like this from manufacturer. Chocolate inserts would make since but so does hand cut pennants.