|
|
|
|
| KeyMan
Collectibles |
NEWSLETTER |
April 2024 |
|
|
Oddball and Miscellaneous Baseball
Memorabilia |
 |
|
Steven KeyMan |
|
|
-
By Steven KeyMan |
|
Founder of
Keymancollectibles.com,
and a long time
collector, Steven
KeyMan has more than 30
years of experience in
researching, and
cataloging information
on Baseball
Memorabilia.
Researching his own personal
collection, and helping others find
information on their
collectibles, the
website grew into the
largest online resource
for baseball
memorabilia |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Ask
Steven: Direct your questions or feedback,
about Baseball Memorabilia to Steven KeyMan
Steve@keymancollectibles.com You can also Send
KeyMan pictures of your personal Memorabilia Display,
and get your own Free
Collectors Showcase Room featured on the website.. |
|
|
 |
| |
Miscellaneous or Oddball baseball
memorabilia... items that just don't
properly fit into a specific category. A little
strange, or somewhat eccentric, an "off
beat" category outside the normal realm
of what is commonly collected. Atypical, bizarre, unusual,
or uncommon to the hobby, oddball
baseball memorabilia could be a fun
addition to your collection.
From 1912 to 1914 these 10” x
12”
natural hide shape novelty
leathers were made
available through a special
mail in offer One gift slip was
included with a pack of Turkish
Trophies and Helmar Cigarettes.
The gift-slips were good for
one cents in cash, or returned
for presents that were listed
on the back. For a return of 35
gift Slips you received one
leather, which were made to be
used as "wonderful novelties
for home decoration." Twenty of
the 25 drawings are the same
used for the T3 Turkey Red
series issued in 1911.
Babe Ruth set a record by hitting three
home runs in game 4 of the 1926 World
Series against the St. Louis Cardinals
at Sportsman's Park. The Second home
run Ruth hit that day, Oct. 6, 1926,
was hit over the right field Pavilion,
out of Sportsman's Park and onto the
street.
The ball took one bounce and broke the showroom window of the Wells Motor
Company, bounded off a Chevrolet Coup,
and back onto the street.
Following the game Babe Ruth visited the Wells Motor Co. to see the window
that he broke, then poked his head
though the empty pane while pictures
were taken before a large crowd. Later
Ruth was given the undamaged Chevy Coup
that he hit in exchange for advertising
and publicity. The steering wheel was
made to further promote the historic
event. Customers that bought a car from
the Wells motor company were give the
option, with or without
the Babe Ruth Steering Wheel.
In 1898, the English Sewing Company of
England purchases the Willimantic Linen
Company and other New England mills and
formed the American Thread Company. The
company produced
thousands of thread products such as
for clothing, bedding, shoe laces, and
stitching for sewing baseballs.
Kingston cotton baseball thread was made at the Jillson Mills complex in
Willimantic, Connecticut. The
Willimantic mill was closed when the
company moved to North Carolina in
1985. This
wooden Baseball Thread spool was
manufactured by the company in Milo,
Maine. One side is stamped "Made by The
American Thread Company" while the
other is stamped with "Kingston 10 5
4oz. Baseball Thread."
|
|
| |
 |
|
| |
Charge Plates, and charge coins are the
predecessors to credit cards. First
issued just after the Civil War, they
grew in popularity in the years leading
up to the Great Depression.
Given out by merchants or departments stores the coins were typically
struck with an image or logo of the
company that issued it.
There was also a unique account number attributed to the coin. A customer
wanting to charge a purchase to their
account would present the coin to the
merchant, who would then check a paper
file to ensure that the account was up
to date. Loosely dated by the
Horace Partridge Co. logo that
appears on the front of these coins,
the company issued three different
Charge Coins from the late 1920's
through the 1930's.
The Horace Partridge Company was a manufacturer and distributor of
athletic goods since 1847. The Boston
Bruins, Red Sox and Braves had their
uniforms made by Horace Partridge & Co.
for many years.
 This
Keystone View Company studios;
Magic Lantern slide 94 "Lights-Outdoor
Lighting for Sports and Safety," is
part of the General Science Units
series used for education.
The slide features electric lights for baseball stadiums, enabling night
games. The first baseball game played
under electric lighting took place in
1880, the year after Thomas Edison
invented the light bulb.
Fifty years later, the first official
minor league night game took place in
Independence, Kansas on April 28, 1930.
It wasn't until 1935 when the
Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia
Phillies 2-1 in Major League Baseball’s
first-ever night game.
Often included with advertisements, ink blotters, like trade cards, were a
good way to attract potential
customers. Most collectors consider ink
blotters as a type of a trade card like
this one issued by Blue Valley Butter
in 1934. Ink blotters were popular in
the days of fountain pens. They are
typically thicker than your standard
trade card as they were used to help
wipe the excess ink from the tips of
the pen.
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
| |
Because people kept them on their desks, the advertiser’s message
would always be in front of them, and
generate way more advertising
‘impressions’ than many of the
conventional trade cards. The
Blue Valley Ink Blotter illustrates
a boys and girls baseball team playing
ball in front of a Blue Valley
billboard sign, wearing Blue Valley
baseball uniforms.
Sometime during the mid 1950's the
National Hygienic Products Corporation,
of New York, marketed
"Champ
Prophylactics." Four different packet
designs were produced, each depicting
"Champs" of four sports, Golf,
Football, Boxing, and baseball.
The boxing packets are believed to be an artistic likeness of boxer Jack
Dempsey, and the baseball packet Ted
Williams. The unauthorized use of Ted's
image is similar to the one used on his
1954 Topps card #250. Williams never
endorsed or received any royalties from
the Nat. Hygienic Prod's Corp.
But it was reported that he still got a chuckle out of it when asked to
sign a packet. The product was more
than likely produced between the
earlier part of 1955-1962. Condom
advertising was still in the closet,
and illegal until a Supreme Court
decision in 1977.
 In 1952 the McDonald
MFG Company, of Wilbraham,
Massachusetts, produced these plastic
baseball emblems for various uses.
"Display On Your Car" - "Display On
Your Bike" - "Excellent Ice Scraper." -
"Hey Kids, Start Your Collection Today"
These plastic
Baseball Emblems of "Your Favorite
Team" can be easily attached to
your bicycle. Dad could display it on
his car, which could also second as an
Ice Scraper. All 16 Major League teams
that existed at the time were
represented.
The backing card with a 15˘ price tag, measures 5.25 by 5.25 inches, and
lists the 8 American, and 8 National
League teams available. The lower left
has a 1952 copyright.
A common premium back in the day, the
Skelly Oil Company gave away these
styrofoam baseball antenna toppers
during the 1950's, and into the 1960's.
Soon after the Athletics moved from
Philadelphia to Kansas City in 1955,
Skelly Oil became a team sponsor.
In
1959, Kansas City Athletics, styrofoam
antenna topper baseballs were made
available free at Skelly Oil service
stations. The styrofoam baseball with
red print stitching featured, the
"Athletics" team name at the bottom of
one panel and a player's facsimile
autograph at the top.
Known players that were featured on these rare premiums, include; Roger
Maris, Ralph Terry, and manager Harry
Craft. On the opposite panel on the 3"
diameter Antenna baseball features the
Skelly Oil Company trademark logo, and
the antenna inset hole.
In a bygone era, and before the advent
of the paper carton and plastic milk
jugs, fresh milk in glass bottles were
delivered by the milkman. The
extinction of home delivery began in
the 1960s when large grocery chains
came in. Some bottles are still around,
lingering in antique shops, ebay, barn,
and tag sales. There is a collectors
market, but baseball themed milk
bottles are hard to find.
This
Keystone Dairy Farms, SSPQ - Short
Square, orange, red and blue, 3 color
Pyroglazed Quart milk bottle depicts a
young baseball player in blue pyro,
running after a baseball and reads,
"Milk Give Little Leaguers That Extra
Energy Milk Best In Any League."
The opposite side, depicts three stick figures holding hands in orange
pyro, and reads; "You Never outgrow
your need for milk drink three glasses
every day." Around the top of the
bottle is a picture of a Divco
refrigerated milk delivery truck, and
Reads; "Keystone Fresh Orange Juice
Delivered To Your Door" in red pyro.
During the 1950s through to the 1970s,
Coca-Cola sponsored a series of sports
training films featuring famous
coaches. Local Coca-Cola distributers
were encouraged to buy the training
films and lend out to high school and
junior high teams or other interested
parties.
The films were produced by Borden Productions Inc. Richard Borden was
commissioned to produce films for
several baseball teams; Boston Red Sox,
KC Athletics, and Detroit Tigers. He
also shot several official World Series
films.
Baseball related titles include;
"Batting and Bunting," - "Pitching"
with Ethan Allen, and
"Hitting a Baseball" with Ted Williams
(1965). The Red Sox batting instructor
at the time. Williams gives tips on
selecting a bat, grip, stance, position
in the batter's box, hand and wrist
action, timing, pivoting, and reflexes.
The film also shows Williams at the
peak of his playing career.
The Dallas based Mickey Mantle's
Country Cookin' franchise opened it's
first restaurant in December of 1968 in
Longview Texas. The prototype
restaurant located in San Antonio
opened in March 1968 as Mickey Mantle's
Country Kitchen; but a
Minneapolis-based franchise chain,
Country Kitchen international owned the
name since 1939, and brought suit
against Mickey Mantle.
In agreement with the settlement, the name was changed to Mickey Mantle's
Country Cookin'. This six inch square
quilted pot holder features a country
cooking wood stove at the top, and
reads "Mickey Mantle's Country Cookin'"
in the center. Bellow is the address,
"196 Parker St. Lodi, NJ." with the
phone number "Dial 382-2893" at the
bottom. The green country design back,
also borders the front. There is no
evidence that the restaurant at this
location was ever opened.
The
Roberto Clemente Pictureform was
made available in 1971 through the
mail, for $2.00 plus .25˘ postage and
handling. The pictureform assembling
kit consisted of; 12 individual 8 inch
diameter action photos of Roberto
Clemente, with a 3 inch color border
(orange & blue), which can be assembled
to create a 12 sided 15 inch photo
"sphere" (geometric dodecagon).
The cover pictures Roberto Clemente in his number 21 Pittsburgh Pirates
home uniform, holding a bat with one
hand, by the batting cage. The inside
which contains the 12 pictures, also
features "Clemente - 17 years of
Feats..." Comments on "What Others Say"
and illustrated instruction for
assembling the Pictureform. Suggested
illustrated uses; Hanging Mobile, Above
Desk, Sports Counter Display, and
Little League. The back shows the
Pictureform after it is assembled.
Vincent Marotta was the co-creator of
the famed Mr. Coffee automatic brewing
system. Before the invention of this
home brewing system, consumers had to
rely on peculators to make coffee.
After the development of the Mr. Coffee
machine, marotta, and his partner
Samuel Glazer, felt, to really make it
a national brand, they needed a
spokesman who people could relate to.
Marotta, had signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1942, but was called
to serve in World War II before spring
training. He was a big fan of Joe
DiMaggio, and decided to recruit the
former Yankee to be a spokesman in the
mid-1970s. Marotta contacted DiMaggio
by phone, and Joe was already familiar
with the Mr. Coffee brewer because he
had just won a machine in a golf
tournament. DiMaggio, turned him down
saying, 'Thank you very much, but it’s
not what I do."
The next day, Marotta and his wife, flew to San Francisco and called
DiMaggio again to have lunch which
ended with a handshake and the deal was
done. Mr. Coffee machine sales reached
more than a million by 1975, 50 million
dollars by 1979.
The
Sneaky Snake Fresh and Saltwater Lure
was manufactured by the Gold Tech Mfg.
Corp., of Paterson, NJ. The 5 inch,
jointed plastic bait named Sneaky Snake
was packaged in a carded blister pack.
The product was endorsed by Harold
Ensley host of a TV fishing show from
1955-1960, and Baseball's Billy Martin.
The blister pack card backing had a water-blue color at the top; with a
man in a rowboat fishing in the
distance, a jumping fish at the end of
his line in the foreground, with
"SNEAKY FISH" in red on a honey-yellow
background, in between the two. To the
left of the fish, shows an autographed
picture of Billy Martin in Yankee
pinstripes and baseball cap. Below is
the caption; 'I am happy to endorse
"Sneaky Snake" as one of the best fresh
water fishing lures I have ever used.'
To the right and below the fish is
Billy Martin's facsimile autograph.
The Rawlings Sporting Goods Co.
unveiled a Radar Ball, at the 1997
National Sporting Goods Association
annual convention in Chicago. The
baseball, invented, and patented by
David Zakutin, features a small digital
display between the seams showing how
fast it was thrown.
The Speed-sensing baseball, patent No. 5761096, applied for in 1996,
calculates the average speed at which
the baseball is thrown over a fixed
distance. The ball has the size and
feel of a regulation baseball. To use
it the catcher must squat 60 feet, 6
inches away from the pitcher, the
standard distance from the pitchers
rubber to home plate.
A photo shoot at Chicago's Comiskey Park kicked off a national campaign to
launch
the Rawlings Radar Ball. The
campaign featured Seattle Mariner's
pitcher Randy Johnson, the hardest
thrower in Major League baseball in
1998. Randy Johnson was featured in a
Rawlings Radar Ball commercial.
On Friday,
July 2, 2010, "Brockabrella
Night" the St. Louis Cardinals handed
out 25,000 of the umbrella hats to fans
that entered Busch Stadium. Cardinals
Hall of Famer Lou Brock threw out a
ceremonial pitch while wearing a Brockabrella before the Cardinals
hosted the Milwaukee Brewers.
The promotion was sponsored by Ameren, and the Brockabrella replica, a
collapsible rain hat which was patented
by Brock ad Richard H Nielson in the
late 1970s.
Brock came up with the Brockabrella when he saw the idea somewhere and
wanted to buy two for when the
Cardinals played at Wrigley Field,
where the fans would throw beer on the
players during warm-ups. He then found
a Korean manufacturer named Bing Woo,
and they were not interested in just
making two, but would make two gross
(288).
Lou ordered the two gross in a red-and-white color scheme. When they
arrived he took two out one for himself
and the other for Al Hraboshy, so the
two could wear them at practice at
Wrigley Field. Then a college team
whose colors were red and white
contacted Lou and asked if they could
get some for their cheerleaders. Lou
sent the team 24, and they wore them on
national television. After that,
requests came pouring in and Lou
started a company, Brock World
Products, to sell them.
The Minnesota Twins held
"Joe Mauer Sideburns Night" again
on August 10, 2012, in a game against
the Tampa Bay Rays. The team previously
gave away Joe Mauer sideburns on August
10, 2006, at the Metrodome. The first
20,000 fans that entered Target field,
received a set of replica Joe Mauer
sideburns, made out of synthetic dark
hair with double-sided tape to allow
for attachment to fans' faces.
This time the sideburns were mounted to a 5 inch by 7-3/4 inch card,
picturing Joe Mauer, with his facsimile
signature at the top. The Stadium
Giveaway sideburns were sponsored by
Head & Shoulders. Joe was a spokesman,
and endorsed the men's shampoo. The
back has a barcode and how to activate
an app using a "QR Scanner" to "Check
out Head & Shoulders for Men on
Facebook to see what we've been up to
this season with our mane man, Joe
Mauer."
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
KEYMAN COLLECTIBLES
RELATED RESOURCES |
|
| |
|
|
| |
KeyMan
Collectibles Collectors Corner
- Keep up with the latest collecting news,
announcements, and articles of interest on the
webs best resource for baseball memorabilia. |
|
| |
KeyMan Collectibles Baseball
Memorabilia Facebook Group -
Post Questions and comments relating to
Baseball Collectibles and Memorabilia. Interact
with other collectors or show off your
collection. |
|
| |
KeyMan
Collectibles Forum
- A great option for those that "Don't do
facebook" Post Questions and
comments relating to Baseball Collectibles and
Memorabilia |
|
|
|
|
|
