Circa 1910 Philadelphia Phillies Oversized Pennant - Extraordinary Rarity and Earliest Known Phillies Pennant

Sold For:

$10,200

Year:

1910

Auction:

2016 Fall

Lot #:

1560

Category:

Post-1900 Baseball Memorabilia

This exceedingly rare oversized pennant, dating from the time period 1910 to 1914, is the earliest known Phillies pennant and, to the best of our knowledge, one of only two examples extant. The red felt pennant features a large illustration of two daisies, above and below which, respectively, are the words "National" and "League B. B. C." The city name, "Philadelphia," is lettered to the right of the illustration. Although no year is listed, this piece can be definitively dated to the five-year period 1910 to 1914 because of the daisies. For reasons not entirely known, the Phillies were informally known as "Dooin's Daisies" during the time Charles "Red" Dooin was manager of the club (1910-1914). The team was often referred to as the "daisies" in newspaper reports and, as a result, the daisy quickly became the team's symbol, in much the same way as the "white elephant" became the symbol of the Philadelphia A's. (Included with the pennant is a copy of a newspaper article from the May 13, 1911 issue of the Chicago Daily Tribune in which one of the headlines reads "Dooin's Daisies Win 3 Straight.") The choice of the daisy to represent the Phillies symbolically may have reflected the existence of a flower called the Philadelphia Daisy (Erigeron philadelphicus). It is also interesting to note that the famed Negro League team based in Hilldale, located west of Philadelphia, was nicknamed the "Daisies." Once Dooin was fired as manager after the 1914 season, the daisy was dropped as the Phillies' symbol. The pennant (35.5 inches long and 14 inches wide at its widest point), displays wear commensurate with its age and former use, including tack holes and/or small slits at the tip and corners, minor crazing to the painted image and lettering, a slightly worn tip, and the loss of one of the four tassels. None of those minor flaws; however, detracts in the least from its overall Excellent to Mint appearance. Mounted and framed, with archival materials and UV resistant glass, to total dimensions of 46.5 x 18 inches. Reserve $1,000. Estimate (open)