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1919 Cincinnati Reds National League Champions Felt Pennant
Displayed is a 1919 Cincinnati Reds team pennant that honors the year's National League Champions. The '19 Reds had a season record of 99-44 and won the pennant by nine games over the second place New York Giants. The Reds' top player was Hall of Fame center fielder Edd Roush. He hit .321 that year. Third baseman Heinie Groh batted .310. Cincinnati had an outstanding mound corps: Dutch Ruether, 19-6, 1.82 ERA; Hod Eller, 19-9, 2.39 ERA; Slim Sallee, 21-7, 2.06 ERA. The Reds were managed by Pat Moran, who took over for Christy Mathewson, who had been accidentally gassed while in the U.S. Army in a training exercise during World War I. The Reds won the 1919 World Series, by 5-3 in games over the Chicago White Sox in a best of nine World Series. Unfortunately, in 1920 it came to light that eight members of the White Sox had become involved with gamblers and had become involved in fixing the 1919 Championship. The banner takes on a sense of poignancy because it signifies the euphoria that Cincinnati fans felt over the Reds' National League Championship, and presages the eventual letdown all baseball fans felt when it became known that the 1919 World Series was fixed and the Reds, who might possibly have won even if the mighty Chicago team had all played to win, would never know what a true outcome would have been, and they were left with a rather hollow championship. This pennant is such a crazy, rare piece. It is 29" long and approx. 11" high at the highest spot. The pennant tapers from 11" down to a point and the very tip, less than half an inch, is missing. The pennant is over a century old, and it does show a fading to pinkish of the original red color. The pennant does show some minor wear, with a few stains, some small tears, and some creasing and rumpling in places, but considering the age of the pennant, it is in Very Good condition. The pennant has white letters and numerals reading, "Cincinnati 'Reds'" 1919 National League Champions. It is fascinating that as late in baseball history as 1919, that a team's nickname, i.e., Reds, should be placed in quotation marks. Nicknames then were more fluid, with the Brooklyn Dodgers being called the Robins for years because the team's manager was Wilbert Robinson. The offered pennant was sold in Cincinnati at the 1919 World Series at Redland Park. The pennant will make a great conversation piece in any collection, as it is one of maybe two or three known to exist.
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