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1951 Brooklyn Dodgers Pennant Rare Style
Presented is scarce 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers felt pennant that employs an unusual style that is now in scarce supply. The 1951 season is one that Brooklyn Dodgers fans never forgot - probably for the wrong reasons. That was, from Brooklyn fans, the infamous year in which the Dodgers' 13-and-a-half game National League lead evaporated through mid-August and September, and their hated rivals, the New York Giants, tied the Dodgers for the pennant. That necessitated a best-of-three playoff, won the by Giants at the Polo Grounds on a ninth inning 3-run homer by Bobby Thomson (off Ralph Branca) to give the Giants the flag on "The Shot Heard Round the World." Unbeknownst to the Dodgers at that time is that the Giants frequently used a substitute player, equipped with binoculars, at a clubhouse window that overlooked center field at the Polo Grounds. The player would read the opposition catcher's signs and push a button that would ring a buzzer in the Giants' dugout, one buzz for a fastball, two buzzes for an off-speed pitch - similar to the sign stealing methods employed by the Houston Astros in more recent years. For Dodgers fans, the '51 sign stealing only makes this souvenir pennant all the more poignant, as it contains the names of players who should have won the NL pennant. The pennant is 27" inches long, from its widest point to the tip. The blue pennant, with white images and lettering, also has four 3.5" ties that are at the 8.5" taller end. The offering shows an image of a stadium, a pitcher and a batter. The aforementioned unusual style of the pennant is that under the lettering that spells "DODGERS" is a representation of what appears to be stadium bunting. Machine printed on the bunting are the names of 24 Dodgers players: Robinson, Reese, Furillo, Roe, Campanella, Hodges, Erskine, Snider, Terwilliger, Branca, Cox, Newcombe, Pafko, Abrams, Bridges, Palica, Podbielan, Labine, Hatten, Schmitz, King, Walker, Thompson, and Haugstad. The pennant exhibits some loss of color, and there are a few, small stains. Overall, the pennant is in very good condition. The offering makes a wonderful addition to a sports collection as the pennant contains the names of so many of the Brooklyn players who became, as in Roger Kahn's book, The Boys of Summer.
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