The Souvenir Stand
A while back, in response to a Uni Watch article about promotional videos of the 1950s Milwaukee Braves, a reader submitted a photo of an Ebbets Field souvenir stand from 1954. The photo is from the book Through a Blue Lens, a collection of photos by longtime Dodgers photographer Barney Stein. While the image was originally meant to illustrate that caps were in fact sold to the public in the 1950s, I was immediately drawn to the wide variety of souvenirs being sold at the time. I began to try to identify as many of the items as I could and what I found was a great peek into the past.
Books
The first item that caught my eye was the book that the souvenir stand workers were holding. The book, The Rhubarb Patch: The Story of the Modern Brooklyn Dodgers, was published in 1954 and features photos by Stein and was written by longtime Dodgers radio announcer Red Barber.
The book focuses on the team’s more successful history of the previous 15 years. What’s interesting to note is that the book was published the year Barber left the Dodgers broadcast booth to move across town and join Mel Allen in the New York Yankees radio booth. I can only assume that the book was already in the works when Barber departed and the team still needed to promote a publication they most likely had a hand in producing.
Just below the ladies in the photo, we see a display case filled with various items, and the first that I noticed is another book, Dodger Daze and Knights by Tommy Holmes. The book, published in 1953, is a look into the team's history. The cover features a whimsical illustration by New York Post cartoonist John Pierotti.
Other Items in the Display Case
Just in front of that book, we see a sign promoting “Follow the Dodgers” by Gladys Goodding. Goodding was the organist for the Brooklyn Dodgers and often played the song in stadium. Although the photo’s caption mentions the availability of the sheet music for the song, I was unable to find an image. However, I was able to find a few shots of a promotional recording of the song released by Goodding.
As we move through the display case we see a few stacks of Dodgers caps featuring the famous white squatchee as well as a hat that may best be described as some type of beach hat. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any images of the “beach hat” nor any images that I could verify as retail hats from this period.
We also see a couple of balls that appear to be autographed by several players. I know that teams today sell souvenir balls featuring facsimile autographs printed on them but I wasn’t aware that the practice dated back as far as the ‘50s. I was only able to find balls that were touted as featuring authentic autographs so I’m curious if the balls being sold were authentic or if a few of these facsimile souvenirs remain.
Nestled in between stacks of Dodgers caps we see what appears to be the 75-cent pen and pencil set mentioned in the photo’s caption. I wasn’t able to find an image that seemed to match the set as shown in the photo, with what appears to be copy of some kind printed between the pen and pencil on a die-cut backing card. I was however able to find an image verifying that the Dodgers had issued Louisville Slugger branded pen and pencil sets while in Brooklyn. I also found images verifying that Louisville Slugger pen and pencil sets had been sold on cards with a top die-cut in the shape of a baseball including after the team moved to LA. Is this enough evidence to conclude that the photo shows a Louisville Slugger Pen & Pencil set?
Farther right in the display case, we find what I consider one of the more interesting items in the photo. Sitting behind an autographed ball, just to the left of a stack of caps, I noticed what appeared to be the face of the beloved Brooklyn Dodgers “Bum” character of the era. Owing to the prevalence of the character at the time, doing an online image search for “Dodgers Bum” brings up hundreds of hits, most of them dating back to artist Willard Mullin’s original depiction of the character. Luckily, I stumbled upon this Brooklyn Dodgers visor featuring the face of the beloved Bum,
albeit not Mullin’s depiction. The illustration and type, as well as the stars, planets, and other visual elements, appear to match what we can see in the souvenir stand photo. I think it’s safe to assume that the Dodgers most likely sold this as a less expensive alternative to ball caps.
Yearbooks
As we move out of the display case and to the right of the two ladies in the photo, we see a stand of baseball yearbooks. All of the publications on the right side are 1954 Dodgers Yearbooks, featuring a cover illustration by Willard Mullin. The left-hand side of the display features a variety of different covers, with a 1954 Giants Yearbook, also featuring a Mullin illustration in the front. The other books are harder to identify but searching team yearbooks from 1954 shows the Philadelphia Phillies (top), New York Yankees (2nd from top), and Pittsburgh Pirates (3rd from top) as likely matches given what little we can see in the way of design elements. Although we can’t positively identify the yearbooks it is interesting to think that the Dodgers sold books of other teams.
Pennants
Above the yearbooks, we see a display of a variety of pennants. From what is visible it appears that all pennants are NL teams but positive matches are made difficult by the lack of color and the angle at which the pennants are displayed. Oddly enough, the one pennant that I haven’t been able to find a close match to is the Dodgers pennant, as the one in the photo appears to have a thinner script and the underscore also appears to be much thinner than what I’ve seen in my searches. On the far right is this New York Giants pennant. Much like the Dodgers, I found several designs that were very similar but I believe the letterforms in “New York” make this one a match. Beneath the Dodgers is what appears to be this Cincinnati Reds pennant. Again, several similar styles were found but I believe the letterforms in the city name as well as the point of the “Wishbone C“ make this a match. Based on the outlined letterforms visible, it appears that a full-sized version of this Chicago Cubs mini pennant is beneath the Reds one. Behind the Cubs pennant appears to be this St. Louis Cardinals pennant. As with others, several similar styles were found but the shape and thickness of the letterforms seem to match this one. There is very little of the bottom pennant visible, but it appears to read “R A T” and possibly a corner of an uppercase “E”, which leads me to wonder if it is similar to this Pittsburgh Pirates pennant, as those letters are very similar in typographic style. From my research, it appears that during this era pennant styles varied greatly in design and production styles and there was a lack of cohesive branding among teams as we know it today. I welcome any and all feedback from those who may be more familiar with pennant history and styles.
PM10 Pins
In the background, between the stand attendants and the pennants, we see a display of what is commonly referred to as PM10 Pins. These were pin-back buttons sold in a variety of styles in stadiums over several years in the mid-1900s. Hundreds of these player pins were created and were often sold with a red, white, and blue ribbon as well as a brass chain and small glove, bat, or baseball charm. The photo resolution makes positive identification extremely difficult but it does appear that these pins featured the ribbon and the topmost pin appears to have a charm as well.
Photos like this one can often show us little vignettes of daily life in a bygone era and trying to find images of the pieces shown was an interesting challenge. With today’s vast array of merchandise only a click away, it’s humbling to try and recall a quainter time when a ballpark stand was one of the few ways fans could acquire team souvenirs.
A version of this article previously appeared on Uni Watch. Thanks to UW Editor Phil Hecken for allowing me to republish it here in a slightly different form.
This is an extraordinary piece of work. Thank you.
A brilliant piece building from that photograph. Many thanks.