Pennant Fever
EXAMINING 20th CENTURY FELT NOVELTY COMPANIES AND THEIR PRODUCTS
Locations: 25 East Huron Street, Buffalo, NY (ca. 1929-31); 1233 Main St., Buffalo, NY (ca. 1946-58); 1298 Main St., Buffalo, NY (ca. 1978-93); then in the Tri-Main Bldg., 2495 Main St., Buffalo, NY (ca. 1995) Founded: 1920 Closed: 1995 Maker’s mark: Limited use of “TMC” monogram in the mid-1950s beside original artwork; also a “TM/SS” (Trench Manufacturing/Sportservices) combined maker's/concessionaire's mark used in the mid-1950s beside original artwork; sporadic use of a Trench sewn label seen on collegiate pennants in the late 1950s; limited use of a Trench sewn label on NFL pennants ca. 1960; use of removable Trench card headers used throughout the 1970s, 80s, and 90s; use of copyright footers identifying Trench and the year of production toward the late 1980s and 90s. COMPANY HISTORYTrench Manufacturing Company of Buffalo, NY was perhaps the most important maker of pennants you’ve never heard of. Even if you have heard of them, or remember their products, you probably never connected their name with the better felt pennants of the 1950s and 60s--a period many collectors consider the “Golden Era” of pennant making. More likely, you associate Trench with lower quality, mass produced t-shirts, sweatshirts, and pennants from the 1980s and 90s. But it wasn’t always that way. a. Humble beginnings Trench Manufacturing Company dates back to 1920. For most of its 75 years in business it stood on Main Street in Buffalo, although their principal address changed several times over the decades. Who founded the company? Where were they first located? What products beyond pennants did they make? Unfortunately, very little information from these early years is available to help answer these questions. Since I first wrote this piece, I've come up with a few answers to the above questions. The company was founded in 1920 by George A. Trench. He would serve as head of the company through 1958. They occupied space in a building located at 25 East Huron Street as early as 1929. In those early days, their business focused largely on felt pennants and "pillow tops"; many of which were made for local schools, tourist attractions, and businesses located in western New York, and beyond. By decade’s end, that would all change. b. Professional baseball By the mid-1930s Trench was making baseball pennants for National and American League teams located throughout the country. This was significant for the small-scale pennant maker. There was big money to be made in the 16 big league stadiums then situated across the nation. Not only was baseball truly our “national pastime” in those days, the game had become ever popular with children. Ballparks had become increasingly more family friendly. And while teams couldn’t sell minors cold beer; they could try and sell children souvenirs. That’s where Trench filled a growing need. Identifying Trench-made baseball pennants from the 1930s and 1940s, like these five pictured above, is a bit challenging. That’s because they used no maker’s mark then. They did, however, use concessionaire's marks then. (More on this in a minute.) They also re-used this same artwork throughout the decade for multiple different teams; and these pennants can be traced to a later era in the 1950s--when they did use a maker’s mark. One trend I have observed from this time period concerns size: the majority of Trench’s baseball pennants from the 1930s, 40s, and early 50s were ¾ size, i.e., about 26” in length. [Writer's note: My thanks to reader Michael K. for helping me identify the above pennants for inclusion in this piece.] Now, to be clear: Trench certainly was not the only pennant maker producing baseball pennants by the 1950s. Others had been doing this for years. If you went, say, to Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field in the 1940s or 50s, you probably would pass several merchants hawking souvenir pennants by these competitors in the streets outside the ballpark. But unlike these other well established pennant makers, Trench found a way to sell their products inside the ballpark! And not just ballparks operating in New York City. They found a way to ensure their products were being sold in the majority of stadia throughout the country. It was a genius move that forever changed the company’s fortunes. c. A necessary digression Before going any further, a word on concessionaires seems appropriate here. Back then, as now, companies existed that served as concessionaires. Concessionaires neither own the team nor the ballpark. They are privately held companies that specialize in selling food, drinks, merchandise, etc. at certain types of events. Today, virtually all of the professional sports venues we frequent are operated by a concessionaire of some sort. Their employees make and sell the hot dogs; serve you your cold beer; and sell your child a stuffed animal at the team store. You didn’t really think the New York Yankees employed the hot dog vendors at Yankee Stadium, did you? That’s not the case today; and, it wasn’t true decades ago either. If you’re surprised to learn this, think about it for a minute. Take an NFL football team, for example. Each plays a 16-game regular season, leaving a mere eight regular season home games. Eight. Yet, on those eight days, it takes a small army of people with varying skill sets to create the desired game day experience for 65,000 fans in attendance: parking attendants, security guards, ticket takers, ushers, janitors, etc. No team has the time to hire, train, and pay the salaries of such labor. Not for less than a dozen days of work! Beyond the players, coaches, and front office, there’s surprisingly few personnel directly employed by the teams--either on a full or part time basis. Instead, teams contract with specialty companies that agree to perform this work in exchange for a cut of the profits. That’s where concessionaires come in. Without them, it would be difficult to find a way to sell fans a hot dog and make a profit thereon. d. Sportservice Corp. What does all this have to do with Trench and pennants, you might wonder? No, Trench was not a concessionaire. But, in the mid-1950s, Trench was located at 1233 Main St.; and not too far down the street was a very successful (and rapidly expanding) concessionaire called Sportservice Corporation. Sportservice was founded in 1926, just six years after Trench’s start. Its principal address stood for many years at 703 Main St. in a part of Buffalo known today as the Theatre District. Eleven years earlier, in 1915, three brothers opened a concession business there that served the many theaters in operation. Jacobs Bros., as it was then known, was the product of Louis M. Jacobs and his two brothers. In the hot summer months, before air conditioning became commonplace, theaters were forced to close their doors. In response, Jacobs offered their services to nearby Offermann Stadium and other minor league ballparks in the area, and the sports concession industry was thereby born. Sportservice, as the company became known, was an instant success. By 1930, Sportservice was awarded a concessionaire’s contract at Navin Field, home of the Detroit Tigers of the American League. Today, that partnership continues between Sportservice (now known as Delaware North Sportservice) and the Detroit Tigers at their present home, Comerica Park. More big league ballparks would slowly come. By 1945, Sportservice added Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, and Crosley Field in Cincinnati to their portfolio, bringing their number to three big league ballparks. By the 1950s, Sportservice was operating concessions in many National and American League ballparks. Which meant Sportservice generally decided what merchandise would be sold at these ballpark souvenir stands---not the teams. Which brings us back to Trench. By the 1950s, Trench too was looking to expand its market share. Trench saw an opportunity: if they could partner with Sportservice, then they could guarantee many souvenir stands throughout the country would be stocked with Trench merchandise. And if demand for their pennants was high, everyone--the team, the concessionaire, and they the manufacturer--would all profit. Around this time, a significant change occurred in the ranks of Trench. In 1958, Trench was purchased by a man named Robert Storm. Apparently, after nearly 40 years in the pennant business, George Trench was ready for retirement. When Robert Storm learned that George’s share in the company was for sale, he bought it. The Storm family would go on to run the company for the next 37 years. In 1961, Thomas W. Storm, Robert's son, assumed a leadership role that would continue into the mid-1990s. Thomas Storm graduated from Princeton University in 1955. He worked for Dow Chemical before joining the family business in 1961. Storm became President of Trench. With his brother John at his side, the two brothers proceeded to overhaul the company from top to bottom. Over the years the pennant production line was modernized with the addition of sublimation printers. Product lines were expanded to include sportswear and other non-pennant items. They even opened their own retail stores that sold Trench products. Although the Storms deserve credit for Trench's rapid growth in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, it is clear that some of this growth began much earlier on George Trench's watch. Why? Because George Trench was able to secure a partnership with Sportservice whereby the latter agreed to stock their concession stands with Trench products. Since Sportservice and Trench were both Buffalo businesses, it makes sense that they would do business together. But that fact alone would not explain why the two companies teamed up. By the 1950s the quality of Trench’s pennants had surpassed what other pennant manufacturers were offering. (More on this point later under “KEY PRODUCTS”.) No doubt Sportservice took note of this. Sportservice knew they would have little trouble selling Trench pennants in the ballpark concession stands they managed. Bottom line: Sportservice controlled market access; and Trench offered them a high demand product for that market. That combination guaranteed: together, they would make a lot of money. Which explains why they partnered together. To be fair, Trench probably needed Sportservice more than Sportservice needed Trench. Mindful of this inequity, Trench began doing something with their products no other manufacturer had done: they agreed to put Sportservice’s logo on their pennants. Sometime in the mid-1950s, Trench began offering a variant of a popular style they had begun making known among collectors as “stadium pennants”. (We’ll talk more about this style later when we get to “KEY PRODUCTS”.) Instead of placing their maker's mark on these items, Trench created a hybrid maker’s/concessionaire’s mark identifying both Trench and Sportservice. Here it is, and how it looked on certain pennants from the era: It’s an interesting mark, is it not? At first glance, you might think this hybrid mark was just a baseball flying out of the stadium. But look carefully and you’ll see the seams of the ball aren’t drawn correctly. That’s because these aren’t seams; rather, they’re a pair of S’s for “Sportservice” intended to mimic the concessionaire’s logo at the time. You might also think the “TM” between these S’s stood for “Trade Mark”, as I once did. But then why place “TM” on an object resembling a baseball? In actuality, this hybrid mark was intended to communicate that the product was made by Trench Manufacturing for Sportservice Corporation. You will only find this unique hybrid mark on about a half dozen teams’ pennants made by Trench in the mid-1950s. (Other teams bearing this mark not shown include the Orioles, Cardinals, Reds/Redlegs, Tigers, Yankees, Pirates, and Athletics, to my knowledge). In creating it, I suspect Trench was trying to do two things: (1) identify themselves to consumers as the manufacturer; but, more importantly, (2) keep Sportservice happy. After all, with their growing market share, Sportservice was now Trench’s most important client. By the late 1950s, Trench was making pennants for all 16 National and American League baseball teams. Yet, Sportservice only ran concessions at a handful of these teams’ ballparks. And, Trench likely sold their products directly to other retail outlets located outside stadiums, such as sporting goods stores or novelty companies, i.e., non-Sportservice retailers. For this reason, many of the same pennant styles featuring the above hybrid mark included a variant featuring a Trench "TMC" maker’s mark, or no mark at all. Here it is, and how it looked on certain pennants from the era: By 1960 Trench introduced a new type of pennant called a “photo pennant”. We will discuss photo pennants later under “KEY PRODUCTS”, but when they first debuted, the following text appeared on the reverse of the photo: “Made by Trench, Buffalo, N.Y. for Sportservice Corp. // Pat. Pend.” This simple string of text communicated everything the aforementioned hybrid mark was trying (struggling?) to convey. Have a look at this photo pennant commemorating the 1960 Bucs: By 1960, Sportservice managed concessions at 10 of the 16 total big league ballparks. Around this time, the aforementioned hybrid mark was replaced with a pure Sportservice concessionaire’s mark. All Trench did was remove their “TM” initials. Clearly, Trench remained ever committed to their number one client. Here it is, and how it looked on certain pennants from the era: As with the hybrid mark, a variant always seemed to exist that contained no mark at all, likely intended for non-Sportservice retailers. Retailers like Henry and Arthur D’Angelo, better known as Twins Enterprises, Inc. (now, ’47 Brand), a highly successful souvenir shop (and sportswear brand) that’s stood outside Boston’s Fenway Park for many decades. Here’s a wonderful photo of the twins, hard at work, taken in the late 1960s: If those pennants behind the counter look at all familiar--you’re right: all were supplied by Trench. For reasons not entirely clear, the Sportservice concessionaire’s mark seems to have disappeared from all Trench pennants after 1966. I can only speculate as to why this was so. By the late 1960s, Trench had grown into the largest pennant maker in the country, making pennants for MLB, NFL/AFL, NHL, NBA and hundreds of collegiate teams. No other company came remotely close to producing the volume of pennants they were now making each year. On such solid footing, perhaps they felt a concessionaire’s mark was no longer necessary? Another possibility concerns the rise of competing concessionaires, viz., ARA Services. By the late 1960s, ARA Services--now known as Aramark--was desperately trying to gain entry into the lucrative sports concessions market. Moreover, many of the older ballparks that Sportservice had operated were due to be replaced by modern stadia. Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, for instance, was replaced in 1970 by Three Rivers Stadium. And when it opened, ARA Services was awarded the concessionaire’s contract. Perhaps Trench dropped Sportservice’s concessionaire’s mark to pursue new sales with ARA Services? To this point, it’s noteworthy that some Pittsburgh Pirates pennants from the early 1970s bear an “ARA” concessionaire’s mark that almost certainly were made by Trench. See: You will find other concessionaire’s marks on football pennants from the late 1960s bearing the name “CANTEEN CORP”. Typically, this mark appeared on a popular style known among collectors as “single bar helmet pennants”. As with Sportservice and ARA Services, Canteen was another concessionaire trying to gain entry into the sports concession market at the decade’s end. It’s highly likely these pennants too were in fact manufactured by Trench for sale at Canteen-managed football venues. For example, have a look at this single bar Bears pennant: Read enough about concessionaires? The takeaways are simple. First, any of these aforementioned marks tell you that Trench likely made the pennant; and, what decade it was manufactured in. Second, if the pennant bears a concessionaire’s mark of any sort, then the item was likely purchased inside the ballpark, versus some outside street vendor or retail store. And if any of these answers add to the provenance of your favorite pennant, I’ll be pleased. e. Professional football, hockey, and basketball In 1960, after conquering the baseball market, Trench obtained a license from the National Football League to manufacture professional football pennants. Much like their baseball pennants, these were well made and well received by fans for years to come. Trench would obtain similar licenses with the NHL and NBA, too. It’s worth noting that Trench had to obtain licenses from each of the professional sports leagues to make these pennants. By the 1960s, the leagues began to recognize the potential value in their teams’ names, logos, and insignia. In decades past, pennant makers were not required to obtain permission to make a felt pennant bearing the name, “New York Yankees”, for instance. By the 1960s, however, teams began to clamp down on their so-called “intellectual property rights”. Suddenly, this property was legally protected and managed by league officials. And, only a select few pennant makers were awarded licenses to continue using this property. Fortunately, Trench was one of these lucky manufacturers. For the above reason, you can generally identify pennants made in the 1960s, or later, by the presence of a league logo, such as the NFL shield, near the spine. By the end of the decade, the NHL, MLB, and NBA would follow the NFL’s lead and insist that their league’s logo was included on all officially licensed merchandise, too. Notwithstanding the above discussion about licensing, it appears Trench did manufacture pennants for various professional and college football teams prior to the 1960s, i.e., before a license was required. Here’s a few examples of these earlier football pennants: (Note the absence of any league logo thereon.) In 1961 Trench relocated up the street to 1298 Main Street. Corporate filings identify this address as their principal place of business through the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. The company had grown considerably throughout the 1940s and 50s and they needed more space. When the Storm family purchased the company, they immediately began the process of finding new digs. And they found them across the street at 1298 Main St. At this new site, Trench enjoyed access to all 25,000 square feet of the third floor, serviced by their own freight elevator. The new owners had big plans for the company, and they would need this extra space to bring that plan to fruition. f. Expansion into licensed apparel In the late 1970s, Trench vastly expanded their product lines by expanding into licensed apparel. This was a big move as the company had always been known as a pennant maker. For better or worse, from this point forward, Trench became known more for their sportswear than for their felt pennants. But they continued making pennants. The big change in their pennants, however, concerned quality. Compared to their pennants of the 1950s and 60s, Trench pennants from the 1980s and 90s are hardly worth writing about. Everything about them indicates the company’s desire to cut production costs and boost profit margins. Synthetic materials were used over wool. Designs were printed into the felt rather than painted on to it. Most importantly, the artwork … what artwork? Unfortunately, the more contemporary pennants Trench produced were void of any significant artistic considerations. Hand drawn imagery unique to each team gave way to universal layouts made on a computer. Generally, every team received the same design layout--the only variation being the team logo, name, and colors. That’s about it. Nevertheless, by the early 1990s the future looked bright for Trench. They emerged from the 1980s as one of the biggest sports novelty and apparel makers in the nation. Many of their competitors were not so lucky. As more and more American manufacturers were shifting production overseas, Trench and other domestic producers faced competition on a global scale. And yet, they survived, perhaps in part because they adapted. While the quality of their felt pennants was not what it once was, the changes they made in the previous decades--both to their product line generally, and to their pennants specifically--were a necessity that helped them survive the changing times. Or, so it seemed. g. The beginning of the end In 1994, the company’s good fortune would change for the worse. First, Major League Baseball came to an abrupt halt midway through the 1994 regular season. After the Player’s Association went out on strike, the season was eventually cancelled. For the first time since 1904, there was no World Series. The strike continued into the 1995 season, resulting in an abbreviated schedule after the players finally returned to work. Second, the NHL suffered a work stoppage, too. Technically this was a lockout rather than a strike. But, the 1994-95 NHL season was nearly cancelled, resulting in a shortened regular season of 48 games--the shortest in NHL history. Both work stoppages left baseball and hockey fans fed up. Fans that Trench depended upon to buy sportswear and pennants. With stadiums and arenas empty, sales for Trench products plummeted. By this point the company was operating retail stores in Ohio, Texas, and Virginia; and at least four factory stores in western New York. With demand for licensed sports products down nationwide, the company was losing money like never before. Sadly, the first casualty of war concerned their pennants. In 1994, Trench sold its Novelty Division to a Fort Worth company called Tandycrafts, Inc. The Novelty Division had been responsible for everything from pennants to hockey pucks, bumper stickers, and foam fingers. With some desperately needed cash in the bank, Trench could now pay some of their creditors and focus on their sportswear line. But it was too little, too late for the 75 year old company. Initially, 1995 looked promising after Gene Pease, then President and CEO of Trench, successfully inked manufacturing contracts for two new non-sports brands: Gold’s Gym and Rollerblade. Each signed clothing deals with Trench expected to bring in $50M in annual sales. But attempts to raise cash from outside investors fell apart. Additionally, sales from NFL and NBA apparel failed to meet expectations. On October 4, 1995 Trench was forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy when nearly 200 creditors filed suit seeking unpaid debts of $5.5M. In December, Thomas Storm, then Director and Chairman of Trench, announced that the company was going out of business. By Christmas, normally their busiest time of the year, liquidation plans were well underway as the last of the company’s inventory was sold off. Finally, in 1996, the company’s remaining physical property and valuable licensing agreements were disposed of via auction. And just like that, Trench Manufacturing Company ceased to exist. h. Epilogue Tandycrafts, however, continued making pennants. In 1995, they made pennants under the brand name “TAG EXPRESS/TRENCH MFG.” Under the terms of the 1994 sale, Trench agreed to serve as a consultant to Tandycrafts. Moreover, Tandycrafts offered the 34 remaining Trench-Novelty Division employees back in Buffalo jobs (presumably, making pennants in Fort Worth). In 2001, the Tag Express brand was acquired by Rico Industries, Inc. of Niles, IL, a wholesale gift and novelty manufacturer since 1944. For their first several years, Rico made pennants under the brand name “RICO/TAG EXPRESS” or “RICO INDUSTRIES, INC./TAG EXPRESS”. Today, their pennants are simply branded: “RICO INDUSTRIES, INC.” It can be argued that the descendants of Trench’s Novelty Division live on in the Rico brand today … albeit, by a totally new manufacturer, in a completely different state, and nowhere near the same quality we once saw decades ago. KEY PRODUCTSFor 75 years Trench made a lot of pennants. Some of the styles they offered were truly memorable; others, not so much. Of the former, there’s little question the best examples were their so-called “stadium pennants” discussed earlier. a. Stadium pennants For roughly 15 years beginning in the mid-1950s, Trench manufactured a stadium pennant for nearly every big league baseball team. Many variants existed. Often the text surrounding the rendering of the stadium changed from year to year. Sometimes the mascot beside it differed. And, as noted earlier, the type of maker’s or concessionaire’s mark varied, too, depending on the retailer it was intended for. In my opinion, this style of pennant really put Trench “on the map” so to speak. After all, stadium pennants were like nothing else being offered when they first came out. Up to that point, few pennant manufacturers made pennants for teams outside their local market. Instead, they focused mostly on local teams. If you were a manufacturer located in New York City, chances were you made pennants for the Yankees, Dodgers, and Giants. But you probably left the Cubs for a Chicago manufacturer. Additionally, while pennant artwork had slowly evolved between the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, most pennant makers still relied on generic art designs that could be used for any team--just swap out the names. Trench’s stadium pennants changed everything. They made a version for nearly every American and National League team; and, more importantly, each hand drawn stadium rendering was a highly accurate, detailed depiction of these teams’ ballparks. That made them special then. And, it makes them very special to collectors today, especially since most of these ballparks have been torn down. Here’s a small sampling of some great examples of stadium pennants by Trench: b. Photo pennants Around 1960 Trench unveiled a new style of pennant known by collectors today as a “photo pennant.” It was exactly what the name implies: a felt pennant with a photo affixed thereto. During production a rectangular window was cut-out near the head of the pennant, and a paper photo taped inside this window. Nothing too sophisticated. Nevertheless, like their stadium pennants, these remained quite popular with fans for several decades. To be clear: Trench didn't invent the photo pennant. Actually the concept of affixing a paper photograph to a felt pennant dates back to the 1910s. Back then pennants were used for promotional considerations, i.e., to drive sales of everything from cigarettes, chewing tobacco, bubble gum ... even loafs of bread! In 1916 the Ferguson Bakery awarded small felt pennants to their customers with the purchase of a loaf of bread. These pennants all bore a small black and white photo of a baseball or silent movie star that was glued to the head-end of the pennant. Again, nothing fancy. But their popularity surely helped sell a lot of bread! Back to the 1960s. Most often Trench's photo pennants showcased the official team photo for a given team in a certain year. Others commemorated a pennant winning team and were made for and sold at the World Series, or during the offseason thereafter. Unlike the majority of their pennants, Trench’s earliest photo pennants from the 1960s identified the manufacturer’s name, location, year of production, and whether/not it was made for a certain concessionaire, all on the reverse side of the photo. Other information included a caption identifying those players, coaches, and staff featured in the photo. Unfortunately, by 1963, it appears Trench removed all manufacturing information from their photo pennants. That’s unfortunate because at least two other pennant makers issued photo pennants throughout the 1960s. Consequently, identifying each company’s products from this era can be a bit tricky. To illustrate the above point, here’s a beautiful 1961 Trench photo pennant commemorating the National League pennant winning Cincinnati Reds. Note that it’s actually a two-piece pennant consisting of a decorative sash woven into the backfelt bearing the words, “WORLD SERIES // 1961”. And, at the bottom of the photo’s rear side, it reads: “Made by Trench, Buffalo, N.Y.” Just two years later Trench produced this beauty commemorating the 1963 World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. It too features a decorative sash, although this one functions as a scroll listing that team’s player roster. It is otherwise quite similar to the previous pennant; but-for one main difference: there’s no manufacturing info on the reverse side at all. Why am I so confident the above '63 Dodgers pennant was made by Trench? Not only is it similar in style to the aforementioned '61 Reds pennant; it also closely resembles this circa 1960-61 photo pennant below celebrating an earlier Dodgers team--which does happen to identify its maker in the bottom right corner: “Mfg. by Trench, Buffalo”. To sum things up on photo pennants: Throughout the 1960s and 70s, Trench manufactured tons of photo pennants. But, only those made in the first three years, i.e., 1960-62, bore any manufacturing information identifying Trench as their maker. c. Copycats? In my research of 20th century felt novelty makers, it’s apparent that all of them kept a close watch on their competitors’ products. And when one company debuted a new product that caught on, others soon copied the idea. Very little in pennant making is original to one company. Trench dominated the pennant market from the late 1950s through the mid-1990s. Exclusive licenses and strategic partnerships with concessionaires all helped accomplish this market dominance. But, just as important was their emphasis on innovation. The result was a range of products nobody else was offering. Until they copied Trench. It’s not always clear who copied whom, but it sure seems that Trench’s stadium and photo pennant styles were ripped off by their competitors, viz., Advertising Flag Co. (ADFLAG) of Chicago; and ASCO of Winona, MN. You be the judge…. |
Mark #8 (ca. 1960s). This "WC" was Trench's mark for West Coast Novelty. In the early 1960s West Coast served as a regional pennant distributor for Trench. As with the above concessionaire's marks, Trench placed a "WC" on pennants specifically destined for West Coast and their retail partners, e.g., sporting goods stores. Because they were only a regional distributor, these pennants were limited to San Francisco Bay area teams and retailers. Look for this mark discreetly placed within the artwork of San Francisco Giants pennants; and University of California pennants. As with the Sportservice marks discussed above, you will find variations of these same pennants with and without this "WC" mark. That's because Trench supplied pennants to others in the bay area market, such as the concessionaire's that ran Candlestick Park and Memorial Stadium. |
Label #1 (ca. 1960s) Trench made a lot of collegiate pennants in the 20th century, but this is the only example I know of with a sewn label. The pennant it was affixed to was part of a brief experiment making a premium pennant line intended for sale at college bookstores. These pennants featured flocked graphics and a sewn label, which was atypical for Trench. According to the Official Gazette of the US Patent Office, Trench filed for a patent on this mark in 1960; having first used the design in 1959. This premium pennant line didn't work out and was abandoned shortly after it launched. |
I collect vintage pennants and banners. Soon after getting into this hobby, I became curious about the companies responsible for their production. I had to look hard, but eventually found a lot of interesting information on many of them, and their products. This site is my repository for that research. Periodically, I will dedicate a post to one of these featured manufacturers. I hope other collectors will find this information useful.
-KRB
All
Advertising Flag Co.
ASCO Inc.
Chicago Pennant Co.
Collegiate Mfg. Co.
Historical Background
Jim Goke Interview
Keezer Mfg. Co.
PENNANT FACTORY
Reproduction Co.
Salem Screen Printers
Tom Storm Interview
Trench Mfg. Co.
WGN Flag Co.
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