{"title":"Vintage Sports Memorabilia | NFL, MLB \u0026 NHL Fan Collectibles","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor the fans. NFL, MLB and NHL fingernail tattoos still sealed on their cards, team keychains, folding fans and bumper stickers, 1969 Miracle Mets postcards, tennis covers for Navratilova and McEnroe, Red Sox posters and more.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt's the stuff that came home from the ballpark and the corner store, and a lot of it was never opened.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"vintage-1980s-san-juan-horse-racing-stock-certificate-100-shares-coca-cola-coke","title":"Vintage 1980s San Juan Racing Stock Certificate 📜 Coca Cola of New York 1978 Takeover Bid El Comandante Puerto Rico","description":"\u003ch2\u003eWhat Does a Puerto Rico Racetrack Have to Do With New York Disco Radio? 🐎 A Vintage 1980s San Juan Racing Association Stock Certificate, El Comandante, Puerto Rico\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12\" x 8\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jUkYqmTwCrA\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat does a Puerto Rico racetrack have to do with New York disco radio? Hold this and you'll find out. It's a real, issued COMMON STOCK certificate of SAN JUAN RACING ASSOCIATION, INC., INCORPORATED UNDER THE LAWS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO, par value $2.50, engraved in blue and black by the SECURITY-COLUMBIAN BANKNOTE COMPANY. 100 SHARES sits in both top counters, the facsimile seal reads INCORPORATED 1954 PUERTO RICO, and in the corner a bare-chested figure leans on a pedestal holding a sundial while a jockey drives a numbered racehorse past behind him. It's ISSUED SUBJECT TO THE TERMS OF THE LICENSE GRANTED BY THE RACING BOARD OF PUERTO RICO, transferable in New York or Jersey City, with The Chase Manhattan Bank as registrar and Registrar and Transfer Company of Jersey City as transfer agent, and the printed facsimile signatures are the Secretary's and the President's - Hyman N. Glickstein.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTurn it over and there's my favorite line: as a condition of getting the certificate, the holder represents that he has never been convicted of a crime and is not a person of ill repute. That's racetrack stock for you.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e📅 The 1980s\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere's a CUSIP number printed on it, so this printing is from 1968 or later, and the company was winding down its business through the 1980s. I have a stack of them, so the one you get will carry its own date, number, owner and stamps, and may look a little different from the one in my pictures.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🌴 El Comandante\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSan Juan Racing Association ran Puerto Rico's thoroughbred track. Puerto Rico racing history holds that a horse named Waiter, the island's first Triple Crown winner, stirred up so much excitement that the old courses couldn't hold the crowds, and El Comandante was born out of it. The first El Comandante ran in Carolina, just outside San Juan, from January 1957 until October 1976, when El Nuevo Comandante opened at Canóvanas on October 31 - Halloween. Today it's Hipódromo Camarero, still the only thoroughbred track on the island.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e📻 Disco 92\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere's the part nobody expects. Alongside the track, the company owned radio stations on the mainland: WKTU in New York, WYSP in Philadelphia, WJMD in Washington, WQAL in Cleveland, WKLS in Atlanta and KRLY in Houston. In Philadelphia radio history, SJR is remembered as shorthand for San Juan Racing, the owner behind the WYSP call letters. The New York station's story is the one people still tell today: FM 92.3 went from soft rock to Mellow 92, then in 1978 flipped to disco as Disco 92 - and within months WKTU was the number-one station in New York City. A company known in Puerto Rico for horses and betting windows lit up one of the most famous call signs of the disco era.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e👤 Hyman Glickstein\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe president's signature belongs to Hyman N. Glickstein, a Manhattan-born, Columbia-educated lawyer who'd been active in New York City politics before helping found San Juan Racing in the 1950s. He ran it as president and chairman for nearly 35 years, and by his obituary's account the company also held interests in Madison Square Garden, Roosevelt Raceway and Shenandoah Downs, until the racing operation was sold off in the 1980s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🖨️ The printer\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSecurity-Columbian came out of the 1957 merger of the Security Banknote Company and the Columbian Bank Note Company, founded in 1904, and later became part of the United States Banknote Corporation, which went on to buy the American Bank Note Company itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🐎 About these\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey're 12 by 8 inches, engraved on heavy paper. Frame one for a horseplayer, a Puerto Rico wall, or anybody who danced to Disco 92. The supply is finite - San Juan Racing is long gone, nobody's issuing its stock again, and once these last ones are framed, they'll be very difficult to acquire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-san-juan-racing-stock-certificate-coca-cola-coke-horse-1960s-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1960s San Juan Racing Association Stock Certificate 📜 Coca Cola of New York 1978 Bid El Comandante Puerto Rico\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/monmouth-jockey-club-stock-certificate-horse-racing-heyday-vintage\"\u003eVintage 1940s-1950s Monmouth Park Jockey Club Stock Certificate 🐎 Jersey Shore Horse Racing Wall Art\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-standard-federal-bank-stock-certificate-troy-mi-1980s-icon-since-1893\"\u003eVintage 1980s Standard Federal Bank Stock Certificate 🏦 Detroit \/ Troy Michigan, Common Stock Scripophily\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42159386231016,"sku":"VAG-7499647484136","price":8.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.3515939372_42vu.jpg?v=1785356563"},{"product_id":"vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-miami-dolphins-its-football-season","title":"Vintage 1997 Miami Dolphins NFL Fingernail Tattoos 🏈 Sealed Pack - Play-By-Play San Antonio Licensed Novelty Card","description":"\u003ch2\u003eFingernail Tattoos for Dolphins Fans? 🏈 Vintage 1997 Miami Dolphins NFL Sealed Pack, Play-By-Play San Antonio\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2 1\/2\" x 2 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wmA39cBdXN8\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏈 What's In the Pack\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a sealed, New Old Stock pack of Miami Dolphins NFL Fingernail Tattoos, distributed by Play-By-Play Toys \u0026amp; Novelties of San Antonio, Texas, and made in Taiwan — the copyright line \"© 1997 NFL Properties, Inc. All rights reserved\" is printed right on both the header and the tattoo sheet itself. NFL Properties was the league's own licensing arm, set up in 1963 to keep control of the league's and the teams' marks and to license them out to the companies making official NFL merchandise, so that little line is the league's permission slip for every dolphin on the sheet. The front sets the old star-spangled NFL shield over a painted stadium scene, lists the pitch in plain black type — Easy to apply, Easy to remove, Waterproof, Lasts for days, Safe \u0026amp; non-toxic — and stamps FINGERNAIL TATTOOS across the turf in bold yellow.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnderneath sits a tan sheet of ten Dolphins logos arranged in a ring, and if you look closely they're printed mirror-reversed — the dolphin faces the wrong way and the tiny TM reads backwards. That's not a printing mistake, it's how a water-slide transfer works: it goes down tattoo-side first, so the backwards image on the sheet reads correctly once it's pressed on and the paper backing peels away. Flip it over and the back walks you through four application steps in little red-line drawings — peel off the protective sheet, press it down tattoo-side-down, wet the back with a sponge or cloth, wait 20-30 seconds, then peel off the backing, rinse and let it dry. Below the drawings it says the same steps work on skin, and when you're done you just wipe the tattoo off with alcohol \"or any leading brand cold cream.\" I love that cold cream line. Here's the fun part: the sample tattoo in those drawings is a Pittsburgh Steelers logo, not a Dolphins one. Play-By-Play clearly drew up one generic instruction back and ran it across every team in the line. At the bottom it reads \"DISTRIBUTED BY Play-By-Play TOYS \u0026amp; NOVELTIES, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78218-0267\" — the company's actual address on file was 4400 Tejasco Street. Collectors say Play-By-Play only made this pack for about a dozen NFL teams, which makes chasing a full team run half the fun.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🐬 1997: The Year the Dolphins Got a New Look\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe logo on this sheet wasn't an old standby — it was brand new for 1997, the Dolphins' first major logo redesign. The leaping dolphin got a heavier navy-blue outline and more defined features, and the sunburst behind it switched from thin lines to the bolder, pointed burst you see on the sheet, a look the team kept on its helmets all the way through the 2012 season. It went with a bigger uniform overhaul that year too — darker aqua, a navy drop-shadow on the numbers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the field, 1997 was head coach Jimmy Johnson's second season in Miami, with Wayne Huizenga owning the club and Dan Marino still at quarterback out of Pro Player Stadium. The Dolphins went 9-7 and finished second in the AFC East, losing the division to New England 14-12 on Monday Night Football and then losing the Wild Card rematch at New England a week later, 17-3 — the Patriots beat them three times that season. Defensive tackle Tim Bowens made the Pro Bowl, and despite the rough finish, 1997 kicked off a run of five straight playoff appearances for Miami. This pack caught the Dolphins right as they debuted the look their fans wore for the next decade and a half.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🎪 Play-By-Play Toys \u0026amp; Novelties, San Antonio\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe company behind these tattoos started small. Arturo Torres left Cuba for America in 1961 hoping to become a cowboy. Instead he found a job washing dishes at a Pizza Hut in Texas, and he worked his way up until he was running 240 Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants. In 1986, while he still had the restaurants, he started Play-By-Play as a vending-machine prize supplier, and within six years he had sold the restaurant business for $125 million. In 1990 he brought in Jay Foreman to co-found Play-By-Play Toys \u0026amp; Novelties with him in San Antonio and push it past the prize business into retail, and Foreman ran it as general manager until 1996. In 1992 Foreman landed the company's first big licenses: stuffed toys carrying the Coca-Cola and Harley-Davidson names. Walmart picked them up and became Play-By-Play's first traditional retail customer, the step that took the company from amusement parks and carnivals onto mass-market store shelves. From that start in San Antonio it grew fast — buying its largest competitor, Ace Novelty of Bellevue, Washington, in 1996 gave it real reach into carnivals and amusement parks. By July 1997, the year printed on this pack, Play-By-Play had about 620 people on the payroll, 600 on the toy side and 20 in vending, and sales for the year had jumped to $137.4 million from $74.2 million the year before. By 1998 it held about half of the whole carnival prize market, supplying places like Six Flags, Busch Gardens, Sea World, and Dave \u0026amp; Buster's, alongside licensed toys sold at Walmart, Kmart, Target, and Toys \"R\" Us. Sports licenses like this NFL tattoo pack joined the roster as the company kept adding trademarks through the late '90s, all run out of that Tejasco Street warehouse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt didn't last forever — Play-By-Play hit financial trouble by 2001, Torres stepped down as chairman that June, and the company was delisted from Nasdaq. Its European arm survived, though — it moved its headquarters to Spain in 2002, the toy group Famosa bought it in 2006, and it still makes plush toys out of Valencia today, a long way from a San Antonio warehouse full of licensed novelties and a sheet of Dolphins tattoos.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-kansas-city-chiefs-its-football\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Kansas City Chiefs Fingernail Tattoos 🏈 Play-By-Play San Antonio - Sealed Football Novelty Package Card\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-denver-broncos-its-football-season\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos 🏈 Denver Broncos Play By Play San Antonio TX Card\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-san-francisco-49ers-its-football\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos San Francisco 49ers 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"2 sets","offer_id":43675247444200,"sku":"VAG-7926690808040","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"5 sets","offer_id":43675247476968,"sku":"VAG-7926690808040-2","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"10 sets","offer_id":43675247509736,"sku":"VAG-7926690808040-3","price":11.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Super Bowl 21 Sets","offer_id":43675247542504,"sku":"VAG-7926690808040-4","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4085673950_9tjt.jpg?v=1785358058"},{"product_id":"vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-san-francisco-49ers-its-football","title":"Vintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos San Francisco 49ers 🏈 It's Football Season!!!","description":"\u003ch2\u003eFingernail Tattoos for Niners Fans? 🏈 Vintage 1997 San Francisco 49ers NFL Sealed Pack\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2 1\/2\" x 2 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/v1i9JP_AnnM\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏈 What's In the Pack\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a sealed, New Old Stock pack of San Francisco 49ers NFL Fingernail Tattoos, distributed by Play-By-Play Toys \u0026amp; Novelties of San Antonio, Texas, and made in Taiwan, carrying the printed copyright \"© 1997 NFL Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.\" on the tattoo sheet. The header card sets the star-spangled NFL shield over a painted stadium field, lists the pitch in plain black type — Easy to apply, Easy to remove, Waterproof, Lasts for days, Safe \u0026amp; non-toxic — and stamps FINGERNAIL TATTOOS across the turf in bold yellow, with \"Not recommended for children under 3 years of age\" and MADE IN TAIWAN printed beside it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe sheet underneath doesn't carry the team's oval helmet logo — all ten tattoos are the maroon \"49ERS\" wordmark, in an old-style slab-serif face, and they're printed mirror-reversed, so the backwards lettering on the sheet reads correctly once it's pressed on. These are water-slide transfers, applied tattoo-side-down, which is exactly why the printing looks flipped on the sheet itself. Flip the card over and the back walks through the four-step application and removal in little red-line drawings — remove the sheet, press it down tattoo-side-down, wet the paper, peel and rinse. The example tattoo in those drawings is, for whatever reason, a Pittsburgh Steelers logo — Play-By-Play clearly ran one generic instruction back across every team in the line. At the bottom it reads \"DISTRIBUTED BY Play-By-Play TOYS \u0026amp; NOVELTIES, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78218-0267.\" Collectors say Play-By-Play only made this card for about a dozen NFL teams, which makes chasing a full team run half the fun.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏆 The 1997 49ers\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \"49ERS\" wordmark on this sheet is the same style the club used from 1972 all the way to 2004, simplified down to tattoo size. It's worth noting the team's actual primary logo in 1997 was the red-and-gold \"SF\" oval, not this wordmark — Play-By-Play went with the lettering instead.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the field, the 49ers went 13-3 in 1997 and finished first in the NFC West under head coach Steve Mariucci, with Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. as owner and Carmen Policy as president, playing out of 3Com Park at Candlestick. They beat the Minnesota Vikings 38-22 in the divisional round, then lost the NFC Championship Game 23-10 to the Green Bay Packers — the third year running the Packers ended San Francisco's season, and the 49ers' fifth trip to an NFC title game that decade, a run they wouldn't match again until 2011. Six 49ers made the Pro Bowl that year: quarterback Steve Young, guard Kevin Gogan, defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield, and linebackers Ken Norton Jr. and Lee Woodall, plus safety Merton Hanks. Jerry Rice missed 14 regular-season games in 1997 — one of only 17 he sat out across a 20-year career.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🎪 Play-By-Play Toys \u0026amp; Novelties, San Antonio\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlay-By-Play was founded in San Antonio in 1986 by Arturo Torres, who started the company as a vending-machine prize supplier. In 1996 it bought Ace Novelty, which by its own filings made it the leading supplier of stuffed toys and novelties to the U.S. amusement trade — theme parks, arcades, carnivals, state fairs — and by 1998 the company held roughly half of the entire carnival prize market. It all ran out of a warehouse at 4400 Tejasco Street in San Antonio, the same 78218 ZIP printed on this card. Play-By-Play was delisted from Nasdaq in May 2001 and Torres resigned as chairman that June; the company's European arm carried the name forward from Valencia, Spain, and was bought by the Spanish toy maker Famosa in 2006.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-chicago-bears-nfl-fingernail-tattoos\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Chicago Bears 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-oakland-las-vegas-raiders-its-football\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Oakland Raiders Fingernail Tattoos 🏈 Play-By-Play San Antonio NOS Football Fan Nail Card Superbowl Party Gift\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-carolina-panthers-its-football-season\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Carolina Panthers 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"2 sets","offer_id":43675371536616,"sku":"VAG-7926746448104","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"5 sets","offer_id":43675371569384,"sku":"VAG-7926746448104-2","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"10 sets","offer_id":43675371602152,"sku":"VAG-7926746448104-3","price":11.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Super Bowl Package 21 Sets","offer_id":43675371634920,"sku":"VAG-7926746448104-4","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4085740742_ggwc.jpg?v=1785358068"},{"product_id":"vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-carolina-panthers-its-football-season","title":"Vintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Carolina Panthers 🏈 It's Football Season!!!","description":"\u003ch2\u003eFingernail Tattoos for Panthers Fans? 🏈 Vintage 1997 Carolina Panthers NFL Sealed Pack\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2 1\/2\" x 2 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/H3z4oFyxSKI\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏈 What's In the Pack\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a sealed, New Old Stock pack of Carolina Panthers NFL Fingernail Tattoos, distributed by Play-By-Play Toys \u0026amp; Novelties of San Antonio, Texas, and made in Taiwan, carrying the printed copyright \"© 1997 NFL Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.\" on the tattoo sheet. The header card sets the star-spangled NFL shield over a painted stadium field, lists the pitch in plain black type — Easy to apply, Easy to remove, Waterproof, Lasts for days, Safe \u0026amp; non-toxic — and stamps FINGERNAIL TATTOOS across the turf in bold yellow, with \"Not recommended for children under 3 years of age\" and MADE IN TAIWAN printed beside it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo team name is printed anywhere on this one — the logo does all the talking. Ten black panther-head tattoos with light-blue trim sit on the tan sheet, printed mirror-reversed so the image reads correctly once it's pressed on: these are water-slide transfers, applied tattoo-side-down, which is exactly why the printing looks flipped on the sheet itself. Flip the card over and the back, headed TEMPORARY TATTOOS, walks through the four-step application in little red-line drawings — remove the sheet, press it down tattoo-side-down, wet the paper, peel and rinse. Underneath, it tells you the same steps work right on skin, and when the game's over, a wipe of alcohol or any leading brand cold cream takes them off. The example tattoo in those drawings is, oddly, a Pittsburgh Steelers logo — Play-By-Play clearly ran one generic instruction back across every team in the line. At the bottom it reads \"DISTRIBUTED BY Play-By-Play TOYS \u0026amp; NOVELTIES, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78218-0267.\" As near as I can tell, Play-By-Play only made this card for about a dozen NFL teams back then, which makes chasing a full team run half the fun.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🐾 1997: A Young Team on the Rise\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe panther head on this sheet is the Panthers' original logo, the one the franchise wore from its very first season in 1995 until the club's first redesign in 2012 — so on this 1997 card, it's the logo of a team only in its third season. That shape wasn't an accident, either: the panther head was drawn to mimic the outline of North and South Carolina together.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe NFL's 28 owners voted the Panthers in unanimously on October 26, 1993, as the league's 29th franchise. The man behind the bid, Jerry Richardson, had caught a touchdown pass from Johnny Unitas for the Baltimore Colts in the 1959 NFL Championship Game, and he used his championship-game bonus as seed money for his first Hardee's in Spartanburg, South Carolina. With the Charlotte stadium still going up, the Panthers played their first season, 1995, at Clemson's Memorial Stadium — and went 7-9, the best debut any expansion team had ever put up.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe season before this card was printed, their first in the brand-new Charlotte stadium, Carolina went 12-4, won the NFC West, and took a first-round playoff bye — then beat the defending Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys 26-17 before losing the NFC Championship Game 30-13 to Green Bay, under head coach Dom Capers. By 1997, the year printed on this card, the Panthers had come back to earth a bit: 7-9, second in the NFC West, Capers' third season as coach, with Bill Polian as general manager and Jerry Richardson as owner, playing out of Ericsson Stadium — the building known today as Bank of America Stadium. It was the first season the Panthers ever played a Monday Night Football game. Tight end Wesley Walls made the Pro Bowl that year, and kick returner Michael Bates earned first-team AP All-Pro honors. Linebacker Sam Mills was playing his last season for Carolina that year, too.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKeep that name in mind, because Sam Mills is where the team's motto comes from. He stayed on as a coach, and in August 2003, while coaching the linebackers, he was diagnosed with intestinal cancer. On January 2, 2004, out on the practice field the day before a playoff game against Dallas, he told the team that when he found out, there were two things he could do: quit or keep pounding. He kept pounding. Nobody filmed it — it lives on because the players who heard it remember it. Carolina beat the Cowboys 29-10 the next night and rode that run all the way to Super Bowl XXXVIII, losing 32-29 to New England, with this same panther head still the team's logo. Mills died in April 2005, but his words stuck: \"Keep Pounding\" is the team's official slogan, and since 2012 somebody bangs the Keep Pounding drum before every home game.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🎪 Play-By-Play Toys \u0026amp; Novelties, San Antonio\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlay-By-Play was founded in San Antonio in 1986 by Arturo Torres, who started the company as a vending-machine prize supplier and took it public in 1995. In June 1996 it bought Ace Novelty for about $44 million, which by its own filings made it the leading supplier of stuffed toys and novelties to the U.S. amusement trade — theme parks, arcades, carnivals, state fairs. It all ran out of a warehouse at 4400 Tejasco Street in San Antonio, the same 78218 ZIP printed on this card. Play-By-Play was delisted from Nasdaq in May 2001 and Torres resigned as chairman that June; the company's European arm carried the name forward from Valencia, Spain, and was bought by the Spanish toy maker Famosa in 2006.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIs your team going to win it all??? I love football so much that I might be wearing some of these myself — my daughter will love it too. 😉 I won't even mention who my team is. I was able to save these from Florida and grabbed them because I didn't want them lost. I'm so pumped for football season that just listing these gets my adrenaline running. My team is one of these tattoos — I might have them on my forehead during games — and hopefully we see your team in the Super Bowl. Go Panthers!!!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-san-francisco-49ers-its-football\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos San Francisco 49ers 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-cleveland-browns-its-football-season\"\u003eVintage 1999 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Cleveland Browns on 1997 Card 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-new-england-patriots-its-football\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos New England Patriots 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"2 sets","offer_id":43675644461288,"sku":"VAG-7926858481896","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"5 sets","offer_id":43675644494056,"sku":"VAG-7926858481896-2","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"10 sets","offer_id":43675644526824,"sku":"VAG-7926858481896-3","price":11.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Super Bowl Package 21 Sets","offer_id":43675644559592,"sku":"VAG-7926858481896-4","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4133480999_i7ga.jpg?v=1785358076"},{"product_id":"vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-cleveland-browns-its-football-season","title":"Vintage 1999 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Cleveland Browns on 1997 Card 🏈 It's Football Season!!!","description":"\u003ch2\u003eWhy Is a 1999 Browns Pack on a 1997 Card? 🏈 Vintage Cleveland Browns NFL Fingernail Tattoos\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2 1\/2\" x 2 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YlAqRyf5CnE\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🟠 Two Years, One Pack\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLook closely at this one and you'll find two different printed copyright years. The white tattoo sheet reads \"© 1999 NFL Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.\" — sitting right on top of the header card underneath, which is printed \"© 1997 NFL Properties, Inc.\" That's not a mistake. The Cleveland Browns didn't play a single down between 1996 and 1998: the team's organization moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens, but the deal that let that happen kept the Browns name, colors, history, records and intellectual property in Cleveland, with the city agreeing to build a new stadium and the NFL agreeing to bring the Browns back onto the field by 1999. The move itself became official on November 6, 1995, with the team sitting at 4-5, when owner Art Modell held a press conference at Camden Yards in Baltimore and announced he'd signed a deal to move the Browns there for the 1996 season. The agreement that kept the name in Cleveland was struck on February 8, 1996, and the very next day the league announced the Browns would be \"deactivated\" for no more than three years. Ohio even passed a law in 1996 — people still call it the Modell Law — saying a team that had benefited from a public stadium or public money couldn't just pack up and move to another city without six months' notice and a chance for local folks to buy the team. A 1999 Browns sheet sitting on a leftover 1997 card is a small printed souvenir of exactly that gap.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTen orange helmet tattoos sit on the sheet, gray facemasks drawn in, and the two larger ones spell out BROWNS across the shell — mirror-reversed, like every tattoo in this pack, because these are water-slide transfers that go on tattoo-side-down and read correctly only once they're pressed onto a nail and the backing peels away. The header card itself carries the usual NFL shield over a painted stadium, the pitch in plain black type (Easy to apply, Easy to remove, Waterproof, Lasts for days, Safe \u0026amp; non-toxic), and FINGERNAIL TATTOOS stamped in yellow across the turf. Flip it over and the four-step instructions use a Pittsburgh Steelers tattoo as the example — which is a nice bit of irony, since the Steelers were the team that beat the returning Browns 43-0 in their first game back. \"DISTRIBUTED BY Play-By-Play TOYS \u0026amp; NOVELTIES, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78218-0267\" runs along the bottom. The same steps work right on your skin, too, and the card even tells you how to get one off after the game: \"Wipe tattoo with alcohol or any leading brand cold cream.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏈 The Helmet Is the Logo\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Browns' actual team logo from 1999 to 2001 wasn't a separate mark at all — it was simply this orange helmet, shown in profile, with a white facemask and a brown-white-brown stripe down the center. No word, no mascot, just the helmet itself. The tattoo artist took a small liberty with it: the \"BROWNS\" lettering across two of the helmets here isn't on the real logo, and the facemask is drawn gray instead of the actual white — a little flourish all its own. That bare helmet is a Browns tradition in itself: to this day they're the only team in the NFL with no logo on their helmets. The club goes back to 1944, when Arthur \"Mickey\" McBride landed a franchise in the All-America Football Conference, and it was named for its first coach and co-founder, Paul Brown — though there's an old Cleveland story that the name was really a nod to boxer Joe Louis, the Brown Bomber.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🟤 1999: Football Comes Home\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe season stamped on this sheet was the one Cleveland had been waiting three years for. Al Lerner owned the reactivated franchise, Chris Palmer was head coach, Dwight Clark was general manager, and the team's number-one draft pick was quarterback Tim Couch out of Kentucky, all playing out of a brand-new Cleveland Browns Stadium built on the site of the old one. The home opener, September 12, 1999, was against the Pittsburgh Steelers — Cleveland native Drew Carey gave a pregame speech — and the Steelers won 43-0. The Browns got their revenge later that season, beating Pittsburgh 16-15 on the road, but finished the year 2-14, sixth in the AFC Central. Win-loss record aside, this sheet is a piece of the year the Browns' name, history and colors finally came back to the field where they belonged. And if you've ever heard Browns fans bark, here's where that comes from: the Dawg Pound started at the 1985 training camp at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland, Ohio, when cornerbacks Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield got the defense barking after every sack — the quarterback was the cat, and they were the dogs. The fans started barking right along with them, and the first \"Dawg Pound\" banner went up at the old Cleveland Stadium.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🎪 Play-By-Play Toys \u0026amp; Novelties, San Antonio\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlay-By-Play was founded in San Antonio in 1986 by Arturo Torres, who started the company as a vending-machine prize supplier and took it public in 1995. In June 1996 it bought Ace Novelty for about $44 million, which by its own filings made it the leading supplier of stuffed toys and novelties to the U.S. amusement trade — theme parks, arcades, carnivals, state fairs. It all ran out of a warehouse at 4400 Tejasco Street in San Antonio, the same 78218 ZIP printed on this card. Besides the NFL, its annual reports for 1998 and 1999 name licenses for Major League Baseball, the NHL and Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes gang — Tweety, Sylvester, Bugs Bunny and the Tasmanian Devil among them. Play-By-Play was delisted from Nasdaq in May 2001 and Torres resigned as chairman that June; the company's European arm carried the name forward from Valencia, Spain, and was bought by the Spanish toy maker Famosa in 2006.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIs your team going to win it all??? I love football so much that I might be wearing some of these myself — my daughter will love it too. If you're confident in your team, this is the moment for the Super Bowl Package; if not, I know what that means. 😉 I won't even mention who my team is. Okay, my team is one of these tattoos, and I might have them on my forehead during games. Hopefully we see your team in the Super Bowl. Go Browns!!! I was able to save these from Florida and grabbed them because I didn't want them lost, and near as I can tell they made about a dozen different teams back then.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-carolina-panthers-its-football-season\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Carolina Panthers 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-san-francisco-49ers-its-football\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos San Francisco 49ers 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-kansas-city-chiefs-its-football\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Kansas City Chiefs Fingernail Tattoos 🏈 Play-By-Play San Antonio - Sealed Football Novelty Package Card\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"2 sets","offer_id":43675679523048,"sku":"VAG-7926865133800","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"5 sets","offer_id":43675679555816,"sku":"VAG-7926865133800-2","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"10 sets","offer_id":43675679588584,"sku":"VAG-7926865133800-3","price":11.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Super Bowl Package 21 Sets","offer_id":43675679621352,"sku":"VAG-7926865133800-4","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4133483013_hhwn.jpg?v=1785358084"},{"product_id":"vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-minnesota-vikings-its-football-season","title":"Vintage 1997 Minnesota Vikings NFL Fingernail Tattoos 🏈 Sealed Sheet Superbowl Football Fan Gift NFL Properties Licensed Novelty","description":"\u003ch2\u003eFingernail Tattoos for Vikings Fans? 🏈 Vintage 1997 Minnesota Vikings NFL Sealed Sheet\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2 1\/2\" x 2 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/p5IDqENpfCA\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏈 What's In the Pack\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is an unused pack of Minnesota Vikings NFL Fingernail Tattoos, distributed by Play-By-Play Toys \u0026amp; Novelties of San Antonio, Texas, and made in Taiwan — every tattoo is still on the sheet, never applied. The tattoo panel carries the printed copyright \"© 1997 NFL Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.\" That's the NFL's own licensing company, set up by the league in 1963 and run out of New York City. So this one little pack brings together a San Antonio distributor, a New York copyright and a sheet made in Taiwan, all built around a Minnesota Norseman. I love that about it. Up top, the star-spangled NFL shield sits over a painted stadium field, yellow goalposts and little pennants flying over the stands, with the pitch listed in plain black type — Easy to apply, Easy to remove, Waterproof, Lasts for days, Safe \u0026amp; non-toxic — and FINGERNAIL TATTOOS stamped across the turf in bold yellow, with \"Not recommended for children under 3 years of age\" and MADE IN TAIWAN printed beside it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNeither \"Vikings\" nor \"Minnesota\" is printed anywhere — the Norseman head does all the talking. Ten gold-and-purple horned Viking heads sit on the tan sheet, printed mirror-reversed so the image reads correctly once it's pressed on: these are water-slide transfers, applied tattoo-side-down, which is exactly why the printing looks flipped on the sheet itself. Eight little ones run in two rows of four, with two bigger ones set out to either side between the rows, and every one is the full Norseman: long gold braid, big moustache, bushy brow, and the helmet with its two white horns. Flip the pack over and the back walks through the four-step application and removal in little red-line drawings — remove the sheet, press it down tattoo-side-down, wet the paper, peel and rinse. The example tattoo in those drawings is, oddly, a Pittsburgh Steelers logo — Play-By-Play clearly ran one generic instruction back across every team in the line. At the bottom it reads \"DISTRIBUTED BY Play-By-Play TOYS \u0026amp; NOVELTIES, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78218-0267.\" Collectors say Play-By-Play only made these for about a dozen NFL teams, which makes chasing a full team run half the fun.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e⚔️ The Norseman, and the 1997 Season\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat horned profile has been the Vikings' primary logo since the franchise joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1961 — drawn by newspaper cartoonist Karl Hubenthal on behalf of general manager Bert Rose and head coach Norm Van Brocklin. This exact version, with the purple lightened and the gold darkened, was introduced for the 1997 season and stayed in use through 2001 — so the tattoo on this sheet is the Norseman exactly as the Vikings wore him in 1997, the year printed right on it. He was still the team's logo the very next fall, when the Vikings went 15-1 and a rookie out of Marshall named Randy Moss caught 17 touchdown passes, the most ever by an NFL rookie.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the field, 1997 was Dennis Green's sixth season as head coach, with the Vikings playing out of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. They opened 8-2, then dropped five straight before winning the finale to sneak into the playoffs as the sixth seed. In the Wild Card game at the Giants, Minnesota trailed 22-13 with 90 seconds left and won 23-22 — their first playoff win since 1988 — before losing 38-22 at San Francisco in the divisional round, and finishing the year 9-7, fourth in a tough NFC Central. John Randle led the NFL with 15.5 sacks that year, Cris Carter's 13 touchdown catches led the league, and Randall Cunningham had just been signed back after a year out of football. And don't forget Jake Reed on the other side from Carter: he actually led the team with 1,138 receiving yards. Warren Moon, who'd quarterbacked the Vikings the three years before, was gone by then; the starting job went to Brad Johnson, Moon wouldn't take a pay cut to back him up, and he signed with Seattle. In Week 7 against Carolina, quarterback Brad Johnson threw a touchdown pass to himself — the first time that had ever happened in NFL history. Four Vikings made the Pro Bowl: Cris Carter, Randall McDaniel, John Randle, and Todd Steussie.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🎪 Play-By-Play Toys \u0026amp; Novelties, San Antonio\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlay-By-Play was founded in San Antonio in 1986 by Arturo Torres, who started the company as a vending-machine prize supplier and took it public in 1995. In June 1996 it bought Ace Novelty for about $44 million, which by its own filings made it the leading supplier of stuffed toys and novelties to the U.S. amusement trade — theme parks, arcades, carnivals, state fairs. It all ran out of a warehouse at 4400 Tejasco Street in San Antonio, the same 78218 ZIP printed on the back of this pack. Play-By-Play was delisted from Nasdaq in May 2001 and Torres resigned as chairman that June; the company's European arm carried the name forward from Valencia, Spain, and was bought by the Spanish toy maker Famosa in 2006.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIs your team going to win it all??? I love football so much that I might be wearing some of these myself — my daughter will love it too. 😉 I won't even mention who my team is. I was able to save this one from Florida and grabbed it because I didn't want it lost — I hope you love it as much as I do.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-new-england-patriots-its-football\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos New England Patriots 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-oakland-las-vegas-raiders-its-football\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Oakland Raiders Fingernail Tattoos 🏈 Play-By-Play San Antonio NOS Football Fan Nail Card Superbowl Party Gift\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-kansas-city-chiefs-its-football\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Kansas City Chiefs Fingernail Tattoos 🏈 Play-By-Play San Antonio - Sealed Football Novelty Package Card\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"2 sets","offer_id":43675689582824,"sku":"VAG-7926867230952","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"5 sets","offer_id":43675689615592,"sku":"VAG-7926867230952-2","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"10 sets","offer_id":43675689648360,"sku":"VAG-7926867230952-3","price":11.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Super Bowl Package 21 Sets","offer_id":43675689681128,"sku":"VAG-7926867230952-4","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4085835876_grdr.jpg?v=1785358093"},{"product_id":"vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-kansas-city-chiefs-its-football","title":"Vintage 1997 NFL Kansas City Chiefs Fingernail Tattoos 🏈 Play-By-Play San Antonio - Sealed Football Novelty Package Card","description":"\u003ch2\u003eFingernail Tattoos for Chiefs Fans? 🏈 Vintage 1997 Kansas City Chiefs NFL Sealed Pack, Play-By-Play San Antonio\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2 1\/2\" x 2 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Lyhqoo2XBt8\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏈 What's In the Pack\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a sealed, New Old Stock pack of Kansas City Chiefs NFL Fingernail Tattoos, distributed by Play-By-Play Toys \u0026amp; Novelties of San Antonio, Texas, and made in Taiwan, carrying the printed copyright \"© 1997 NFL Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.\" on the tattoo sheet. The header card sets the star-spangled NFL shield over a painted stadium field, lists the pitch in plain black type — Easy to apply, Easy to remove, Waterproof, Lasts for days, Safe \u0026amp; non-toxic — and stamps FINGERNAIL TATTOOS across the turf in bold yellow, with \"Not recommended for children under 3 years of age\" and MADE IN TAIWAN printed beside it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTen red-and-white arrowhead tattoos with the interlocked \"KC\" sit on the tan sheet, printed mirror-reversed so the image reads correctly once it's pressed on: these are water-slide transfers, applied tattoo-side-down, which is exactly why the printing looks flipped on the sheet itself. Flip the card over and the back walks through the four-step application and removal in little red-line drawings — remove the sheet, press it down tattoo-side-down, wet the paper, peel and rinse. The example tattoo in those drawings is, oddly, a Pittsburgh Steelers logo — Play-By-Play clearly ran one generic instruction back across every team in the line. At the bottom it reads \"DISTRIBUTED BY Play-By-Play TOYS \u0026amp; NOVELTIES, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78218-0267.\" Collectors say Play-By-Play only made this card for about a dozen NFL teams, which makes chasing a full team run half the fun.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏹 The Arrowhead, and the 1997 Season\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe story goes that Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt sketched the interlocked \"KC\" inside an arrowhead on a napkin back in 1963, taking his inspiration from the San Francisco 49ers' own interlocked \"SF\" in an oval. The franchise itself started life in 1960 as the Dallas Texans, moved to Kansas City in 1963, and took the name Chiefs in honor of Mayor H. Roe Bartle, known locally as \"The Chief.\" The arrowhead didn't become the team's primary logo until 1972, timed to the opening of Arrowhead Stadium — and it's been the Chiefs' mark ever since, exactly as it appears on this sheet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the field, 1997 was a strong year: the Chiefs went 13-3 and won the AFC West under head coach Marty Schottenheimer and general manager Carl Peterson, playing out of Arrowhead Stadium. A quarterback controversy between Rich Gannon and Elvis Grbac ran the whole season, and it was the final year for future Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen. Kansas City lost the divisional playoff game at home, 14-10, to a Denver team that went on to win the Super Bowl — and it turned out to be the Chiefs' last playoff trip until 2003.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🎪 Play-By-Play Toys \u0026amp; Novelties, San Antonio\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlay-By-Play was founded in San Antonio in 1986 by Arturo Torres, who started the company as a vending-machine prize supplier and took it public in 1995. In June 1996 it bought Ace Novelty for about $44 million, which by its own filings made it the leading supplier of stuffed toys and novelties to the U.S. amusement trade — theme parks, arcades, carnivals, state fairs — and by 1998 the company held roughly half of the entire carnival prize market. It kept buying, too: in November 1996 it picked up the TLC Gift Company of Doncaster, England, and in 1998 its UK arm signed on to distribute Walt Disney's plush line across the United Kingdom and Ireland, a deal worth about $5 million in its first year. And here's a fun one: a fight over the company's spinning, laughing Tornado Taz plush became Nadel v. Play-By-Play Toys \u0026amp; Novelties, decided by the federal Second Circuit in 2000 with Sonia Sotomayor on the panel, and law students still read it today as a leading case on who owns a toy idea. It all ran out of a warehouse at 4400 Tejasco Street in San Antonio, the same 78218 ZIP printed on this card. Play-By-Play was delisted from Nasdaq in May 2001 and Torres resigned as chairman that June; the company's European arm carried the name forward from Valencia, Spain, and was bought by the Spanish toy maker Famosa in 2006.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI found this one tucked away in a stash out of Florida and made sure to grab it before it slipped back into obscurity — I hope you love it as much as I do.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-miami-dolphins-its-football-season\"\u003eVintage 1997 Miami Dolphins NFL Fingernail Tattoos 🏈 Sealed Pack - Play-By-Play San Antonio Licensed Novelty Card\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-denver-broncos-its-football-season\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos 🏈 Denver Broncos Play By Play San Antonio TX Card\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-oakland-las-vegas-raiders-its-football\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Oakland Raiders Fingernail Tattoos 🏈 Play-By-Play San Antonio NOS Football Fan Nail Card Superbowl Party Gift\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"2 sets","offer_id":43675703443688,"sku":"VAG-7926870049000","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"5 sets","offer_id":43675703476456,"sku":"VAG-7926870049000-2","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"10 sets","offer_id":43675703509224,"sku":"VAG-7926870049000-3","price":11.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Super Bowl Package 21 Sets","offer_id":43675703541992,"sku":"VAG-7926870049000-4","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4085841096_g81j.jpg?v=1785358102"},{"product_id":"vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-jacksonville-jaguars-its-football","title":"Vintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Jacksonville Jaguars 🏈 It's Football Season!!!","description":"\u003ch2\u003eFingernail Tattoos for Jaguars Fans? 🏈 Vintage 1997 Jacksonville Jaguars NFL Sealed Pack\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2 1\/2\" x 2 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QGS0fOWXeGA\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏈 What's In the Pack\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a sealed, New Old Stock pack of Jacksonville Jaguars NFL Fingernail Tattoos, distributed by Play-By-Play Toys \u0026amp; Novelties of San Antonio, Texas, and made in Taiwan, carrying the printed copyright \"© 1997 NFL Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.\" on the tattoo sheet. The header card sets the star-spangled NFL shield over a painted stadium field, lists the pitch in plain black type — Easy to apply, Easy to remove, Waterproof, Lasts for days, Safe \u0026amp; non-toxic — and stamps FINGERNAIL TATTOOS across the turf in bold yellow, with \"Not recommended for children under 3 years of age\" and MADE IN TAIWAN printed beside it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTen gold, black-spotted jaguar heads with open jaws and a teal tongue sit on the tan sheet, printed mirror-reversed so the image reads correctly once it's pressed on: these are water-slide transfers, applied tattoo-side-down, which is exactly why the printing looks flipped on the sheet itself. Flip the card over and the back walks through the four-step application and removal in little red-line drawings — remove the sheet, press it down tattoo-side-down, wet the paper, peel and rinse. The example tattoo in those drawings is, oddly, a Pittsburgh Steelers logo — Play-By-Play clearly ran one generic instruction back across every team in the line. At the bottom it reads \"DISTRIBUTED BY Play-By-Play TOYS \u0026amp; NOVELTIES, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78218-0267.\" This pack was saved from Florida — the Jaguars' own home state. Collectors say Play-By-Play only made this card for about a dozen NFL teams, which makes chasing a full team run half the fun.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🐆 The Jaguar, the Car Company, and 1997\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis exact jaguar head — gold, black-spotted, teal tongue — was the Jaguars' primary logo from their first season in 1995 all the way through 2012 (with only a small shade-of-gold adjustment in 2002), so it's the mark the team wore in the season printed on this card, their third. It wasn't their first idea, though: when the franchise was awarded in 1993, its original logo was a leaping jaguar, dropped after the carmaker Jaguar objected. A real legal dispute followed — Jaguar Cars, Ltd. v. National Football League made it to federal court — and as the story is usually told, it ended with Jaguar Cars becoming the team's official automobile and this head design replacing the leaping cat before the franchise's first kickoff in 1995.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn just their second season, 1996, the Jaguars pulled off a 30-27 road upset over a 13-3 Denver team — a game a lot of people still call the franchise's finest hour — before losing the AFC Championship Game 20-6 at New England. By 1997, the year printed on this card, Jacksonville had settled into a genuinely good football team: 11-5, second in the AFC Central, with Tom Coughlin serving as both general manager and head coach, playing out of Alltel Stadium. They lost the Wild Card game 42-17 at Denver. That preseason the team actually tried a skinny, drop-shadow jersey number, got complaints that it was unreadable on television, and widened it before the regular season started. Five Jaguars made the Pro Bowl that year: tackle Tony Boselli, quarterback Mark Brunell, receiver Jimmy Smith, punter Bryan Barker, and kicker Mike Hollis.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🎪 Play-By-Play Toys \u0026amp; Novelties, San Antonio\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlay-By-Play was founded in San Antonio in 1986 by Arturo Torres, who started the company as a vending-machine prize supplier and took it public in 1995. In June 1996 it bought Ace Novelty for about $44 million, which by its own filings made it the leading supplier of stuffed toys and novelties to the U.S. amusement trade — theme parks, arcades, carnivals, state fairs — and by 1998 the company held roughly half of the entire carnival prize market. It all ran out of a warehouse at 4400 Tejasco Street in San Antonio, the same 78218 ZIP printed on this card. Play-By-Play was delisted from Nasdaq in May 2001 and Torres resigned as chairman that June; the company's European arm carried the name forward from Valencia, Spain, and was bought by the Spanish toy maker Famosa in 2006.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIs your team going to win it all??? I love football so much that I might be wearing some of these myself — my daughter will love it too. 😉 I won't even mention who my team is. My team is one of these tattoos, though, and I might have them on my forehead etc. during games — hopefully we see your team in the Super Bowl.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGo Jaguars!!!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-new-england-patriots-its-football\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos New England Patriots 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-chicago-bears-nfl-fingernail-tattoos\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Chicago Bears 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-carolina-panthers-its-football-season\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Carolina Panthers 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"2 sets","offer_id":43675706720488,"sku":"VAG-7926870966504","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"5 sets","offer_id":43675706753256,"sku":"VAG-7926870966504-2","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"10 sets","offer_id":43675706786024,"sku":"VAG-7926870966504-3","price":11.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Super Bowl Package 21 Sets","offer_id":43675706818792,"sku":"VAG-7926870966504-4","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4133495173_s513.jpg?v=1785358112"},{"product_id":"vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-oakland-las-vegas-raiders-its-football","title":"Vintage 1997 NFL Oakland Raiders Fingernail Tattoos 🏈 Play-By-Play San Antonio NOS Football Fan Nail Card Superbowl Party Gift","description":"\u003ch2\u003eFingernail Tattoos for Raiders Fans? 🏴 Silver and Black, Right on the Fingernail\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2 1\/2\" x 2 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Xe4eSgbayw4\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThere's a particular kind of fan who paints the team colors onto every inch of themselves before kickoff, and for a stretch of the 1990s, a set of Raiders fingernail tattoos was how you did it in miniature. These cards have sat sealed since they left the factory — never pressed onto a nail, never worn to a game — a small silver-and-black time capsule from Raider Nation's heyday.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🃏 What's Actually on the Card\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTen Raiders shields fill the cream sheet on the lower half of the card — the helmeted, eye-patched Raider crossing swords, RAIDERS lettered across the top — eight small and two larger, printed mirror-image so they read correctly once pressed face-down and transferred, the same way any water-slide decal works. Above them, the header card carries the NFL shield over a stadium scene, the five-point sales pitch (Easy to apply, Easy to remove, Waterproof, Lasts for days, Safe \u0026amp; non-toxic), FINGERNAIL TATTOOS in bold yellow, and MADE IN TAIWAN. Flip it over and you get four hand-drawn application steps — and a nice little oddity: the sample tattoo drawn for the instructions isn't a Raider at all, it's a Pittsburgh Steelers logo, because Play-By-Play used the same generic back across every team in the line. The card closes out with DISTRIBUTED BY Play-By-Play TOYS \u0026amp; NOVELTIES, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78218-0267. These come to us as a stack, and the card photographed here is a fair sample of the whole batch — expect the same clean, never-applied condition throughout, with most running as nice or nicer than what's pictured.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏈 The Raiders, Back Home in 1997\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe shield on this sheet is the same Raider head and crossed swords the franchise has worn since the 1960s — silver on black, unmistakable — and by 1997 it was flying at home again: the Raiders had moved back to Oakland in 1995 after thirteen years in Los Angeles, on a sixteen-year lease that rebuilt the Coliseum with a new upper deck and luxury boxes. On the field, 1997 wasn't kind — Joe Bugel's first season as head coach ended 4-12, the franchise's worst finish since 1962 — but wide receiver Tim Brown and defensive tackle Darrell Russell both made the Pro Bowl that year, and Raider Nation still packed the Coliseum right through it. This card is a small piece of that exact season.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🎪 Play-By-Play, San Antonio\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe company that put its name on the back of this card has a story of its own. Arturo Torres left Cuba for the United States in 1961 and went to work in the kitchen of an Amarillo Pizza Hut in 1965; he rose to manager, bought out the franchise, and built Pizza Management, Inc. into more than 230 Pizza Huts in seven states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Spain before selling it to PepsiCo in 1993. He built Play-By-Play out of a vending-machine prize business into the country's biggest supplier to the carnival and theme-park trade — something close to half that market by 1998, with Warner Bros., Disney and NFL licenses on its plush and novelties, and in 2000 its Tornado Taz plush even landed it in the law books as Nadel v. Play-By-Play Toys \u0026amp; Novelties, a Second Circuit idea-theft case heard by a panel that included Sonia Sotomayor — all run out of a warehouse on Tejasco Street in San Antonio, the same \"SAN ANTONIO, TX\" printed on this card. The good years didn't last past 2001: Play-By-Play fell off the Nasdaq, Torres resigned as chairman that June, and the U.S. company stopped filing with the SEC a few months later. A European branch kept the Play-By-Play name alive out of Valencia, Spain, and is still making plush toys today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e🏴 I love finding these old Raiders pieces — a set of fingernail tattoos was exactly how a certain kind of fan showed team pride in the 90s, right down to their hands.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-kansas-city-chiefs-its-football\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Kansas City Chiefs Fingernail Tattoos 🏈 Play-By-Play San Antonio - Sealed Football Novelty Package Card\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-san-francisco-49ers-its-football\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos San Francisco 49ers 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-denver-broncos-its-football-season\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos 🏈 Denver Broncos Play By Play San Antonio TX Card\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"2 sets","offer_id":43675711406312,"sku":"VAG-7926874570984","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"5 sets","offer_id":43675711439080,"sku":"VAG-7926874570984-2","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"10 sets","offer_id":43675711471848,"sku":"VAG-7926874570984-3","price":11.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Super Bowl Package 21 Sets","offer_id":43675711504616,"sku":"VAG-7926874570984-4","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4085845478_ngyl.jpg?v=1785358121"},{"product_id":"vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-denver-broncos-its-football-season","title":"Vintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos 🏈 Denver Broncos Play By Play San Antonio TX Card","description":"\u003ch2\u003eFingernail Tattoos for Broncos Fans? 🐴 Bronco Orange, Right at the Fingertips\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2 1\/2\" x 2 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iDdtIn7PrG8\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor a certain kind of Broncos fan in the late 1990s, team pride didn't stop at the jersey — it went all the way down to the fingernails. These cards have sat sealed since the year they were printed, a small, unused sliver of the exact season Denver finally broke through.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🃏 What's Actually on the Card\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTen horse-head tattoos fill the sheet, eight small and two larger, printed mirror-image so they read correctly once pressed face-down and transferred, the same way any water-slide decal works. The header card above carries the NFL shield over a stadium scene, the five-point pitch (Easy to apply, Easy to remove, Waterproof, Lasts for days, Safe \u0026amp; non-toxic), FINGERNAIL TATTOOS and MADE IN TAIWAN. I love the little stadium painted up top, goal posts and pennants flying over the stands, and the NFL shield on it is the old one, a football set in a big field of stars. The league used that shield until 2008, when it trimmed the 25 stars down to eight, one for each division, and reshaped the football to look like the one on the Lombardi Trophy. Down in the corner sits the small \"Not recommended for children under 3 years of age,\" and along the bottom of the sheet runs © 1997 NFL Properties, Inc. — the league's own licensing arm, set up in 1963 to keep control of the NFL's and its teams' marks and to license the companies making official merchandise. The back walks through four application steps using a Pittsburgh Steelers logo as the example art — a shared back Play-By-Play used across every team in the line, not a Broncos misprint — and closes with DISTRIBUTED BY Play-By-Play TOYS \u0026amp; NOVELTIES, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78218-0267. The steps are drawn in line art under a TEMPORARY TATTOOS heading, and the fine print adds that the same steps work on skin, and that they come off with \"alcohol or any leading brand cold cream.\" These come to us as a stack, and the card photographed here is a fair sample of the batch — expect the same clean, never-applied condition throughout, with most running as nice or nicer than what's pictured.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏆 1997: A Brand New Horse, and a Championship\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat horse head wasn't an old logo — it was brand new the very year this card was printed. Denver unveiled it on February 4, 1997, the first Nike-heavy redesign in the NFL, a sharp break from the horse-in-a-D mark the team had worn since 1993. Owner Pat Bowlen said the uniforms had gone \"essentially the same for 30 years\" and \"I felt we needed a change\"; defensive end Neil Smith called the new look \"bad-ass,\" and safety Steve Atwater put it simply — \"Navy blue looks meaner than orange.\" Whatever the horse thought of it, it worked: under head coach Mike Shanahan, Denver went 12-4 that season, beat Jacksonville 42-17 as a wild card, won at Kansas City and at Pittsburgh, and beat the defending-champion Green Bay Packers 31-24 in Super Bowl XXXII on January 25, 1998 — the franchise's first championship after four earlier Super Bowl losses. Terrell Davis was named MVP despite losing most of the second quarter to a migraine; he'd rushed for 1,750 yards and 15 touchdowns that season. John Elway, Davis, Shannon Sharpe and center Tom Nalen all made the Pro Bowl. This card carries the very logo that won it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e📜 The Lore of the Twelve\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCollectors who've chased this line for years say Play-By-Play only ever made this fingernail-tattoo card for about a dozen NFL teams in 1997 before moving on. It squares with what turns up team by team: this Broncos card, and cards for the Dolphins, 49ers, Panthers, Browns, Vikings, Chiefs, Jaguars, Raiders, Patriots, Cowboys and Bears, all on the same design.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🎪 Play-By-Play, San Antonio\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe distributor named on the back has a story worth telling too. Arturo Torres left Cuba for the United States in 1961 and got his start washing dishes at a Pizza Hut in Texas; by the 1980s he was running 240 Pizza Hut and Taco Bell locations, which he sold for $125 million in 1992. He turned that into Play-By-Play, building a vending-machine prize business into the country's biggest supplier to carnivals and theme parks — something close to half that market by 1998 — out of a warehouse on Tejasco Street in San Antonio, the same city printed on this card. That was 4400 Tejasco — offices, a showroom and better than 200,000 square feet of warehouse — and the ZIP on the back, 78218-0267, is the company's own: it's the exact number Play-By-Play gave for that address in Play Meter's 1997 amusement-industry directory. In fiscal 1997 nearly 70 percent of their sales went to the amusement trade — Six Flags, Busch Gardens, Sea World, Dave \u0026amp; Buster's, carnivals, state fairs and arcades — so plenty of the stuffed animals won at '90s carnivals and fairs came from this one San Antonio outfit. By then it was a public company, trading on the Nasdaq as PBYP, and it was reaching overseas too: in November 1996 it bought the TLC Gift Company of Doncaster, England, a plush and novelty distributor that supplied shops and amusement operators all over Europe. It didn't last: Play-By-Play fell off the Nasdaq in 2001, Torres resigned as chairman that June, and the company stopped filing with the SEC that September. A European branch carried the Play-By-Play name forward out of Valencia, Spain, and is still making plush toys today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-kansas-city-chiefs-its-football\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Kansas City Chiefs Fingernail Tattoos 🏈 Play-By-Play San Antonio - Sealed Football Novelty Package Card\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-dallas-cowboys-its-football-season\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Dallas Cowboys 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-miami-dolphins-its-football-season\"\u003eVintage 1997 Miami Dolphins NFL Fingernail Tattoos 🏈 Sealed Pack - Play-By-Play San Antonio Licensed Novelty Card\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"2 sets","offer_id":43675714814184,"sku":"VAG-7926875095272","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"5 sets","offer_id":43675714846952,"sku":"VAG-7926875095272-2","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"10 sets","offer_id":43675714879720,"sku":"VAG-7926875095272-3","price":11.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Super Bowl Package 21 Sets","offer_id":43675714912488,"sku":"VAG-7926875095272-4","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4133499581_e3y6.jpg?v=1785358130"},{"product_id":"vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-new-england-patriots-its-football","title":"Vintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos New England Patriots 🏈 It's Football Season!!!","description":"\u003ch2\u003eFingernail Tattoos for Patriots Fans? ⚡ The Flying Elvis, Sized for a Fingernail\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2 1\/2\" x 2 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/POFA_zJ3w9A\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\u003cp\u003ePatriots fans in the late 1990s had their own way of showing colors before kickoff, right down to the fingertips. These cards have sat sealed since they left the factory — never pressed onto a nail, still carrying the exact silver-and-red logo the team wore through the Parcells-to-Carroll turnover.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🃏 What's Actually on the Card\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTen minuteman-head tattoos fill the cream sheet — a gray face under a navy tricorn hat, white star, red-and-white streaks trailing behind — eight small and two larger, printed mirror-image so they read correctly once pressed face-down and transferred, the same way any water-slide decal works. The header card above carries the NFL shield over a stadium scene, the five-point pitch (Easy to apply, Easy to remove, Waterproof, Lasts for days, Safe \u0026amp; non-toxic), FINGERNAIL TATTOOS in bold yellow, and MADE IN TAIWAN. Flip it over for four application steps drawn with a Pittsburgh Steelers logo as the example — Play-By-Play's shared back across every team in the line, not a Patriots misprint — and DISTRIBUTED BY Play-By-Play TOYS \u0026amp; NOVELTIES, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78218-0267. These come to us as a stack, and the card photographed here is a fair sample of the batch — expect the same clean, never-applied condition throughout, with most running as nice or nicer than what's pictured.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏈 The Flying Elvis, and 1997's Coaching Turnover\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat minuteman is the \"Flying Elvis\" — the silver patriot in a blue hat with a white star and red stripes that the team adopted in 1993, worked out through NFL Properties, the same licensing arm printed on this card. Owner James Orthwein, an advertising man by trade, said at the time that \"merchandising is no longer just a local situation\" — and fans immediately nicknamed the new mark Elvis, the Old Man of the Mountain, and Darth Vader, depending who you asked. By 1997 it had been the team's logo for four years, through a wrenching offseason: after New England lost Super Bowl XXXI to Green Bay that January, head coach Bill Parcells resigned — \"If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries\" — and left for the Jets, taking Bill Belichick with him. Pete Carroll took over and had a strong first year anyway: 10-6, AFC East champions out of Foxboro Stadium, beating Miami 17-3 in the Wild Card round before losing 7-6 at Pittsburgh. It was the franchise's last division title before Bill Belichick and Tom Brady arrived. Tackle Bruce Armstrong, quarterback Drew Bledsoe, tight end Ben Coates, linebacker Chris Slade and special-teamer Larry Whigham all made the Pro Bowl that season.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🎪 Play-By-Play, San Antonio\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe distributor named on the back has its own story. Arturo Torres left Cuba for the United States in 1961 and started out washing dishes at a Texas Pizza Hut; by the 1980s he was running 240 Pizza Hut and Taco Bell locations, which he sold for $125 million in 1992. He put that money into Play-By-Play, turning a vending-machine prize business into the country's biggest supplier to carnivals and theme parks — something close to half that market by 1998 — run out of a warehouse on Tejasco Street in San Antonio, the same city printed on this card. The run didn't last past 2001: Play-By-Play fell off the Nasdaq, Torres resigned as chairman that June, and the company stopped filing with the SEC that September. A European branch kept the Play-By-Play name going out of Valencia, Spain, and still makes plush toys today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e⚡ I love football enough that I might wear a few of these myself before kickoff — my daughter would get a kick out of it too. I won't tell you who my team is, only that it's one of these tattoos, and I might end up with them on my forehead come game day. Hopefully we see your team in the Super Bowl. Go Patriots!!!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-dallas-cowboys-its-football-season\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Dallas Cowboys 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-jacksonville-jaguars-its-football\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Jacksonville Jaguars 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-chicago-bears-nfl-fingernail-tattoos\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Chicago Bears 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"2 sets","offer_id":43675726446824,"sku":"VAG-7926877192424","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"5 sets","offer_id":43675726479592,"sku":"VAG-7926877192424-2","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"10 sets","offer_id":43675726512360,"sku":"VAG-7926877192424-3","price":11.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Super Bowl Package 21 Sets","offer_id":43675726545128,"sku":"VAG-7926877192424-4","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4085850300_gw9r.jpg?v=1785358138"},{"product_id":"vintage-1999-mlb-fingernail-tattoos-new-york-mets-its-baseball-season","title":"Vintage 1999 MLB Fingernail Tattoos New York Mets ⚾ It's Baseball Season!!!","description":"\u003ch2\u003eFingernail Tattoos for Mets Fans? ⚾ Mets Pride, Ten Times Over on One Sheet\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2 1\/2\" x 2 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/R46Y-s00gqM\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThere's a very particular kind of Mets fan who wants the skyline logo somewhere they can see it constantly, and in 1999 that meant a fingernail. These cards have sat sealed since the year the Mets made their run at the pennant — never pressed onto a nail, still exactly as it left the factory.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🃏 What's Actually on the Card\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTen Mets skyline roundels fill the cream sheet, each one mirror-printed with a tiny backwards \"TM\" beside it, so the design reads correctly once pressed face-down and transferred — the same way any water-slide decal works. Above them, the header card carries a ballpark scene, the \"GENUINE MAJOR LEAGUE MERCHANDISE\" roundel around the MLB batter logo, the five-point pitch (Easy to apply, Easy to remove, Waterproof, Lasts for days, Safe \u0026amp; non-toxic), and FINGERNAIL TATTOOS. Flip it over for four application steps — drawn, oddly, with a Chicago White Sox \"Sox\" script as the example art, Play-By-Play's shared back for the whole MLB line rather than anything Mets-specific — plus ITEM # 77-708, a UPC that belongs to the whole line of MLB cards and not to this pack alone, MADE IN TAIWAN, and DISTRIBUTED BY Play-By-Play TOYS \u0026amp; NOVELTIES, 4400 TEJASCO, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 78218. These come to us as a stack, and the card photographed here is a fair sample of the batch — expect the same clean, never-applied condition throughout, with most running as nice or nicer than what's pictured. I haven't seen another seller offering this Play-By-Play Mets pack, which makes it a rare one - and once these are gone, they're gone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏆 The Skyline, and the Run of 1999\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat skyline roundel is one of the more storied designs in baseball — a blue New York skyline (Brooklyn's church spire, the Williamsburgh Savings Bank, the Woolworth Building, the Empire State Building, the United Nations) ringed in orange, stitched like a baseball, with a white suspension bridge running through it to symbolize the joining of the city's boroughs, and \"Mets\" in orange script across the front. It was designed by cartoonist Ray Gotto, creator of the newspaper strip Ozark Ike — the blue borrowed from the departed Dodgers, the orange from the departed Giants. This card carries the copyright line \"Play-By-Play (c) MLB 1999,\" the same year the Mets put together one of the best runs in franchise history. Under manager Bobby Valentine, New York went 97-66 out of Shea Stadium, beat Cincinnati in a one-game playoff for the Wild Card, then beat Arizona in the Division Series — clinched on a walk-off home run by backup catcher Todd Pratt, filling in for an injured Mike Piazza — before losing the NLCS to Atlanta in six games. Piazza hit .303 with 40 home runs and 124 RBI that year; Robin Ventura hit .301 with 32 homers, and in Game 5 of that NLCS delivered the famous \"Grand Slam Single\" — a bases-loaded drive that cleared the fence but got scored as a single because his own teammates mobbed him before he finished the trip around the bases. Edgardo Alfonzo hit .304, John Olerud drove in 96 runs, and Al Leiter won 13 games. This card is a small piece of that whole season. Shea's gone now — the Mets played their last game there on September 28, 2008, the old park came down over that winter, and the team opened Citi Field right next door the following April, with Shea's home plate, pitcher's mound and bases marked out in the new parking lot. So whether you're heading out to Citi Field or watching the game from your living room, a little Mets skyline on your nails is a sure conversation starter. 😉\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🎪 Play-By-Play, San Antonio\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe distributor printed on the back has its own story. Arturo Torres left Cuba for the United States in 1961 and started out washing dishes at a Texas Pizza Hut; by the 1980s he was running 240 Pizza Hut and Taco Bell locations, which he sold for $125 million in 1992. He put that into Play-By-Play, building a vending-machine prize business into the country's biggest supplier to carnivals and theme parks — something close to half that market by 1998 — out of the same San Antonio, Texas warehouse printed on the back of this card. The run didn't outlast 2001: Play-By-Play fell off the Nasdaq, Torres resigned as chairman that June, and the company stopped filing with the SEC that September. A European branch kept the Play-By-Play name going out of Valencia, Spain, and still makes plush toys today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-jacksonville-jaguars-its-football\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Jacksonville Jaguars 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-new-england-patriots-its-football\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos New England Patriots 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1998-nhl-fingernail-tattoos-detroit-redwings-its-hockey-season\"\u003eVintage NHL Fingernail Tattoos Detroit Redwings 🏒 It's Hockey Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"2 sets","offer_id":43678478106856,"sku":"VAG-7927684530408","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"5 sets","offer_id":43678478139624,"sku":"VAG-7927684530408-2","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"10 sets","offer_id":43678478172392,"sku":"VAG-7927684530408-3","price":11.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"20 sets","offer_id":43678478205160,"sku":"VAG-7927684530408-4","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4087590052_20zz.jpg?v=1785358147"},{"product_id":"vintage-1998-nhl-fingernail-tattoos-new-york-rangers-its-hockey-season","title":"Vintage NHL Fingernail Tattoos New York Rangers 🏒 It's Hockey Season!!!","description":"\u003ch2\u003eFingernail Tattoos for Rangers Fans? 🏒 Rangers Blue, From the Gretzky Years\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2 1\/2\" x 2 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BRcj13s8to0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor a Rangers fan in the late 1990s, no team gear was too small to matter — right down to a fingernail. These cards have sat sealed since the Gretzky years at Madison Square Garden, never pressed onto a nail, exactly as it left the factory.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🃏 What's Actually on the Card\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEight Rangers shields and two \"NEW YORK RANGERS\" wordmark tattoos fill the cream sheet, all printed mirror-image so they read correctly once pressed face-down and transferred, the same way any water-slide decal works. The header card above shows an arena scene with a scoreboard reading GO TEAM, a bilingual round seal — OFFICIAL LICENSED PRODUCT \/ PRODUIT LICENCIE OFFICIEL — wrapped around the old NHL shield, the five-point pitch (Easy to apply, Easy to remove, Waterproof, Lasts for days, Safe \u0026amp; non-toxic), and FINGERNAIL TATTOOS. The sheet itself carries no printed year, just \"(c)NHL.\" Flip the card over for four application steps — the example tattoo drawn there is a round \"B,\" a Bruins-style mark rather than anything Rangers, since Play-By-Play used one generic back across its whole NHL line — plus ITEM #77-805, a UPC shared across that whole line and not unique to this pack, MADE IN TAIWAN, and DISTRIBUTED BY Play-By-Play TOYS \u0026amp; NOVELTIES, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 78218. These come to us as a stack, and the card photographed here is a fair sample of the batch — expect the same clean, never-applied condition throughout, with most running as nice or nicer than what's pictured.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🕰️ Dating a Card With No Year on It, and the Gretzky Seasons\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNothing on this card prints a year, so it dates itself by what it does carry: that old black-and-orange NHL shield, retired after the 2004-05 season, and Play-By-Play's own hockey license, which first shows up in its filings for the year ending July 1999 (the company had stopped filing with the SEC entirely by September 2001). That puts this card somewhere from the late 1990s into the early 2000s — the last years of the old NHL shield. The wordmark on the sheet, New York stacked over Rangers in red block letters, matches the \"New York Rangers\" lettering the team adopted in 1996\/97, which fits that same window. Those were the Wayne Gretzky years at the Garden: he signed with the Rangers as a free agent on July 21, 1996, rejoining Mark Messier, and played his final three NHL seasons in New York, helping the team reach the 1997 Eastern Conference Finals. It wasn't all smooth after that — 1997-98 ended 25-39-18 and out of the playoffs for the first time since 1992-93, the first season since 1990-91 without Messier, who'd left for Vancouver, and head coach Colin Campbell was fired mid-season for John Muckler. In February 1998, players from this era went to the Nagano Olympics, the first Winter Games to include active NHL players. The 1998-99 season — Gretzky's last in the league — ended with the Rangers out of the playoffs again. This card comes from somewhere in the middle of all of it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🎪 Play-By-Play, San Antonio\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe distributor printed on the back has its own story. Arturo Torres left Cuba for the United States in 1961 and started out washing dishes at a Texas Pizza Hut; by the 1980s he was running 240 Pizza Hut and Taco Bell locations, which he sold for $125 million in 1992. He put that into Play-By-Play, building a vending-machine prize business into the country's biggest supplier to carnivals and theme parks — something close to half that market by 1998 — out of the same San Antonio, Texas warehouse printed on this card. By the time Play-By-Play picked up its NHL license, for the year ending July 1999, the company was already near its peak; it didn't last past 2001, when it fell off the Nasdaq, Torres resigned as chairman, and the company stopped filing with the SEC that September. A European branch kept the Play-By-Play name going out of Valencia, Spain, and still makes plush toys today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1998-nhl-fingernail-tattoos-detroit-redwings-its-hockey-season\"\u003eVintage NHL Fingernail Tattoos Detroit Redwings 🏒 It's Hockey Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-chicago-bears-nfl-fingernail-tattoos\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Chicago Bears 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-dallas-cowboys-its-football-season\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Dallas Cowboys 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"2 sets","offer_id":43678517756136,"sku":"VAG-7927694393576","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"5 sets","offer_id":43678517788904,"sku":"VAG-7927694393576-2","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"10 sets","offer_id":43678517821672,"sku":"VAG-7927694393576-3","price":11.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"20 sets","offer_id":43678517854440,"sku":"VAG-7927694393576-4","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4135295349_ra09.jpg?v=1785358157"},{"product_id":"vintage-1998-nhl-fingernail-tattoos-detroit-redwings-its-hockey-season","title":"Vintage NHL Fingernail Tattoos Detroit Redwings 🏒 It's Hockey Season!!!","description":"\u003ch2\u003eFingernail Tattoos for Red Wings Fans? 🔴 Winged Wheel, Right on the Fingernail\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2 1\/2\" x 2 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bxA6gdhdIqw\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor a Red Wings fan in the late 1990s, wearing the winged wheel wasn't limited to a jersey — it went down to the fingernails too. These cards have sat sealed since they left the factory, from right around the years Detroit was hoisting the Stanley Cup twice in a row.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🃏 What's Actually on the Card\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEight red winged-wheel tattoos and two \"Detroit Red Wings\" script tattoos fill the cream sheet, all printed mirror-image so they read correctly once pressed face-down and transferred, the same way any water-slide decal works. The header card above shows an arena scene with a scoreboard reading GO TEAM, a bilingual round seal — OFFICIAL LICENSED PRODUCT \/ PRODUIT LICENCIE OFFICIEL — wrapped around the old NHL shield, the five-point pitch (Easy to apply, Easy to remove, Waterproof, Lasts for days, Safe \u0026amp; non-toxic), and FINGERNAIL TATTOOS. The sheet itself carries no printed year, just \"(c)NHL.\" Flip the card over for four application steps — the example tattoo drawn there is a round \"B,\" a Bruins-style mark rather than anything Red Wings, since Play-By-Play used one generic back across its whole NHL line — plus ITEM #77-805, a UPC shared across that whole line and not unique to this pack, MADE IN TAIWAN, and DISTRIBUTED BY Play-By-Play TOYS \u0026amp; NOVELTIES, 4400 TEJASCO, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78218-0267. These come to us as a stack, and the card photographed here is a fair sample of the batch — expect the same clean, never-applied condition throughout, with most running as nice or nicer than what's pictured.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏆 Dating a Card With No Year on It, and Back-to-Back Cups\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNeither the winged wheel nor the Red Wings script has changed since 1948, so the logos themselves can't date this sheet. What can: that old black-and-orange NHL shield on the front, retired after the 2004-05 season, and Play-By-Play's own hockey license, which first shows up in its filings for the year ending July 1999 (the company had stopped filing with the SEC by September 2001). That puts this card somewhere from the late 1990s into the early 2000s. If it landed on the early side of that window, it would sit right in the middle of one of the most dramatic stretches in Red Wings history. In 1997, Detroit swept the Philadelphia Flyers for its eighth Stanley Cup — its first since 1955, ending the longest championship drought in the league at that time. Six days later, defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov and team masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov were seriously injured when the limousine they were riding in, driven by a man whose license had been suspended for drunk driving, hit a tree in Birmingham, Michigan. Konstantinov's career ended that night. The following season the team wore a patch with both men's initials and the word \"Believe\" in English and Russian, and in June 1998 — with captain Steve Yzerman, coach Scotty Bowman and goaltender Chris Osgood leading the way — Detroit swept the Washington Capitals for a second straight Cup. Konstantinov was wheeled onto the ice so the Cup could be placed in his lap. Detroit is still the most recent team to sweep the Final in back-to-back years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🎪 Play-By-Play, San Antonio\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe distributor printed on the back has its own story. Arturo Torres left Cuba for the United States in 1961 and started out washing dishes at a Texas Pizza Hut; by the 1980s he was running 240 Pizza Hut and Taco Bell locations, which he sold for $125 million in 1992. He put that into Play-By-Play, building a vending-machine prize business into the country's biggest supplier to carnivals and theme parks — something close to half that market by 1998 — out of the same San Antonio, Texas warehouse printed on this card. By the time Play-By-Play picked up its NHL license, for the year ending July 1999, the company was already near its peak; it didn't last past 2001, when it fell off the Nasdaq, Torres resigned as chairman, and the company stopped filing with the SEC that September. A European branch kept the Play-By-Play name going out of Valencia, Spain, and still makes plush toys today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1998-nhl-fingernail-tattoos-new-york-rangers-its-hockey-season\"\u003eVintage NHL Fingernail Tattoos New York Rangers 🏒 It's Hockey Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-jacksonville-jaguars-its-football\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Jacksonville Jaguars 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-dallas-cowboys-its-football-season\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Dallas Cowboys 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"2 sets","offer_id":43678542495976,"sku":"VAG-7927701143784","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"5 sets","offer_id":43678542528744,"sku":"VAG-7927701143784-2","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"10 sets","offer_id":43678542561512,"sku":"VAG-7927701143784-3","price":11.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"20 sets","offer_id":43678542594280,"sku":"VAG-7927701143784-4","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4135285779_4o04.jpg?v=1785358164"},{"product_id":"vintage-1998-mlb-folding-fan-chicago-white-sox-its-baseball-season","title":"Vintage 1998 MLB Folding Fan ⚾ Chicago White Sox It’s Baseball Season","description":"\u003ch2\u003eWho Made the 1998 Chicago White Sox Folding Fan? ⚾ A Vintage 1998 Chicago White Sox MLB Folding Fan, Play By Play\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 11\" x 9 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/laQK6DrInkU\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eA pleated paper hand fan on two black plastic sticks, printed in black, grey and white stripes with CHICAGO WHITE SOX across the top and the Sox script logo on each wing - open it all the way and the stripes look a lot like the team's pinstripes. It folds to about 6 3\/4 inches. They came a dozen to a box marked GENUINE MAJOR LEAGUE MERCHANDISE - the licensing line Major League Baseball Properties used on official goods - FOLDING FANS, with a painted ballpark scoreboard on the front and Play-By-Play, MLB 1998 on the end. You're buying one fan - the box in my pictures is the dealer box they came in, shown for reference. Never used at a game.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🧸 Play By Play of San Antonio\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Play-By-Play on the box was Play By Play Toys \u0026amp; Novelties, a San Antonio, Texas company that made stuffed toys and novelties for the amusement and retail trades under licenses for cartoon characters, comic heroes and pro sports teams. In 1997, the year before this box, it did $74.2 million in sales with 620 employees and traded on the Nasdaq. It later made Pokemon plush and in 2002 moved its business to Valencia, Spain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e⚾ The White Sox\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe White Sox were a charter member of the American League in 1901, under Charles Comiskey, and won the World Series in 1906 - upsetting the crosstown Cubs - and again in 1917. South Siders will tell you, without a second's hesitation, that theirs is the real history of Chicago baseball. Then came 1919: eight players, Shoeless Joe Jackson among them, were accused of throwing the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds, and new commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned the Black Sox for life, the start of the commissioner's office as baseball's final word. The team played at the old Comiskey Park from 1910 through 1990 and moved across the street to the new park in 1991 - since called U.S. Cellular Field, Guaranteed Rate Field and now Rate Field - which is where these fans would have been waving in 1998, with Frank Thomas, the Big Hurt, in his prime. Old-timers on the South Side will tell you the 2005 World Series title - the team's first in 88 years - felt less like a party than the whole city finally letting out a breath it had held since 1917.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e📅 How old is it?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe box is printed MLB 1998, so these are 1998.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e⚾ About these\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery one I have is this same fan, about 11 by 9 1\/2 inches open. It's a great one for a Sox fan, a game-day bag, a man cave, a South Side kid who grew up at Comiskey, or anybody who misses the 1990s at the ballpark. The supply is finite - nobody's making 1998 Sox fans anymore, and once these last ones are gone, they'll be very difficult to acquire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/1998-mlb-folding-fan-tampa-bay-devil-rays-its-baseball-season-old\"\u003eVintage 1998-2000 Tampa Bay Devil Rays MLB Folding Hand Fan ⚾ Play By Play Genuine Merchandise Souvenir Novelty\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1998-mlb-folding-fan-baltimore-orioles-its-baseball-season-old\"\u003eVintage 1998 Orioles Folding Fan ⚾ Baltimore MLB Play by Play Orange \u0026amp; Black NOS\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1999-mlb-fingernail-tattoos-new-york-mets-its-baseball-season\"\u003eVintage 1999 MLB Fingernail Tattoos New York Mets ⚾ It's Baseball Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43686524420328,"sku":"VAG-7930540065000","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4138131147_4k2f.jpg?v=1785358202"},{"product_id":"vintage-1998-mlb-folding-fan-baltimore-orioles-its-baseball-season-old","title":"Vintage 1998 Orioles Folding Fan ⚾ Baltimore MLB Play by Play Orange \u0026 Black NOS","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember Orioles Folding Fans? ⚾ Vintage 1998 Baltimore MLB Play by Play Fan, Orange \u0026amp; Black, NOS\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 11\" x 9 1\/2\" ~ Unused, still folded from the factory.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8KY5X8rpvGU\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e⚾ The Fan Itself\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFully opened, this Orioles fan spreads out to about 11 x 9 1\/2 inches - closed, it's a neat 6 3\/4 inches long. A bold orange pleated panel radiates from a black plastic pivoting handle held together by two silver rivets, the team's flowing \"Orioles\" script across the top and the bird-on-diamond logo (the club's primary logo back then) printed twice more below, all framed in a black-and-cream striped border with small cream diamonds marking the points. Near the handle, printed small, it reads Play By Play (c) MLB 1998 \/ MADE IN CHINA - the only date or maker's mark on the piece. These came a dozen to a green counter box illustrated with a ballpark scene and the MLB \"Genuine Major League Merchandise\" seal; the box is shown in the photos so you can see how they left the factory, but it isn't part of what ships - just the fan itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏭 A Texas Novelty Company Called Play By Play\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlay By Play has a real story behind it. Arturo Torres came to the United States from Cuba in 1961 wanting to be a cowboy, and started out washing dishes at a Texas Pizza Hut instead. By the 1980s he was running 240 Pizza Huts and Taco Bells, and in the early 1990s he sold the lot for $125 million. Rather than retire on it, he built a vending-machine and arcade-prize business in San Antonio into Play By Play Toys \u0026amp; Novelties, took the company public on NASDAQ in 1995 under the ticker PBYP, and in 1996 bought Ace Novelty Company of Bellevue, Washington, for $44 million, debt included - a deal that made Play By Play the largest stuffed-toy and novelty supplier in the country. It was exactly the kind of operation that could hold an MLB license and press out a run of Orioles fans for the 1998 season. The company's American chapter didn't last forever. NASDAQ delisted the stock in May 2001, and in 2002 Play By Play moved its headquarters to Spain, where it had been running a distribution center in Valencia since 1993. Spain's Famosa bought the company a few years later, and since 2019 it's been part of the Famosa-Giochi Preziosi group - Spanish and Italian toymakers under one European roof.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🦅 From Milwaukee to St. Louis to Baltimore\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Orioles didn't start out in Baltimore at all. They were one of the American League's eight original charter teams in 1901, spent that first season as the Milwaukee Brewers, then moved the next year to become the St. Louis Browns for the next 52 seasons. It wasn't until 1953 that a Baltimore group, led by attorney Clarence Miles and Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro Jr., bought the club and brought it home. When the team took the field in 1954 under its new name, it reached back into older Baltimore history to find it - the \"Orioles\" name and the orange and black both predate the ballclub by centuries.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🐦 A Songbird, a Colonial Lord and a State Flag\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Orioles' colors trace back to the Baltimore oriole itself, and the bird's own name goes back further still. The 18th-century naturalist Mark Catesby recorded Maryland colonists calling it \"the Baltimore-bird\" because its orange-and-black plumage echoed the heraldic colors of Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore and first proprietor of the Maryland colony - the same Calvert the city itself is named for. Maryland protected the bird by law in 1882 and made it the official state bird in 1947. That same Calvert heraldry became Maryland's state flag: gold-and-black Calvert quarters paired with the red-and-white Crossland arms carried down through Cecil Calvert's grandmother - the only state flag in the country built directly from British heraldry this way. The combined design first flew in 1876, and Maryland made it the official state flag in 1904. During the Civil War, Maryland's Union men wore the yellow-and-black Calvert colors as their badge, while Marylanders who sided with the Confederacy wore the red-and-white Crossland cross - so this flag carried both sides of a divided state long before it carried a baseball team.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🧱 The Warehouse Behind Right Field, and a City Called \"Charm\"\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCamden Yards is built around a real piece of Baltimore railroad history. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad put up the long brick warehouse beyond right field between 1899 and 1905 to serve the neighboring Camden Station - 1,016 feet long, 51 feet wide, eight stories tall, able to hold a thousand rail carloads at once, and billed as the longest brick building on the East Coast. The B\u0026amp;O used it into the 1960s, it sat mostly empty through the 1970s, and instead of coming down it was folded into the 1992 ballpark design as the game's most recognizable outfield backdrop. Baltimore picked up its \"Charm City\" nickname around that same era, and the story behind the name is better than the name suggests: in 1974, with the city rattled by labor strikes, Mayor William Donald Schaefer hired local ad agencies to drum up tourism, and copywriter Bill Evans landed on the idea that Baltimore held \"more history and unspoiled charm tucked away in quiet corners\" than people gave it credit for - the campaign even handed visitors little charms for a bracelet at five city attractions. The ad itself was a flop, but the name stuck anyway.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏆 The Season Printed on This Fan\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1998 was a rough year on the scoreboard and an unforgettable one at the ballpark. The Orioles finished fourth in the AL East at 79-83, the first of fourteen straight losing seasons - and it was also the year Cal Ripken Jr. chose to end his consecutive-games streak. On September 20, 1998, after 2,632 games in a row, Ripken took himself out of the lineup for the Orioles' last home game of the season, against the Yankees, ending it in the same ballpark where it began back in 1982 and where he'd passed Lou Gehrig's record three years earlier. Reporters said afterward he wanted it to happen right there, in Baltimore. Even with the losing record, more than 3.68 million fans came through the gate that season - proof Camden Yards still had plenty of people waving something orange and black between innings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/1998-mlb-folding-fan-tampa-bay-devil-rays-its-baseball-season-old\"\u003eVintage 1998-2000 Tampa Bay Devil Rays MLB Folding Hand Fan ⚾ Play By Play Genuine Merchandise Souvenir Novelty\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1998-mlb-folding-fan-chicago-white-sox-its-baseball-season\"\u003eVintage 1998 MLB Folding Fan ⚾ Chicago White Sox It’s Baseball Season\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-looney-tunes-roadrunner-stuffy-stuffed-plush-toy-warner-bros\"\u003eVintage Road Runner Plush 🐦 Looney Tunes ACE Play-By-Play NWT 1997 San Antonio TX\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43686617383144,"sku":"VAG-7930559234280","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4138176737_k8t6.jpg?v=1785358213"},{"product_id":"1998-mlb-folding-fan-tampa-bay-devil-rays-its-baseball-season-old","title":"Vintage 1998-2000 Tampa Bay Devil Rays MLB Folding Hand Fan ⚾ Play By Play Genuine Merchandise Souvenir Novelty","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember When They Were the Devil Rays? ⚾ A Vintage 1998-2000 Tampa Bay Devil Rays Folding Hand Fan, Play By Play MLB Genuine Merchandise\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 11\" x 9 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JtFDxiXATq4\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eRemember when they were the DEVIL Rays? This pleated paper fan snaps open on a black plastic handle into a deep purple square with a lime-green border and an orange diamond in each corner, and across the top is the team's very first logo: a black devil ray with blue accents over TAMPA BAY in a green-to-yellow-to-orange rainbow and DEVIL RAYS in white. A devil-ray silhouette swims on each side. The back is plain white pleats. These came out of the original dealer dozen box - MLB Genuine Major League Merchandise folding fans by Play By Play, the box printed Play•By•Play © MLB 1998 - and they've never been used. I was able to save these from Florida, and I grabbed them because I didn't want them lost to time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e📅 The first three seasons\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe box says 1998, and the logo pins it down. That rainbow-gradient TAMPA BAY over a purple field was the Devil Rays' original identity, used from 1998 through 2000. In November 2000 the team unveiled a new logo - Tampa Bay in white with the ray on a blue-and-green oval - and wore it from April 2001, dropping the multicolor lettering and most of the purple. So these fans come from the franchise's first three seasons, most likely that very first one. The 02 and 07 on the box's scoreboard picture are just art; the same box went out to every team with a different round team sticker on the front.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🐟 How Tampa Bay got a team\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTampa Bay chased baseball for years. Before expansion, its backers tried to buy the Chicago White Sox in 1988 and even had a deal to buy and move the San Francisco Giants for $115 million. The franchise finally came on March 9, 1995, awarded the same day as the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Devil Rays played their first game on March 31, 1998, against the Detroit Tigers at Tropicana Field.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe name had a fight of its own. Owner Vince Naimoli wanted Sting Rays, but a Hawaii winter-league club, the Maui Stingrays, already had it and wanted $35,000, so he went with Devil Rays instead - and that caused so much fuss that the team paid for a poll to prove the fans would accept it. The team dropped the Devil and became the Tampa Bay Rays before the 2008 season. Collectors tell it that the old Devil Rays gear kept a loyal following anyway, and that wearing it after the rename was a quiet statement from the fans who were there at the start.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTheir home, Tropicana Field, is in St. Petersburg, not Tampa. It opened March 3, 1990 as the Florida Suncoast Dome, was the ThunderDome for the Tampa Bay Lightning from 1993 to 1996, and became Tropicana Field under an October 1996 naming deal - the dome with the catwalks that are in play by ground rule.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🧸 Play By Play\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlay By Play Toys \u0026amp; Novelties of San Antonio, Texas, made these. Its founder, Arturo Torres, came to the U.S. as a Cuban refugee in 1961, started out washing dishes at a Texas Pizza Hut, and came to run 240 Pizza Huts and Taco Bells before going into the vending-prize business; Jay Foreman co-founded Play By Play with him. In 1996 the company bought Ace Novelty of Bellevue, Washington, for about $44 million and became the biggest supplier of stuffed toys and novelties in the country, with licenses from Major League Baseball, the NFL and the NBA. By 1998 it had about 736 employees and $178 million in sales.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e⚾ About these fans\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery one I have is this same unused fan from the dozen boxes. It's a fun one on the wall of a game room or man cave, in a box of Tampa Bay sports memories, or in the hand of anybody who sat in the Trop in 1998 - and nobody's making Devil Rays fans anymore. Once these last ones from the boxes are gone, they'll be very difficult to acquire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1990s-old-school-tampa-bay-devil-rays-license-plate-mlb\"\u003eVintage 1995 Tampa Bay Devil Rays License Plate 🐟 MLB Genuine Merchandise Tag Express Duluth GA NOS\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/tampa-bay-devil-rays-90s-mlb-keychain-collectible-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1990s Tampa Bay Devil Rays Keychain 🐟 Tag Express MLB Key Tag NOS Sealed\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1998-mlb-folding-fan-baltimore-orioles-its-baseball-season-old\"\u003eVintage 1998 Orioles Folding Fan ⚾ Baltimore MLB Play by Play Orange \u0026amp; Black NOS\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43686720798952,"sku":"VAG-7930591183080","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4138190035_q08e.jpg?v=1785358221"},{"product_id":"vintage-san-juan-racing-stock-certificate-coca-cola-coke-horse-1960s-treasures","title":"Vintage 1960s San Juan Racing Association Stock Certificate 📜 Coca Cola of New York 1978 Bid El Comandante Puerto Rico","description":"\u003ch2\u003eWhy Did Coca-Cola of New York Bid for a Puerto Rico Racetrack? 📜 A Vintage 1960s San Juan Racing Association Stock Certificate, El Comandante, Puerto Rico\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12\" x 14\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9BT6S2XRVDU\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eA real, issued common stock certificate of SAN JUAN RACING ASSOCIATION, INC., INCORPORATED UNDER THE LAWS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO, printed in blue and red by the COLUMBIAN BANK NOTE COMPANY: AUTHORIZED CAPITAL 2,000,000 SHARES, par value $2.50, countersigned by the Registrar and Transfer Company, with a seal reading INCORPORATED 1954 PUERTO RICO and a red block that says the stock was ISSUED SUBJECT TO THE TERMS OF THE LICENSE GRANTED BY THE RACING COMMISSION OF PUERTO RICO. The back carries the printed Conditions of Issuance and the transfer form.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🐎 Camarero\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can't tell this company's story without a horse. Camarero, foaled in Puerto Rico in 1951, won 56 races in a row between April 19, 1953 and August 17, 1955 - still the world record - and took Puerto Rico's Triple Crown along the way. Old-timers in San Juan still recall the crowds that turned out just to watch him train. He died on August 27, 1956, months before the San Juan Racing Association, incorporated in 1954, opened its new track, El Comandante, in Carolina in January 1957. Local legend holds that on opening day the grandstands overflowed, and people who had followed Camarero from the old dirt tracks wept at the sight of a proper course on their own island. His remains were moved from the old Quintana track to El Comandante in 1958.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe company moved the races to a brand-new El Nuevo Comandante in Canóvanas, which opened on October 31, 1976, and Camarero's remains followed in 1994. In 2006 the track was renamed Hipódromo Camarero for him. It wasn't always smooth: in April 1978 the jockeys refused to ride a scheduled card, and the fight went all the way to the federal appeals court in Boston.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e📻 Disco 92\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere's the part nobody believes. The racetrack company owned radio stations in the States - WYSP in Philadelphia, WQAL in Cleveland, WKLS in Atlanta, KRLY in Houston, WJMD in Washington - and in June 1975 its New York FM station on 92.3 became Mellow 92, WKTU. On July 24, 1978, it went 24-hour disco as Disco 92 and climbed to the top of the New York ratings. By then the radio side was making more money than the track.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🥤 The Coca-Cola bid\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd then Coke came calling. On December 8, 1978, the Washington Post reported that a new broadcasting subsidiary of Coca-Cola of New York, the regional bottler, headed by former Washington Post Co. president Larry Israel, was negotiating to buy San Juan Racing - the track and its radio stations - for about $66 million - $20 a share, $17.50 in cash and $2.50 in short-term notes, against a stock trading around $14. New York Coke had bought WIXT-TV in Syracuse that January. Not bad, as the old-timers say, for a horse track.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e📅 How old are they?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe seal's 1954 is the year the company was formed. These blue certificates from Columbian Bank Note come from its 1960s years - a later orange version with a jockey and a CUSIP number came after. I have a stack of them, so the one you get will carry its own date, number, owner and share count, and may look a little different from my pictures.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🏇 About these certificates\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey're 12 by 14 inches, with the stamps and signatures of real use. It's a great one for a horse racing fan, anybody from Puerto Rico, a disco or radio collector, or a Coca-Cola collector who likes a good story. The supply is finite - nobody's issuing San Juan Racing stock again, and once these last ones are framed, they'll be very difficult to acquire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1980s-san-juan-horse-racing-stock-certificate-100-shares-coca-cola-coke\"\u003eVintage 1980s San Juan Racing Stock Certificate 📜 Coca Cola of New York 1978 Takeover Bid El Comandante Puerto Rico\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1950s-60s-monmouth-park-jockey-club-voting-trust-certificate\"\u003eVintage 1950s-60s Monmouth Park Jockey Club Stock Certificate 🐎 Jersey Shore Horse Racing, Oceanport NJ\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1960s-atlantic-refining-company-stock-certificate-brown\"\u003eVintage 1960s Atlantic Refining Company Stock Certificate 🛢️ Brown, Under 100 Shares, $3 Cumulative Preference\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43756701286632,"sku":"VAG-7947633164520","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4161442639_jmam.jpg?v=1785358480"},{"product_id":"two-vintage-budweiser-1996-usa-olympics-promotional-sewing-kit-unopened-nos","title":"Vintage 1996 USA Olympics Budweiser Sewing Kits 🧵 Two Unopened","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember Budweiser's 1996 Olympics Promos? Vintage Budweiser 1996 USA Olympics Promotional Sewing Kits\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2 1\/4\" x 2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6sTdkrRMP20\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\u003cp\u003e🧵 Two unopened promotional sewing kits from the \u003cstrong\u003e1996 Atlanta Olympic Games\u003c\/strong\u003e, and you receive both, each 2¼ inches by 2 inches. Each little white pillow box is printed in Budweiser red: the \u003cstrong\u003eKnow When 2 Say When™\u003c\/strong\u003e logo up top, an Olympic flame rising out of the Budweiser bowtie, then \u003cstrong\u003eUSA\u003c\/strong\u003e over the Olympic rings and \u003cem\u003eProud Sponsor of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team\u003c\/em\u003e. On the back flap: \u003cem\u003eSwingster, Kansas City, MO, Made in China\u003c\/em\u003e. One is shown opened in the pictures so you can see what's inside: bands of thread in orange, gray, green, black, white and yellow, a needle, a safety pin and two clear buttons, the kind of kit you'd tuck in a suitcase or a glove box.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🔥 The Centennial Games\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Atlanta Games ran from July 19 to August 4, 1996, and they were the \u003cstrong\u003eCentennial Olympics\u003c\/strong\u003e, a hundred years after the first modern Games in Athens in 1896. More than 10,000 athletes from 197 nations came, the torch traveled some 16,699 miles across the United States in the hands of over 12,000 torchbearers, and \u003cstrong\u003eMuhammad Ali\u003c\/strong\u003e lit the flame at the opening ceremony. Atlanta leaned on corporate sponsors like no Games before or since, 111 domestic partners, and Budweiser was right there, which is why a beer company's sewing kit carries the Olympic rings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🍺 \"Know When to Say When\"\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat slogan on the top of the box has a story of its own. \u003cstrong\u003eKnow When to Say When\u003c\/strong\u003e was Anheuser-Busch's responsible-drinking message from 1982, and in 1985 it made Anheuser-Busch the first brewer to put a responsible-drinking message on network television. It was the work of \u003cstrong\u003eMichael Roarty\u003c\/strong\u003e, the company's marketing chief, the same man behind \"This Bud's for you\" and \"Head for the mountains,\" and it was such a part of the brand that it turns up even on a promotional sewing kit. Budweiser itself goes back to 1876 in St. Louis, Missouri, and \"The King of Beers\" has been part of American celebrations ever since. The name on the back flap comes from the other end of the state: Swingster was a Kansas City apparel company, one of the popular bowling-shirt makers back in the day, and in the '90s it was supplying logo goods like these for companies to hand out. It later became part of American Identity, the corporate-merchandise outfit Staples bought in 2007. I like that this little kit is Missouri at both ends, a St. Louis beer on the front and a Kansas City company on the back.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA fun little piece of '96 Olympics and Budweiser memorabilia for a breweriana collection, an Olympics collector, or anybody who remembers that summer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eDiscover More Vintage Collectibles and Memorabilia\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-nfl-coke-coca-cola-keychain-1990s-unopened-package-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1990s NFL Coke Coca-Cola Keychain 🥤 Unopened Package\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/y2k-2000-coke-coca-cola-plane-glider-advertising-toy-kit\"\u003eRetro Y2K 2000 Coke Coca-Cola Plane Glider 🥤 Advertising Toy Kit, Sealed\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-golden-pheasant-beer-label-sebewaing-mi-1960s-birds-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1960s Golden Pheasant Beer Label 🍺 from Michigan Brewery\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43784083800296,"sku":"VAG-7955835125992","price":6.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.5044111700_a3os.jpg?v=1785358565"},{"product_id":"vintage-nfl-coke-coca-cola-keychain-1990s-unopened-package-treasures","title":"Vintage 1990s NFL Coke Coca-Cola Keychain 🥤 Unopened Package","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember Coca-Cola Classic Football Keychains? 🥤 Coca-Cola Classic Football Keychain, Sealed in Its Package\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2 1\/2\" x 2 1\/4\" ~ Unopened.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ogpf-EQRDEQ\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eAn unopened 1990s Coca-Cola football keychain, still sealed in its package. These are all in original dealer packaging. The photos walk you through what opening one looks like. The colors are so bright, and they're made of good, tough rubber! Nobody has opened this package since the day it was made - that'll be you. Coke and football on one keychain, from the years Coca-Cola was a partner of the NFL. It doesn't get much more collectible than that!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe fob is shaped like an upside-down pennant in soft molded rubber. The top is red with the white Coca-Cola script logo and ®, and CLASSIC between two white rules. Down in the black point sits a white football helmet with its face mask, and a little TM at the tip. The back is plain black, and it hangs from a small jump ring on a steel split key ring. It comes sealed in a clear bag, folded up in white tissue paper printed MADE IN CHINA.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏈 Coke and the NFL\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCoca-Cola became a partner of the National Football League in 1983, two years before the word Classic ever went on a can, and stayed through the 1990s. That run ended in the spring of 2002, when Pepsi took the spot away. PepsiCo agreed to spend more than $160 million on five-year deals to become the league's official soft drink, starting April 1, 2002. So 1990s Coca-Cola Classic football keychains like these come out of Coke's NFL years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🧊 Why It Says \"Classic\"\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat one word on the keychain is a famous piece of business history. On April 23, 1985, the Coca-Cola Company changed its formula and launched what everybody called New Coke, and the country revolted. The company hotline, 1-800-GET-COKE, went from about 400 calls a day to over 1,500. On July 11, 1985, just 79 days later, Coca-Cola held a press conference and announced the original formula was coming back. Peter Jennings of ABC News interrupted General Hospital with a special bulletin, Senator David Pryor called it \"a meaningful moment in U.S. history\" on the floor of the Senate, and the hotline got 31,600 calls in two days.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe original came back under the name Coca-Cola Classic, and the new one stayed on as \"Coke\" until it was renamed Coke II in 1990. Bottles and cans kept the word Classic until January 2009, when the company started dropping it. So that little word CLASSIC on this keychain is a leftover from the great New Coke fight.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's a fun little gift for a Coca-Cola collector, a football fan, or anybody who remembers the day they brought back the real thing. The supply is finite. Once these last sealed 1990s Coke football keychains are gone, they'll be very difficult to acquire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-looney-tunes-pin-brings-90s-daffy-duck-magic-life-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1990s Looney Tunes Pin 📌 Daffy Duck, Unopened in Package!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1998-coca-cola-coke-yo-yo-bottle-cap-shape-collectible-new-in-package\"\u003eVintage 1998 Coca‑Cola Bottle Cap Yo‑Yo 🪀 – New in Package Coke Collectible\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/tampa-bay-devil-rays-90s-mlb-keychain-collectible-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1990s Tampa Bay Devil Rays Keychain 🐟 Tag Express MLB Key Tag NOS Sealed\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43784313700584,"sku":"VAG-7955927990504","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4177372435_68xf.jpg?v=1785358573"},{"product_id":"vintage-mlb-st-louis-cardinals-keychain-1997-last-year-logo","title":"Vintage 1997 St. Louis Cardinals Keychain ⚾ Last Year Logo NOS Tag Express Sealed","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember the Old St. Louis Cardinals Logo? ⚾ The Last Year of a Classic Cardinals Logo\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2 1\/2\" x 2 1\/4\" ~ Sealed in the original package.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VFpZUsyx-o4\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA sealed 1997 St. Louis Cardinals rubber keychain, still in its original Tag Express package with the hang hole intact. It carries the logo every Cardinals fan of a certain age grew up with: a cardinal in a ball cap perched on a yellow bat over a baseball, inside the red St. Louis Cardinals circle. That was the team's primary logo from 1966 through 1997. The Cardinals retired it after the '97 season, and the 1998 replacement only lasted one year before the next change, so 1997 was the last season for the old bird. The ball on the keychain even reads ©MLB 1997® to pin it down.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🔥 The Summer Big Mac Came to St. Louis\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1997 was also the year the Cardinals changed everything. On July 31 they traded relief pitcher T.J. Mathews and minor leaguers Eric Ludwick and Blake Stein to Oakland for Mark McGwire, reuniting him with manager Tony La Russa. McGwire hit 58 home runs that year, 24 of them in a Cardinals uniform, including a 504-foot shot at Busch Stadium on September 3. On September 17 he signed a $28.5 million contract to stay. The next season, on September 8, 1998, he hit his 62nd home run off Steve Trachsel of Sosa's Cubs to pass Roger Maris, and he finished the year with 70. So this keychain comes from the season right on the hinge: the old logo's last year and Big Mac's first months in St. Louis.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏷️ Tag Express of Duluth, Georgia\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe header card is Tag Express's \"Sport Key Chains\" line, laser-engraved durable rubber, made in China, and licensed across the major leagues. The same card turns up with Cubs, Braves and Arizona Cardinals keychains, so it was a league-wide line. Tag Express worked out of Duluth, Georgia, a Gwinnett County town that was Howell's Crossing until 1871, when it was renamed after Duluth, Minnesota once the railroad came through. Rico Industries bought Tag Express around 2000 or 2001, a few years after this card was printed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis 1997 last-year-logo Cardinals keychain is a hard one to find, and once these are gone, they're gone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-nfl-houston-tennessee-oilers-keychain-1997-memorabilia-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1997 Tennessee Oilers NFL Helmet Keychain 🏈 NOS Tag Express\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/tampa-bay-devil-rays-90s-mlb-keychain-collectible-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1990s Tampa Bay Devil Rays Keychain 🐟 Tag Express MLB Key Tag NOS Sealed\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1980s-limited-edition-only-5000-ever-1969-art-shamsky-ny-mets\"\u003eVintage 1980s Limited Edition Only 5000 Ever! 1969 Art Shamsky 🃏 NY Mets Postcard\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43784480424168,"sku":"VAG-7955980484840","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4129770500_d8mq.jpg?v=1785358583"},{"product_id":"vintage-nfl-houston-tennessee-oilers-keychain-1997-memorabilia-treasures","title":"Vintage 1997 Tennessee Oilers NFL Helmet Keychain 🏈 NOS Tag Express","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember the Tennessee Oilers? 🏈 The Team Name Tennessee Wanted Gone\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e about 2 1\/2\" x 2 1\/4\" ~ Sealed and unused, new old stock — you'd be the first to open it if you ever clipped it on.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1-DCTuAMi0I\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor exactly two NFL seasons, 1997 and 1998, there was a football team called the \u003cstrong\u003eTennessee Oilers\u003c\/strong\u003e. It lived in Nashville, played its first year of home games clear across the state in Memphis, and spent both seasons hearing its new fans ask for a different name. Then it became the Titans and the name disappeared. This Tennessee Oilers helmet keychain by Tag Express is a piece of those two in-between seasons, new old stock and still sealed in its original package.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat You Are Holding\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA die-cut rubber keychain shaped like a football helmet: a white shell, the blue oil-derrick logo outlined in red, a red facemask, a red, white and blue stripe over the crown, and \u003cstrong\u003eTENNESSEE\u003c\/strong\u003e in blue letters outlined in red across a black base. It measures about \u003cstrong\u003e2 1\/2\" x 2 1\/4\"\u003c\/strong\u003e and hangs from a short metal chain and split ring. The back of the rubber is plain black with a small round holographic sticker.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe helmet is drawn the way the franchise really wore it. The Oilers played in white helmets with the derrick and red facemasks from 1981 through 1998, the same look the Titans pulled back out of the closet as a throwback in 2023.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt rides on its original printed paper header card: \u003cstrong\u003eTAG EXPRESS \/ SPORT KEY CHAINS \/ Laser Engraved • Durable Rubber\u003c\/strong\u003e, a row of licensing seals, and the line \u003cstrong\u003eLicensed Lifestyles by Tag Express • Duluth, GA 30136\u003c\/strong\u003e. The seals run NFL (officially licensed product), a collegiate products seal, NBA, MLS, the University of Notre Dame, NHL, Major League Baseball \"Genuine Merchandise\" and a red Collegiate Licensed Product tag. The back of the card carries a bar code label reading \u003cstrong\u003eTENOILERS\u003c\/strong\u003e and the words \u003cstrong\u003eMade in China\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuluth, Georgia, printed right there on the card, has its own small joke of a history: it started out as Howell's Crossing, and was renamed Duluth in 1871 when a rail line came through, poking fun at a Congressman's famous speech mocking the idea of a railroad all the way to Duluth, Minnesota. Local telling has it that Evan P. Howell — the crossing's namesake — suggested the joke name himself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Card Tells You When It Was Printed For\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLook at the fourth seal on the card. Major League Soccer, the youngest league in that row, played its very first match on April 6, 1996, when the San Jose Clash beat D.C. United 1-0 at Spartan Stadium on an 88th-minute Eric Wynalda goal in front of 31,683 people. Put that seal next to a helmet reading TENNESSEE under an Oilers derrick, and there are only two NFL seasons this keychain can belong to.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🛢️ An Oilman's Logo\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe derrick is older than the team's time in Tennessee by almost four decades. Kenneth Stanley \"Bud\" Adams Jr. was born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, on January 3, 1923, the son of Phillips Petroleum's president, and made his own money in Houston with Ada Oil Company. In 1959 Adams and Dallas oil heir Lamar Hunt got the American Football League off the ground. Its eight founding owners were nicknamed the \"Foolish Club\" for daring to take on the NFL. Adams named his team the Oilers, chose an oil derrick for the helmet, and won the first two AFL championships, in 1960 and 1961, with George Blanda at quarterback and Billy Cannon at halfback.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eLuv Ya Blue: The Legend Houston Kept\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAsk anyone from Houston of a certain age and the story comes out. On November 20, 1978, for a Monday Night Football game against the Miami Dolphins, the Oilers' publicity office under PR director Jack Cherry handed out blue and white pompoms. The Oilers won 35-30 with rookie Earl Campbell in the backfield, more than 50,000 fans waved blue, and \"Luv Ya Blue\" was born.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHouston lost back-to-back AFC Championship games to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the second one 27-13 in January 1980. A season-ending loss usually empties a city. Instead, an estimated 50,000 people were waiting at the Astrodome when the team got home, and coach Bum Phillips gave them the line Houston still quotes: \u003cem\u003e\"One year ago, we knocked on the door. This year, we beat on the door. Next year, we're going to kick the son of a b---- in.\"\u003c\/em\u003e Next year never came. After a 27-7 wild card loss on December 31, 1980, Phillips was fired amid disagreements with Adams.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhy Houston Lost Its Oilers\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdams came to see the Astrodome as outmoded and wanted public financing for a new downtown stadium. Houston would not pay for it. On November 16, 1995, in the middle of that season, Adams announced the franchise was leaving for Tennessee, and fan support in Houston collapsed through a lame-duck 1996.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e1997: A Home Team That Never Played at Home\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe new stadium in Nashville would not be ready until 1999. So the Tennessee Oilers were based in Nashville and played their 1997 home games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, an arrangement that amounted to 32 road games in two years. They opened on August 31, 1997, beating the Oakland Raiders 24-21 in overtime while Eddie George ran for 216 yards on 35 carries.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMemphis stayed home anyway. None of the first seven home games drew even 32,000, two drew fewer than 18,000, and the eight games there averaged 28,028. The finale against Pittsburgh finally packed the Liberty Bowl with 50,677, and by one estimate at least three-fourths of them were Steelers fans in black and gold. Bruce Matthews, the Hall of Fame lineman who had made the move with the team from Houston, told The Tennessean about that \"home\" game, \"We had to overcome the crowd.\" And here is the part that gets me: the Oilers won six of their eight games at the Liberty Bowl and only two of eight on the road. Memphis missed most of the good football. The team finished 8-8, with a 27-14 Thanksgiving Day win over the Dallas Cowboys along the way, and the embarrassment ended any plan to stay in Memphis.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e1998: Nashville, and a State Asking for a New Name\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe NFL granted a special exemption for one season at Vanderbilt Stadium, capacity 41,000. The team went 8-8 again, and this time the Memphis year flipped on its head: 3-5 at Vanderbilt and 5-3 on the road. The football was fine. The name was the problem. The grumbling went back to 1997, when Nashville city council member Ronnie Steine filed a resolution trying to force Adams to change it. \"All I want to do is send a message to Mr. Adams to make him aware of how strongly we feel about changing the name,\" he told The Tennessean. A Kingsport Times-News editorial put it plainly: \"Tennessee got slickered by Houston Oilers owner.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eNovember 14, 1998: The Oilers Become the Titans\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdams gave in. The franchise kept its 39-year history, including the team records and the rights to the Oilers name, and took on a new identity. Adams said the clincher was NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue agreeing to retire the Oilers name and let the franchise keep that 39-year history. A naming contest had floated Tornadoes, Copperheads, South Stars and Wranglers. On November 14, 1998, Adams announced the Titans, a nod to Nashville's old nickname, \"the Athens of the South.\" The day after, fan Gary Puckett said plainly what a lot of Tennesseans were thinking: \"I wasn't going to support the Tennessee team until it got a new name.\" New logos and colors debuted on December 22, 1998, and the Tennessee Oilers were finished.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Legacy: The Tackle, and the Derrick's Return\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first Titans season became its own legend. In the wild card round against Buffalo, tight end Frank Wycheck lateraled a kickoff to Kevin Dyson, who ran it back 75 yards for the winning touchdown with 16 seconds left: the Music City Miracle. In Super Bowl XXXIV, Dyson was tackled one yard short of the end zone as time expired, and the St. Louis Rams won 23-16. Houston eventually got the expansion Texans, who became division rivals of the team that left. Steve McNair's No. 9 and Eddie George's No. 27 were retired on September 15, 2019.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd the derrick came back. The Titans wore Oilers throwbacks, derrick helmets and all, with \"Luv Ya Blue\" at the neckline, against Atlanta on October 29, 2023 and Houston on December 17, 2023, and again against the Texans on January 5, 2025. The Tennessee Oilers themselves never got a throwback of their own. They survive in things like this keychain, made for a name that lasted 32 games.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor fans who remember Steve McNair, Eddie George and the move from Houston to Tennessee, this little keychain carries a team name most people have forgotten. Free shipping in the USA 🚚\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-mlb-st-louis-cardinals-keychain-1997-last-year-logo\"\u003eVintage 1997 St. Louis Cardinals Keychain ⚾ Last Year Logo NOS Tag Express Sealed\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/tampa-bay-devil-rays-90s-mlb-keychain-collectible-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1990s Tampa Bay Devil Rays Keychain 🐟 Tag Express MLB Key Tag NOS Sealed\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-cleveland-browns-its-football-season\"\u003eVintage 1999 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Cleveland Browns on 1997 Card 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43784831566056,"sku":"VAG-7955989168360","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4129825828_1zpy.jpg?v=1785358592"},{"product_id":"vintage-1990s-old-school-tampa-bay-devil-rays-license-plate-mlb","title":"Vintage 1995 Tampa Bay Devil Rays License Plate 🐟 MLB Genuine Merchandise Tag Express Duluth GA NOS","description":"\u003ch2\u003eHow Did Tampa Bay Win a Team in Court? 🐟 A Vintage 1995 Tampa Bay Devil Rays License Plate, MLB Genuine Merchandise, Tag Express, Duluth, Georgia\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12\" x 6\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/k5x5SFY-kq8\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eIf you were anywhere near St. Petersburg or Tampa in the mid-1990s, you remember the day the Bay finally got a big-league team. This is a novelty license plate from that moment: TAMPA BAY across the top, DEVIL RAYS in huge black block letters outlined in yellow on a bright blue ground, and the team's original logo - a black manta ray with TAMPA BAY on a yellow-green oval and Devil Rays in script. Down in the corners are the MLB GENUINE MERCHANDISE seal, a stock number 6606, the copyright © MLB 1995, and the maker, TAG EXPRESS, DULUTH, GA 30136. The back is plain white, with four mounting slots. Every one I have is unused, never bolted to a bumper.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e⚖️ A team won in court\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTampa Bay waited a long time. Vince Naimoli had been chasing a team for years, and in 1992 he tried to buy the San Francisco Giants and move them to St. Petersburg; when the owners blocked it, he sued the league. On March 9, 1995, at the owners' meeting in West Palm Beach, baseball voted 28-0 to add two expansion teams at once - Tampa Bay and the Arizona Diamondbacks. That's the © MLB 1995 on this plate: the name, colors and manta ray were ready to license three full years before the team played a game, and caps and jerseys with the new logo were in stores by November 1995.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🐟 Sting Rays to Devil Rays\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere's a bit of trivia even a lot of fans never heard: Naimoli wanted to call them the Tampa Bay Sting Rays, but the Maui Stingrays of Hawaii Winter Baseball already had the name, and the team took the field as the Devil Rays instead - the manta ray on this plate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🏟️ Ten hard years\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChuck LaMar, from the Atlanta Braves front office, was the first general manager, and Larry Rothschild was named the first manager on November 7, 1997, just before the expansion draft. The Devil Rays opened in 1998 and finished last in the AL East every season but one - in 2004 they were next to last. Fans loved that manta ray anyway.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🌅 Dropping the Devil\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStuart Sternberg bought control from Naimoli, and after the 2007 season the team became just the Rays, with a sunburst instead of a manta ray. The very next year, 2008, the Rays had their first winning season, won the American League pennant and went to the World Series, and they went back in 2020. So the logo on this plate belongs to one decade only - the Devil Rays years, retired the moment the club started winning.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🏭 Tag Express of Duluth\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe maker's stamp is right on the face: Tag Express, Duluth, Georgia, in Gwinnett County northeast of Atlanta. The same Tag Express name turns up on other 1990s novelty plates, like an Auburn Tigers fan plate, so they made plates for college and pro teams alike, the kind that hung on gas-station spinner racks and in souvenir shops across the Southeast.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e⚾ About these\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey're the standard 12 by 6 inches. Put one on the front of the truck, hang it in the garage or a man cave, or give it to the Rays fan who still says Devil Rays. The supply is finite - nobody's making Devil Rays plates with the 1995 logo anymore, and once these last unused ones are gone, they'll be very difficult to acquire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/1998-mlb-folding-fan-tampa-bay-devil-rays-its-baseball-season-old\"\u003eVintage 1998-2000 Tampa Bay Devil Rays MLB Folding Hand Fan ⚾ Play By Play Genuine Merchandise Souvenir Novelty\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/tampa-bay-devil-rays-90s-mlb-keychain-collectible-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1990s Tampa Bay Devil Rays Keychain 🐟 Tag Express MLB Key Tag NOS Sealed\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1991-genuine-mlb-florida-marlins-keychain-2-years-before-first-game\"\u003eVintage 1991 Genuine MLB Florida Marlins Keychain ⚾ 2 Years Before First Game!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43876190290152,"sku":"VAG-7983016247528","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4193550812_dqn4.jpg?v=1785358639"},{"product_id":"vintage-1991-genuine-mlb-florida-marlins-keychain-2-years-before-first-game","title":"Vintage 1991 Genuine MLB Florida Marlins Keychain ⚾ 2 Years Before First Game!","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember the Florida Marlins Before They Played? ⚾ 1991 Florida Marlins Keychain, from Before They Ever Played a Game\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2\" ~ A little dusty from storage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rYWhAmo8oL4\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eThese are really neat. They turned up packed away in a warehouse closet in Florida - a little dusty from sitting, but a great piece of Major League Baseball history! Each one is a round white disc on a split ring, printed on both sides with the original Florida Marlins logo: a black and teal marlin leaping through a silver ring with FLORIDA MARLINS in teal letters, over a baseball with red stitching.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏷️ What's Printed on It\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFLORIDA MARLINS, with a tiny © 1991 and TM line under the marlin's tail\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHang tag: the MLB batter logo inside GENUINE MERCHANDISE, and TOPPERSCOT INC.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePrice tag: TOPS KEYCHAIN $2.47, with a bar code\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe one in my pictures still wears its Topperscot hang tag and its store price tag.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🐟 Two Years Before the First Pitch\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe National League awarded Wayne Huizenga a Miami franchise on June 10, 1991, for a $95 million expansion fee, the same year it added the Colorado Rockies. The logo on this keychain was unveiled on July 18, 1991. Huizenga and his nephew Ray, a fishing-boat captain, told Anne Occi what they wanted, and she had Boston designer Jamie Styles at the firm Midnight Oil draw it up. Teal and orange were the first colors, and black and silver got added on Occi's advice. The Marlins name had been part of South Florida baseball twice before with minor league clubs, and one name they kicked around early on was the Florida Flamingos!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen everybody had to wait. The Marlins didn't win their first game until April 5, 1993, beating the Dodgers with Charlie Hough starting and Jeff Conine going 4-for-4. The copyright on this keychain says 1991, two years before the team ever took the field. Four years after that first game, the underdog Marlins beat Cleveland in seven games to win the 1997 World Series on Édgar Rentería's hit in the 11th inning of Game 7, and in 2003 they did it again against the heavily favored Yankees, with Josh Beckett throwing a five-hit shutout in Game 6.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🧢 The Batter on the Tag\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat little batter on the hang tag is Major League Baseball's own logo. Jerry Dior drew it in 1968 for the 1869 to 1969 Professional Baseball Centennial, and contrary to popular belief it isn't Harmon Killebrew or any one player. It was drawn from photographs of several players, on purpose, so it could be a righty or a lefty.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏡 Display\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter they are gone they are gone. It's a great little piece for any Marlins fan, whether it goes on your keys, on a hook with the rest of your ballpark stuff, or in a shadow box next to a 1997 or 2003 World Series ticket. The supply is finite - once these last 1991 Marlins keychains are gone, they'll be very difficult to acquire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/tampa-bay-devil-rays-90s-mlb-keychain-collectible-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1990s Tampa Bay Devil Rays Keychain 🐟 Tag Express MLB Key Tag NOS Sealed\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/1998-mlb-folding-fan-tampa-bay-devil-rays-its-baseball-season-old\"\u003eVintage 1998-2000 Tampa Bay Devil Rays MLB Folding Hand Fan ⚾ Play By Play Genuine Merchandise Souvenir Novelty\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1990s-old-school-tampa-bay-devil-rays-license-plate-mlb\"\u003eVintage 1995 Tampa Bay Devil Rays License Plate 🐟 MLB Genuine Merchandise Tag Express Duluth GA NOS\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44060593258728,"sku":"VAG-8043040669928","price":9.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4380195613_anwo.jpg?v=1785358909"},{"product_id":"vintage-1994-coca-cola-big-tv-super-bowl-xxviii-door-hanger-sportsouth","title":"Vintage 1994 Coca‑Cola Super Bowl Door Hanger 🏈 Advertising Promo – NOS","description":"\u003ch2\u003eWho Hung a Coca-Cola on Your Doorknob for the Super Bowl? 🏈 1994 Coca-Cola Big TV Door Hanger, NOS\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 10 1\/2\" x 3\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 0 0 16px 0;\"\u003e\u003ciframe style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: 0;\" title=\"Vintage 1994 Coca-Cola Super Bowl Door Hanger\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NcDHk1Rfj2g\"\u003e\n \u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn January 1994 the Super Bowl came to Atlanta, the city where Coca-Cola was born, and Coke made sure you heard about it before you even got out the front door. This is one of the door hangers they printed to put Coca-Cola Big TV on people's doorknobs: a sunburst die-cut hole at the top, a big \"WATCH\" across the black panel, and the whole weekend's schedule printed right there in yellow. These are new old stock. They never made it onto a doorknob at all.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e📺 What Was Coca-Cola Big TV?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFour days of Super Bowl programming that Coca-Cola put on itself, hosted by Pat O'Brien and Terry Bradshaw. Coke's own magazine ads that winter promised \"four days of gut-wrenching, heart-pounding Super Bowl excitement. And that's before the game starts!\" and said the Super Bowl was \"just too big to fit on one channel.\" The idea was to take you behind the scenes at Super Bowl XXVIII, with parties, interviews, comedy, music and celebrities, and it ran Thursday, January 27 through Sunday, January 30 on the NFL Super Bowl Channel, in association with Sports Illustrated TV, with Comedy Central and E! along for the ride.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe back of the hanger sells it the same way: \"Meet the players and coaches... Go to the parties... Be at the press conferences... Meet all the celebrities.\" The front calls it your \"backstage pass,\" and that fits. Pat O'Brien hosted Coca-Cola's live \"Backstage at the Super Bowl\" specials, and he and Terry Bradshaw had been working side by side on CBS's The NFL Today since 1990.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e📡 \"Catch the Excitement on SportSouth\"\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis hanger is the local version, and it gives you the times: Thursday 9 to 10 PM, Friday 9 to 11, Saturday 9:30 to 11:30, and Sunday, game day, 1:30 to 3:30 in the afternoon, right up until it was time to flip over for the kickoff. SportSouth was Atlanta's own regional sports channel, launched by Turner Broadcasting with TCI and Scripps-Howard on August 29, 1990. It was the home of the Braves and the Hawks (and the Charlotte Hornets), and it carried WCW wrestling too. Fox bought it in 1996 and it became Fox Sports South the next spring, so that SportSouth logo belongs to a pretty short window.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏟️ Super Bowl XXVIII, in Coke's Hometown\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe game was played January 30, 1994, at the Georgia Dome, the first Super Bowl ever held in Georgia. It was also the first time the same two teams met in back-to-back Super Bowls, and the Dallas Cowboys beat the Buffalo Bills again, 30 to 13, with Emmitt Smith named MVP. NBC had the broadcast and 72,817 people were in the building. For Coca-Cola it was a home game. The very first Coca-Cola was poured at Jacobs' Pharmacy in Atlanta on May 8, 1886, Asa Candler founded The Coca-Cola Company there in 1892, and Coke went all in for the big week, right down to commemorative Super Bowl XXVIII bottles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🥤 Always Coca-Cola\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDown at the bottom of both sides is the red \"ALWAYS Coca-Cola\" disc with the bottle, and that slogan was brand new. \"Always Coca-Cola\" launched in February 1993 with a run of commercials out of Creative Artists Agency. It's the same campaign that gave us the polar bears, who made their debut in \"Northern Lights\" during the 1993 NBA Finals. When this hanger was printed, \"Always\" wasn't even a year old.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e®️ The Fine Print\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe foot line reads \"©1994 The Coca-Cola Company. 'Coca-Cola,' the Dynamic Ribbon device and the Contour Bottle design are registered trademarks of The Coca-Cola Company.\" Both of those have a story. The Dynamic Ribbon, the white wave Coke runs under its script, was introduced on October 14, 1969, designed by Rei Yoshimura for Lippincott \u0026amp; Margulies. The Contour Bottle goes back to the Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana, which patented it on November 16, 1915, and Coca-Cola got the shape itself registered as a trademark in 1960. That's the bottle standing right in the middle of the Big TV logo.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🔍 Condition\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNew old stock: never hung, never bent around a doorknob, with the die-cut hole and its eight little slits all still intact. Black panel, crisp yellow schedule, bright red logo, little to no wear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e⭐ Will You Find Another One?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI haven't found another one of these door hangers for sale anywhere. The Big TV magazine ads turn up, and so do the caps, but a door hanger with one weekend's TV schedule on it was made to be hung up and thrown out by Monday, and that's what happened to them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🏈 About these\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe supply is finite - nobody's hanging a 1994 Big TV Coke door hanger again, and once these last unused ones are gone, they'll be very difficult to acquire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1990s-coca-cola-your-thirst-takes-wings-promo-card\"\u003eVintage 1990s Coca-Cola \"Your Thirst Takes Wings\" Promo Card 🥤 Commemorative\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/90s-coca-cola-limited-edition-soda-card-unlocks-nostalgia-vintage\"\u003eVintage 1999 Coca-Cola Coke Card 💳 Regional Promo Discount Card with Accordion Fold-Out | Factory Boxed NOS\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-nfl-coke-coca-cola-keychain-1990s-unopened-package-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1990s NFL Coke Coca-Cola Keychain 🥤 Unopened Package\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44498522145000,"sku":"VAG-8219411677416","price":6.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4950316247_sv8t.jpg?v=1785439363"},{"product_id":"vintage-1980s-limited-edition-only-5000-ever-1969-art-shamsky-ny-mets","title":"Vintage 1980s Limited Edition Only 5000 Ever! 1969 Art Shamsky 🃏 NY Mets Postcard","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember Art Shamsky of the 1969 Mets? ⚾ Art Shamsky of the 1969 Miracle Mets, Painted by Susan Rini\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 5 1\/2\" x 3 1\/2\" ~ Slight corner softening and edge wear only.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yryCk0Ib4E8\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eHere's a commemorative 1969 Art Shamsky New York Mets postcard with art by Susan Rini - a limited edition, only 5000 ever made! Any Mets fan who still remembers the 1969 World Series is going to want this one. 😃\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the front, a big painted portrait of Shamsky in his blue Mets cap sits beside a full-length figure of him in the pinstripes, bat held across his body, with Shea's outfield behind him and the round Mets skyline logo on a royal blue panel. The artist's signature, S. Rini, is painted right into the corner.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏷️ Every Word on the Card\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNEW YORK METS, ART SHAMSKY, and the Mets skyline logo on the front, signed S. Rini\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1969 NEW YORK METS, ★ ART SHAMSKY ★, From original artwork by Susan Rini\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLIMITED ISSUE 5,000 SETS\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSERIES No. 1, CARD No. 27\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOFFICIAL LICENSEE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL, with the batter logo\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePUBLISHED BY HISTORIC LIMITED EDITIONS, WILLISTON PARK, NY\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePLACE STAMP HERE, inside a crossed-bats stamp box\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe back is unused, never written on or mailed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🎨 Susan Rini's Miracle Mets\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHistoric Limited Editions of Williston Park, out on Long Island, commissioned sports artist Susan Rini to paint the 1969 Mets, and the postcards came out as a 36-card set in the late 1980s, with Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver in there along with the rest of the championship club. The run is printed right on the back of every card: 5,000 sets. Shamsky is Card No. 27 of Series No. 1. Historic Limited Editions was John Zaso's outfit - that little Z shield at the foot of the back is its mark - and it also made silk-cacheted covers for big baseball moments through the 1980s and '90s. Beautiful artwork - it's going to be a classic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🧢 Art Shamsky\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArthur Louis Shamsky - \"Sham\" or \"Smasher\" to his teammates - was a big part of the Miracle Mets: he hit .300 with 14 home runs, second on the team in both, sharing right field, and then hit .538 from the cleanup spot in the National League Championship Series. That championship doesn't happen without his hot bat down the stretch - grab this one while you can! 💪\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe was born October 14, 1941 in St. Louis to William and Sadie Shamsky - his father's family came from Ukraine and his mother's from Poland, and his dad ran a scrap-iron business - and he came up with the Cincinnati Reds in 1965, where in August 1966 he tied a major league record by homering in four consecutive at bats. He's still the only player in big league history to hit three home runs in a game he didn't start. He played for the Mets from 1968 to 1971, then the Cubs and the A's in 1972. In 1969 he famously sat out a High Holy Day. He tells it as Yom Kippur, but the day was Friday, September 12, the start of Rosh Hashanah, with the Mets in Pittsburgh. Gil Hodges told him, \"You do what you think is best, and I'll cover for you,\" and as he put it, the funny thing was the Mets won both ends of a doubleheader that day - 1-0 and 1-0. After baseball he broadcast Mets games, wrote The Magnificent Seasons about the 1969 and 1970 championships of the Jets, Mets and Knicks, managed the Modi'in Miracle in the Israel Baseball League in 2007, and went into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏆 The Amazin' Mets\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Mets had never finished higher than ninth in a ten-team league in their first seven seasons and had never had a winning record. Then in 1969, under Gil Hodges, they went 100 and 62, came back from ten games behind the Cubs on August 14 to win the new National League East by eight, swept the Braves in the first NLCS, and beat the Baltimore Orioles in five games to become the first expansion team to win the World Series. No wonder they're still the Miracle Mets.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🖼️ Display\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's a perfect little piece to frame for a Mets fan's desk or game room, or tuck into a collection of 1969 Mets memorabilia. The supply is finite - there were only 5000 of these to begin with, and once these last ones are gone, they'll be very difficult to acquire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1980s-limited-edition-1969-ny-mets-complete-postcard-set-only-5000\"\u003eVintage 1980s Limited Edition 1969 NY Mets Complete Postcard Set 🃏 Only 5000 Ever!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1980s-limited-edition-only-5000-ever-1969-tommie-agee-ny-mets\"\u003eVintage 1980s Tommie Agee NY Mets Postcard ⚾ 1969 World Series\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-susan-rini-1969-miracle-mets-uncut-postcard-sheet-seaver-ryan\"\u003eVintage Susan Rini World Champion 1969 Miracle Mets Uncut Postcard Sheet ⚾ Tom Seaver Nolan Ryan, Historic Limited Editions MLB Licensed Art\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44537217450216,"sku":"VAG-8236896223464","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.5005142509_ppnf.jpg?v=1785439577"},{"product_id":"vintage-1980s-limited-edition-only-5000-ever-1969-tommie-agee-ny-mets","title":"Vintage 1980s Tommie Agee NY Mets Postcard ⚾ 1969 World Series","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember Tommie Agee's 1969 World Series? ⚾ Vintage 1980s NY Mets Postcard\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 5 1\/2\" x 3 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uRguSaLmn4s\" height=\"315\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e⚾ \u003cstrong\u003eVintage 1980s Tommie Agee New York Mets illustrated postcard\u003c\/strong\u003e, unused, from the \u003cstrong\u003e1969 Miracle Mets\u003c\/strong\u003e set painted by sports artist \u003cstrong\u003eSusan Rini\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e🎨 On the front, a big smiling portrait of Agee in his blue NY cap, and behind him Agee again at the plate in the home pinstripes, number 20, bat cocked, with the stands full behind him. It's signed \u003cem\u003eS. Rini\u003c\/em\u003e in the corner, with \u003cstrong\u003eNEW YORK METS\u003c\/strong\u003e, the Mets skyline logo and \u003cstrong\u003eTOMMIE AGEE\u003c\/strong\u003e down the blue side panel. The back reads \u003cem\u003e1969 New York Mets, ★ Tommie Agee ★, From original artwork by Susan Rini\u003c\/em\u003e, with the Major League Baseball official licensee logo, \u003cem\u003ePublished by Historic Limited Editions, Box 400, Williston Park, NY 11596\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eLimited Issue 5,000 Sets\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eSeries No. 1, Card No. 3\u003c\/em\u003e, and a crossed-bats \u003cem\u003ePlace Stamp Here\u003c\/em\u003e box.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏟️ Tommie Agee and the Miracle Mets\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTommie Agee\u003c\/strong\u003e was born August 9, 1942 in Magnolia, Alabama, and went to Mobile County Training School with his future Mets teammate \u003cstrong\u003eCleon Jones\u003c\/strong\u003e. With the White Sox in 1966 he became the first rookie in big-league history with more than 20 home runs and 40 stolen bases, and won the American League Rookie of the Year and a Gold Glove. After the 1967 season the Mets traded for him, and on April 10, 1969 he hit a ball halfway up into section 48 of the left field upper deck at Shea Stadium, a shot nobody ever matched.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen came Game 3 of the 1969 World Series against Baltimore. Agee led off with a home run off Jim Palmer, then made two of the greatest catches in Series history, a backhanded grab in left-center and a headfirst dive in right-center, that saved as many as five runs. The Mets won the Series four games to one. Agee won a second Gold Glove in 1970, making him the first African-American to win one in both leagues. After baseball he ran the Outfielder's Lounge near Shea and did charity work and baseball clinics in New York and Mobile, until he died in New York on January 22, 2001, at 58.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🖌️ The Susan Rini sets\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSports artist Susan Rini was commissioned by Historic Limited Editions to paint the artwork for a run of limited postcard sets in the late 1980s and early 1990s, each one printed in a fixed number that's stated right on the back. The 1969 Miracle Mets set has 36 cards, and this is card No. 3 of Series No. 1, out of 5,000 sets.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA great one for a Mets fan, a 1969 collector, or anybody who remembers those catches.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1980s-limited-edition-1969-ny-mets-complete-postcard-set-only-5000\"\u003eVintage 1980s Limited Edition 1969 NY Mets Complete Postcard Set 🃏 Only 5000 Ever!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1980s-limited-edition-only-5000-ever-1969-art-shamsky-ny-mets\"\u003eVintage 1980s Limited Edition Only 5000 Ever! 1969 Art Shamsky 🃏 NY Mets Postcard\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-susan-rini-1969-miracle-mets-uncut-postcard-sheet-seaver-ryan\"\u003eVintage Susan Rini World Champion 1969 Miracle Mets Uncut Postcard Sheet ⚾ Tom Seaver Nolan Ryan, Historic Limited Editions MLB Licensed Art\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44539088142568,"sku":"VAG-8237615120616","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4959367056_np0f.jpg?v=1785439587"},{"product_id":"rare-2001-winston-cup-ballot-nascar-collectible-treasures-gifts","title":"Retro 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Ballot 🏁 Year Tragic Loss Dale Earnhardt RIP!","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup? 🏁 NASCAR Winston Cup 2001 Championship Official Ballot, Brought to You by Circle K\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 7 3\/4\" x 4\" ~ Folded, unused.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/h3b6y9ryBYc\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eBring back the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series - a season nobody who watched it will forget. Dodge came back to the sport after sixteen years away, and Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon took his fourth championship in seven seasons. This 2001 Winston Cup ballot is a way to hang on to that season for good! 🏁\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe front shows stock cars running three wide on a banked track in front of a packed grandstand, with a big yellow oval shouting WIN THE ULTIMATE DAYTONA 500 HOUSE PARTY, the checkered-flag 2001 CHAMPIONSHIP logo, and the Circle K flag as the OFFICIAL PIT STOP OF NASCAR. Unfold it and you get the whole thing: the voting page, the sweepstakes entry form, a pewter trophy crown offer and even a Circle K coupon for 25 cents off a Coca-Cola, good through the end of 2001.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🗳️ What's Inside\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOFFICIAL BALLOT, MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT, NASCAR Winston Cup Series\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA DRIVERS list of 44 drivers by car number, from (01) Jason Leffler to (99) Jeff Burton\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFour questions: WHICH DRIVER WILL WIN THE 2001 NASCAR WINSTON CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP? WHICH DRIVER HAS THE BEST PAINT SCHEME? WHO IS THE MOST IMPROVED DRIVER? WHO IS THE MOST THRILLING DRIVER?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGRAND PRIZE: the Ultimate Daytona 500 House Party for you and 50 of your friends, hosted by Bobby Allison, to watch the 2002 Daytona 500 on a new big screen TV with food by Outback Steakhouse\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEXCLUSIVE OFFER: a limited edition pewter NASCAR Trophy Crown, replicated from a 1960s NASCAR trophy won by Richard Petty at Martinsville in April 1960 and Joe Weatherly at Martinsville in September 1961\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Circle K and Coca-Cola manufacturer's coupon, SAVE 25¢, Expires 12\/31\/2001\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBallots postmarked by October 16, 2001; sweepstakes ends 10\/15\/01; MOISTEN GLUE SPOTS BEFORE MAILING\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e©2001 BigBallot, Inc.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🖤 Look for Number 3\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere's the part that gets me every time. Run your finger down that driver list: (1) Steve Park, (2) Rusty Wallace, then straight to (4) Kevin Lepage. There is no number 3. It brings back that terrible Daytona 500, when a last-lap crash took seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt - The Intimidator, The Man in Black, Ironhead.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEarnhardt died on February 18, 2001, in turn 4 of the final lap of the Daytona 500, after contact with Sterling Marlin and Ken Schrader. Michael Waltrip won the race, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second. Richard Childress Racing retired the famous number 3 out of respect and renumbered the car 29, the first number available without a 3 in it, and put a young Kevin Harvick in it. Look again at the list and there he is, (29) Kevin Harvick, who went on to be the 2001 Rookie of the Year. There's (8) Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who came back to win at Daytona in July, and (15) Michael Waltrip too. From the very next race on, fans honored Earnhardt on lap 3 by standing in silence and holding up three fingers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHis death changed the sport. NASCAR mandated the HANS head-and-neck restraint on October 17, 2001, right around the time these ballots were due, and began installing SAFER barriers at the tracks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e📺 The 2001 Season\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2001 was also the first year of NASCAR's unified television contract, with Fox, NBC and Turner's TNT carrying the season's races, which is why NBC NASCAR and NASCAR TNT are right there on the ballot. It was also the first year of one TV contract for the whole series, so fans could finally see every race. 💥 And the answer to the ballot's first question turned out to be (24) Jeff Gordon, champion for the fourth time in seven years. That season is in the history books for good - here's a piece of it. 🗳\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🖼️ Display\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt looks great open in a frame showing the driver list, or folded with the Daytona 500 front showing, and it's a perfect gift for any Earnhardt fan. The supply is finite - nobody's printing 2001 Winston Cup ballots again, and once these last ones are gone, they'll be very difficult to acquire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1990s-kelloggs-corn-flakes-racing-team-41-pin-nascar-pinback-nos\"\u003eVintage 1990s Kellogg's Corn Flakes Racing Team #41 Pin 🏁 NOS NASCAR Promo\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/2005-nascar-craftsman-truck-series-team-toyota-tundra-lenticular-card\"\u003e2005 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Team Toyota Tundra 🃏 3D Lenticular Card!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/sun-drop-bottle-cap-sponsored-dale-earnhardt-rip-treasures\"\u003eRetro 2000s Sun Drop Bottle Cap 🍋 NOS West Jefferson NC Twist-Off Crown Soda Advertising, Dale Earnhardt NASCAR Era\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44542668767464,"sku":"VAG-8239265415400","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4967373668_osjo.jpg?v=1785439612"},{"product_id":"mlb-boston-red-sox-dunkin-poster-combat-tested-lowell-ramirez","title":"Retro MLB Boston Red Sox Dunkin Poster ⚾ Combat Tested, Lowell Ramirez Wakefield, SportsPropaganda Art by Chris Speakman","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember the 2008 Red Sox? ⚾ \"Combat Tested\": Lowell, Ramirez and Wakefield, Boston Red Sox 2008\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 20\" x 16\" ~ Little to no edge wear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lRSRhJUJ3MM\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eAn official 2008 Boston Red Sox and Dunkin Donuts Major League Baseball poster - and it's a beauty! Of course, I am biased. Full disclosure: up here in New England, Dunkin' and the Red Sox go together like peanut butter and jelly. ⚾\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMike Lowell, Manny Ramirez and Tim Wakefield walk shoulder to shoulder in their home whites under a torn banner reading COMBAT TESTED, drawn in a bold red, gray and cream style that looks straight off a World War II recruiting poster. Below them the VETERANS roundel carries the hanging-socks logo inside a laurel wreath, with JOIN THE RANKS underneath and CAMARADERIE, DISCIPLINE and RESOLVE across the bottom. I doubt another box of these ever turns up for me. I roll it carefully and ship it in a sturdy tube so it gets to you safe.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏷️ Every Word on the Poster\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLOWELL, RAMIREZ, WAKEFIELD\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCOMBAT TESTED\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVETERANS, JOIN THE RANKS\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCAMARADERIE, DISCIPLINE, RESOLVE\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe DD logo, © 2008 DD IP Holder LLC\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eARTWORK BY CHRIS SPEAKMAN, WWW.SPORTSPROPAGANDA.COM\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBD\u0026amp;A \/ MLBP 2008, ©MLBPA 2008 Official Licensee, Major League Baseball Players Association, WWW.MLBPLAYERS.COM\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe GENUINE MERCHANDISE roundel, the MLB Players Choice logo and an MLB hologram sticker\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe back is plain white. Every poster carries its own MLB hologram with its own number.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🎨 Chris Speakman's Sports Propaganda\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe art is by Chris Speakman, who's known for his limited-edition pieces - and what a style! Chris lives in Somerville, Massachusetts, studied illustration at the University of Hartford, and built his Sports Propaganda prints on the look of 1940s propaganda art, which is exactly what you're seeing here. You've seen his work in The Boston Globe, on ESPN.com and on CBS-Boston. He drew the program cover for the 2011 MLB All-Star Game, too, and he's done national ad work for Dunkin Donuts and Topps Trading Cards. This one was part of a set of four Red Sox posters he drew for Dunkin' in New England: Papelbon's \"Steadfast Strong,\" this \"Combat Tested\" trio, Lester, Beckett and Matsuzaka as \"The Guns of October,\" and Youkilis with Pedroia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🧢 The Veterans\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMike Lowell\u003c\/strong\u003e came over from the Marlins in a deal completed November 21, 2005, and in 2007 he was the World Series MVP, hitting .400 in the four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies. Back in 1999 he had beaten testicular cancer, going from surgery in February to back in the lineup by late May. He retired after the 2010 season.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eManny Ramirez\u003c\/strong\u003e signed with Boston in December 2000 on an eight-year, $160 million deal, and he was the 2004 World Series MVP, batting .412 as the Red Sox swept St. Louis and ended the Curse of the Bambino. \"Manny being Manny\" became part of the language. On May 31, 2008, wearing a Red Sox uniform, he hit his 500th home run, and just two months later, on July 31, 2008, he was traded to the Dodgers in a three-team deal that brought Jason Bay to Boston. So this poster caught Manny in his very last season in Boston.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTim Wakefield\u003c\/strong\u003e signed with the Red Sox in 1995, just six days after Pittsburgh released him, and rode his knuckleball to 186 wins in a Boston uniform, third in franchise history behind only Cy Young and Roger Clemens. He was part of both the 2004 and 2007 championships, won the Roberto Clemente Award in 2010 for giving back to the community, and retired on February 17, 2012. Red Sox Nation lost him on October 1, 2023, at just 57.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBetween the three of them, five Red Sox World Series rings from 2004 and 2007. Combat tested is right.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🖼️ Display\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFramed, this looks fantastic in a game room, a man cave or a kid's bedroom, and it's the perfect gift for any Red Sox fan, especially one who still misses Wake. The supply is finite - once these last 2008 Red Sox Dunkin posters are gone, they'll be very difficult to acquire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/2008-red-sox-dunkin-poster-together-we-triumph-pedroia-youkilis\"\u003e2008 MLB Boston Red Sox ⚾ Dunkin' Poster, Together We Triumph, Pedroia, Youkilis!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/2008-red-sox-dunkin-poster-steadfast-and-strong-jonathan-papelbon\"\u003e2008 MLB Boston Red Sox ⚾ Dunkin' Poster, Steadfast and Strong, Jonathan Papelbon!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1986-wade-boggs-boston-red-sox-schedule-ticket-order-form-bank\"\u003eVintage 1986 Wade Boggs Boston Red Sox Schedule Ticket ⚾ Order Form Bank of Boston\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44550210060520,"sku":"VAG-8241964318952","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4977913900_jfu0.jpg?v=1785439629"},{"product_id":"2008-red-sox-dunkin-poster-steadfast-and-strong-jonathan-papelbon","title":"2008 MLB Boston Red Sox ⚾ Dunkin' Poster, Steadfast and Strong, Jonathan Papelbon!","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember Papelbon's Red Sox? ⚾ 2008 MLB Boston Red Sox Dunkin' Poster, Steadfast and Strong\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 20\" x 16\" ~ Little to no wear, and it ships professionally in a tube.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/52SyyaFxcfs\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏆 Steadfast and Strong\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a 2008 promotional poster of Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, part of a \"Join the Ranks\" series that Dunkin' Donuts ran with Major League Baseball that year - officially licensed by MLB and the players' union, with a numbered hologram sticker on the front to prove it. Papelbon stands in his Red Sox whites against a sunburst of blue and lilac, \"STEADFAST AND STRONG\" stenciled across the top in the same wartime-recruitment-poster style the whole series borrows from.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🎨 The Artist\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe art is by Chris Speakman, a Somerville, Massachusetts illustrator who ran his own line of licensed sports art under the name Sports Propaganda. He's described his own baseball work as \"reminiscent of pop and poster art from wartime, World War Two\" - which is exactly why this series is called \"Join the Ranks,\" with sibling designs titled \"Combat Tested\" and \"Guns of October.\" His work has run in The Boston Globe, on ESPN.com and CBS Boston, and he designed the program cover for the 2011 MLB All-Star Game. Dunkin' hired him for this poster promotion in 2008; Topps brought him on the following year as a featured artist for its 2009 baseball and UFC card sets.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e⚾ Jonathan Papelbon\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePapelbon closed for the Red Sox through their 2007 World Series sweep of Colorado, picking up three saves in that Series alone, and made four straight All-Star teams from 2006 to 2009. He's the franchise's all-time saves leader, and Red Sox fans still bring up the Irish jig he danced on the mound to the Dropkick Murphys after clinching the '07 AL East and ALCS.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🍩 Dunkin' and the Sox\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDunkin' printed about five million of these posters for its New England stores in 2008, part of the promotion it ran with the Red Sox and MLB. The footer carries the whole paper trail: BD\u0026amp;A - Bensussen Deutsch \u0026amp; Associates, the promotional agency behind a lot of MLB giveaway merchandise - alongside DD IP Holder LLC, the company that holds the Dunkin' Donuts trademarks, and the MLBPA \"Players Choice\" mark. \"Steadfast and Strong\" was one design in a small series that ran together that year; sibling posters carried footer panels reading \"Camaraderie\" and \"Resolve.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReady to frame or roll back up in its tube - a real piece of 2008 Red Sox promotional history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/2008-red-sox-dunkin-poster-together-we-triumph-pedroia-youkilis\"\u003e2008 MLB Boston Red Sox ⚾ Dunkin' Poster, Together We Triumph, Pedroia, Youkilis!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/mlb-boston-red-sox-dunkin-poster-combat-tested-lowell-ramirez\"\u003eRetro MLB Boston Red Sox Dunkin Poster ⚾ Combat Tested, Lowell Ramirez Wakefield, SportsPropaganda Art by Chris Speakman\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1986-wade-boggs-boston-red-sox-schedule-ticket-order-form-bank\"\u003eVintage 1986 Wade Boggs Boston Red Sox Schedule Ticket ⚾ Order Form Bank of Boston\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44551565017320,"sku":"VAG-8242727223528","price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4981006532_gvup.jpg?v=1785439638"},{"product_id":"2008-red-sox-dunkin-poster-together-we-triumph-pedroia-youkilis","title":"2008 MLB Boston Red Sox ⚾ Dunkin' Poster, Together We Triumph, Pedroia, Youkilis!","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember Red Sox Dunkin' Posters? 🏆 Volunteer Today! Together We Triumph!\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 20\" x 16\" ~ Little to no wear, and it ships professionally in a tube.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2WI_RRQ4Dow\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a 2008 promotional poster from the same \"Join the Ranks\" series Dunkin' Donuts ran with the Red Sox and Major League Baseball that year, officially licensed by MLB and the players' union, with a numbered hologram sticker on the front to prove it. Youkilis, Pedroia, Okajima and Papelbon stand in their home whites against a red sunburst, three of them holding open championship ring boxes and Youkilis holding a ring up — a picture straight out of April 8, 2008, when the Red Sox handed out their 2007 World Series rings at the Fenway home opener. \"TOGETHER WE TRIUMPH!\" wraps the Red Sox hanging-socks logo below them, \"JOIN THE RANKS\" underneath that. As any true New Englander knows, the Red Sox and Dunkin' Donuts are an inseparable duo, as iconic as peanut butter and jelly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🎨 The Artist\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe art is by Chris Speakman, a Somerville, Massachusetts illustrator who ran his own line of licensed sports art under the name Sports Propaganda. He's described his own baseball work as reminiscent of pop and poster art from wartime, World War Two — exactly why this series carries recruiting-poster lines like \"Join the Ranks\" and \"Volunteer Today,\" with sibling designs titled \"Steadfast and Strong\" and \"Combat Tested.\" His work has run in The Boston Globe, on ESPN.com and CBS Boston, and he designed the program cover for the 2011 MLB All-Star Game. Dunkin' hired him for this poster promotion in 2008; Topps brought him on the following year as a featured artist for its 2009 baseball and UFC card sets.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e⚾ The Four\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDustin Pedroia was the American League's 2007 Rookie of the Year and its 2008 MVP the very next season — only the third player ever to pull off that back-to-back double, after Cal Ripken Jr. and Ryan Howard. Kevin Youkilis, Michael Lewis's \"Greek God of Walks\" in Moneyball, played 135 errorless games at first base for a 2007 Gold Glove and finished third in that 2008 MVP vote himself. Hideki Okajima, a Kyoto-born left-hander in his rookie season as Boston's setup man, got there on the strength of the fans' own ballot — they voted him onto the 2007 All-Star team. And Jonathan Papelbon, the Red Sox' all-time saves leader, closed out that 2007 World Series sweep of Colorado with three saves of his own.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🍩 Dunkin' and the Sox\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDunkin' printed about five million of these posters for its New England stores in 2008, one design in a small series that ran that year — this one, \"Steadfast and Strong,\" \"Combat Tested\" and \"Guns of October\" among them. The footer carries the whole paper trail: BD\u0026amp;A, the promotional agency behind a lot of MLB giveaway merchandise, alongside DD IP Holder LLC, the company that holds the Dunkin' Donuts trademarks, and the MLBPA \"Players Choice\" mark.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReady to frame or roll back up in its tube — a real piece of 2008 Red Sox promotional history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/2008-red-sox-dunkin-poster-steadfast-and-strong-jonathan-papelbon\"\u003e2008 MLB Boston Red Sox ⚾ Dunkin' Poster, Steadfast and Strong, Jonathan Papelbon!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/mlb-boston-red-sox-dunkin-poster-combat-tested-lowell-ramirez\"\u003eRetro MLB Boston Red Sox Dunkin Poster ⚾ Combat Tested, Lowell Ramirez Wakefield, SportsPropaganda Art by Chris Speakman\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1986-wade-boggs-boston-red-sox-schedule-ticket-order-form-bank\"\u003eVintage 1986 Wade Boggs Boston Red Sox Schedule Ticket ⚾ Order Form Bank of Boston\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44551580188904,"sku":"VAG-8242732335336","price":14.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4981084266_ps08.jpg?v=1785439647"},{"product_id":"california-angels-bumper-sticker-90s-mlb-gift-vintage-treasures","title":"Vintage 1990s California Angels Bumper Sticker ⚾ | MLB Memorabilia","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember the California Angels? ⚾ Vintage 1990s MLB Bumper Sticker\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 11\" x 3\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZrjevbfpAjk\" height=\"315\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you grew up an Angels fan, this logo is a jolt. The interlocking \u003cstrong\u003eCA with the little gray halo\u003c\/strong\u003e only lasted four seasons, \u003cstrong\u003e1993 through 1996\u003c\/strong\u003e, and then the California Angels were gone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e⚾ What It Is\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is an unused \u003cstrong\u003eCalifornia Angels bumper sticker\u003c\/strong\u003e, still on its cream backing liner with the header strip at the left end: the \u003cstrong\u003eTRENCH\u003c\/strong\u003e maker's logo, © MLB, the round Major League Baseball \u003cstrong\u003eGenuine Merchandise\u003c\/strong\u003e seal and a UPC barcode. The sticker runs the CA halo roundel and \u003cstrong\u003eCALIFORNIA ANGELS\u003c\/strong\u003e in red across navy, red and cream stripes, with the Genuine Merchandise seal again down at the right end. It's about 11 by 3 inches and has never been near a bumper.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🗓️ How the Logo Dates It\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere's no date printed anywhere on it, but the logo tells you. The club played as the California Angels from 1965 to 1996, and this CA-with-the-halo version was only used from 1993 to 1996. In 1997, with Disney running the club, they became the \u003cstrong\u003eAnaheim Angels\u003c\/strong\u003e, and the California name and this logo went into the history books.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏭 Made in Buffalo\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTRENCH in the header is the Trench Manufacturing Co. of Buffalo, New York, which George A. Trench started in 1920 making felt pennants and pillow tops for schools and tourist spots. By the mid-1930s it was turning out pennants for National and American League clubs, and Buffalo got called the pennant capital of the world. Trench closed in 1995 after 75 years, so with a logo that only arrived in 1993, this sticker came off the line in that company's last few years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🤠 Gene Autry's Angels\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Angels were Gene Autry's team. The Singing Cowboy got the American League's new Los Angeles franchise in 1961, moved it to Anaheim, and owned it until Disney took over in the late 1990s. This was also the era of \u003cstrong\u003eTim Salmon, Jim Edmonds and Garret Anderson\u003c\/strong\u003e, the young outfield a lot of Angels fans still talk about.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e📏 Details\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCalifornia Angels bumper sticker, CA halo logo (used 1993-1996)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTRENCH, © MLB, Major League Baseball Genuine Merchandise\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAbout 11\" x 3\", unused on its original backing liner with the header strip\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e🎁 Frame it for the game room, or finally put it on the car. It's a great gift for an Angels fan who remembers the halo.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-new-orleans-saints-bumper-sticker-revives-90s-fan-spirit-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1990s NFL Officially Licensed New Orleans Saints 🏈 Bumper Sticker\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/tampa-bay-devil-rays-90s-mlb-keychain-collectible-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1990s Tampa Bay Devil Rays Keychain 🐟 Tag Express MLB Key Tag NOS Sealed\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/1980s-mlb-world-series-champ-hall-famer-george-brett-kc-royals-postcard\"\u003eVintage 1980s MLB World Series Champ Hall of Famer George Brett KC Royals Postcard ⚾ NOS\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44580512432360,"sku":"VAG-8254016979176","price":8.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.5081785809_5ze2.jpg?v=1785439809"},{"product_id":"tampa-bay-devil-rays-90s-mlb-keychain-collectible-vintage-treasures","title":"Vintage 1990s Tampa Bay Devil Rays Keychain 🐟 Tag Express MLB Key Tag NOS Sealed","description":"\u003ch2\u003eWhen Did the Devil Rays Drop the Devil? 🐟 A Vintage 1990s Tampa Bay Devil Rays Key Tag, Tag Express, Sealed on Its Card\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2 1\/4\" x 1 1\/4\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LMNYuo7GpnI\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eA blue acrylic key tag with the arched DEVIL RAYS wordmark and the team's ray logo, on a gold-tone split ring, still sealed under its clear blister on the TAG EXPRESS card - MADE IN USA, KEY TAG, with the MLB Genuine Merchandise mark alongside the NFL, NBA, NHL and college licensing logos. The back of the card reads MADE IN U.S.A., TAG EXPRESS, DULUTH GA 30136. Never opened.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🏷️ Tag Express\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTag Express made licensed license plates, key holders and key fobs out of Duluth, Georgia, and its TAG EXPRESS trademark was filed in 1995. Some of its key tags carry RICO INDUSTRIES, INC.\/TAG EXPRESS printed together on the back, so the two worked hand in hand - Rico being one of the big names in licensed sports plates and frames. The little TAMPA BAY banner on this tag sits on the rainbow-gradient oval the team used from 1998 to 2000.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e⚾ The Devil Rays\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTampa Bay chased a big-league team for years. In 1992 Tampa investor Vince Naimoli had a deal to buy the San Francisco Giants and move them to St. Petersburg, until the owners blocked it at the last minute and he sued. On March 9, 1995, at a meeting in West Palm Beach, the owners voted 28-0 to add the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Arizona Diamondbacks, and St. Petersburg's ThunderDome - later Tropicana Field - became home. The name was Naimoli's pick, after the rays in Tampa Bay, and the story goes it ran into a minor-league team with a similar name and a fan poll had to settle the fuss.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Devil Rays played their first game on March 31, 1998, against the Detroit Tigers at Tropicana Field, with Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Monte Irvin and Al Lopez throwing out first pitches, and won their first game two days later, 11-8 over the same Tigers. Under general manager Chuck LaMar and manager Larry Rothschild that first season ended 63-99, last in the American League East, 51 games behind the world champion Yankees, and the Devil Rays finished last every year but one through the mid-2000s, second-to-last only in 2004. Naimoli sold control to Stuart Sternberg's group in 2006, and for 2008 the team dropped the Devil and became the Tampa Bay Rays. Old-timers around St. Pete and Tampa still swap stories about those first seasons under the dome, and Devil Rays collectors will tell you that name change is exactly what turned ordinary ballpark souvenirs like this into pieces of a closed chapter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e📅 How old is it?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNothing on the card is dated. The logo artwork is the team's 1998-2000 version, and I've always had these as 1990s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🐟 About these\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery one I have is this same key tag, still sealed on its card, 2 1\/4 by 1 1\/4 inches. Keep it sealed or put it on your keys - it's a great one for a Rays fan, anybody who was at the Trop in 1998, or a baseball collection. The supply is finite - nobody's making Devil Rays key tags anymore, and once these last sealed ones are gone, they'll be very difficult to acquire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1990s-old-school-tampa-bay-devil-rays-license-plate-mlb\"\u003eVintage 1995 Tampa Bay Devil Rays License Plate 🐟 MLB Genuine Merchandise Tag Express Duluth GA NOS\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/1998-mlb-folding-fan-tampa-bay-devil-rays-its-baseball-season-old\"\u003eVintage 1998-2000 Tampa Bay Devil Rays MLB Folding Hand Fan ⚾ Play By Play Genuine Merchandise Souvenir Novelty\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-nfl-houston-tennessee-oilers-keychain-1997-memorabilia-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1997 Tennessee Oilers NFL Helmet Keychain 🏈 NOS Tag Express\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44587150999784,"sku":"VAG-8256663322856","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.5092421529_j0jj.jpg?v=1785439837"},{"product_id":"rare-1994-nfl-cleveland-browns-dawg-pound-temporary-tattoos-vintage-treasures","title":"Vintage 1994 Cleveland Browns Dawg Pound Temporary Tattoos 🐶 – NFL Licensed","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember the Dawg Pound? 🐶 Vintage 1994 Cleveland Browns NFL Temporary Tattoos, Sealed\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 5 1\/2\" x 4 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JuErb71z2Fk\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;\"\u003e\n \u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSealed since the Dawg Pound was still standing.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏈 DAWGS: A Sealed 1994 Team NFL Tattoo Pack From the Old Dawg Pound's Last Years\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA bulldog in a football helmet, snarling through his face mask, shoulder pads squared, a bone clutched in one fist — and under him, in rough brush letters, DAWGS. The card never spells out Cleveland. It never had to. In 1994 the NFL's Dawgs barked from the bleachers behind the east end zone of Cleveland Municipal Stadium, where fans wore dog masks and bone-shaped hats and pelted visiting teams with Milk-Bones. That season the Browns went 11-5 under head coach Bill Belichick and won a playoff game. Within a year the team announced it was leaving for Baltimore, and by 1997 pieces of the old lakefront stadium were lying on the bottom of Lake Erie. This little tattoo pack was sealed in the middle of all of it, and it has never been opened.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e🔍 What Is on the Card\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA temporary tattoo pack: a printed card sealed in a clear plastic case with a hang slot, 5½\" × 4½\". The front prints:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTAG EXPRESS\u003c\/strong\u003e between pinstripe rules, and the \u003cstrong\u003eTeam NFL\u003c\/strong\u003e logo with the NFL shield\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMADE IN USA\u003c\/strong\u003e in stars-and-stripes lettering, with \"Applies in seconds · Lasts for days · Easy to remove · Safe non-toxic\"\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA red ribbon banner reading \u003cstrong\u003eTEMPORARY TATTOOS\u003c\/strong\u003e, and under it \"Contains: 1 Large \u0026amp; 1 Small Transfer\"\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe bulldog — a red helmet striped in white, a face mask, shoulder pads, wrapped legs and a bone in his hand — with a scrawled artist's signature at the lower left of the drawing\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDAWGS™\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\"Licensed To and Manufactured By Highgate Products, Inc. 1994\"\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe back gives eight application steps — clean the skin, cut out the transfer, remove the protective sheet, press it on tacky side down, wet the back with a sponge or cloth, wait 30 seconds and slide off the paper, rinse — and promises it \"Lasts 3-5 days.\" Removal is by rubbing with alcohol, baby oil or adhesive tape. The ingredients are listed in full: P.V.A. copolymer, FD\u0026amp;C Blue No. 1, FD\u0026amp;C Yellow No. 5 \u0026amp; 6, FD\u0026amp;C Red No. 40, D\u0026amp;C cosmetic black oxide and white titanium dioxide, with a tip that \"For a more realistic look wash lightly with soap and water.\" The back also advertises the rest of the TAG Express line: auto tags and tag frames, static cling decals, bumper strips, auto sun shades, mirror backers, key tags, gear tags, doorknob hangers, light switchplate covers and bookmarks. The fine print: manufactured for TAG Express, Duluth, GA 30136, made in U.S.A. by Highgate Products, Inc.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo red TAMPER RESISTANT SEAL stickers still cross the clear case. The pack has never been opened: new old stock. The clear plastic case is scuffed with light surface scratches from storage; the card inside is bright and unmarked.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e🐶 How the Dawg Pound Got Its Name\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Dawg Pound was born at the Browns' 1985 training camp at Lakeland Community College. Hanford Dixon, a cornerback who spent his whole career in Cleveland from 1981 to 1989, came up with it alongside fellow cornerback Frank Minnifield. Dixon's picture of the game was simple: the quarterback was the cat, and the defensive line was the dog. When the defense made a tackle, the linemen and linebackers barked. Before the first preseason game the first \"Dawg Pound\" banner went up in front of the bleachers behind the east end zone, and the fans in those seats started barking back.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt grew into one of the loudest traditions in football. Bleacher fans turned up in dog noses, dog masks and bone-shaped hats and showered visiting teams with Milk-Bones and anything else at hand. During a 1989 game against the Denver Broncos so much debris flew out of the bleachers that referee Tom Dooley moved play away from that end zone. Dixon made three Pro Bowls, in 1986, 1987 and 1988, and the section he named outlived his playing days.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLook again at the bulldog on this card: helmet, pads, and a bone in his fist. The bone is the same joke the bleachers wore on their heads.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e🏟️ Cleveland Municipal Stadium and the 1994 Browns\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Dawg Pound's home was Cleveland Municipal Stadium, opened on July 1, 1931 at 1085 West 3rd Street, just south of Lake Erie, with room for around 80,000 for football. The Browns played there from 1946 through 1995.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 1994 season was the Browns' last playoff run before the move. Under Bill Belichick the Browns went 11-5, finished second in the AFC Central and fielded the NFL's top-ranked defense, allowing 12.8 points a game. On January 1, 1995 they beat the New England Patriots 20-13 in the wild card round — Belichick's first playoff win as a head coach, over the franchise that would later hire him — and on January 7 they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-9. It was the only playoff season of Belichick's Cleveland tenure, and the Browns would not win another playoff game until the 2020 season.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e✈️ The Move, and What Cleveland Kept\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn November 6, 1995, owner Art Modell announced at Camden Yards in Baltimore that the Browns would move there for the 1996 season. The very next day, Cleveland voters approved a tax to renovate the stadium. The team's season fell apart, ending 5-11. On December 17, 1995 the Browns played their last game in the old stadium, beating the Cincinnati Bengals 26-10, and fans took the Dawg Pound bleachers apart and carried the pieces home as souvenirs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn February 9, 1996 the NFL announced the settlement that became the Dawg Pound's legacy: the Browns' name, colors, history, records, awards and archives would stay in Cleveland, the franchise would be deactivated, and Modell's Baltimore team would start over as a new club, the Ravens. Demolition of Municipal Stadium began in November 1996 and finished early in 1997, and 15,000 short tons of its debris were dumped into Lake Erie to form three artificial reefs. The Browns returned in 1999 in the new Cleveland Browns Stadium, now Huntington Bank Field, with a two-deck Dawg Pound and a trademarked Dawg Pound logo — the only such logo the league has developed for an NFL fan base.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e📍 Duluth, Georgia: The Address on the Back\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTAG Express gave its address as Duluth, Georgia, in Gwinnett County about 30 miles northeast of Atlanta. The town began as Howell's Crossing, named for cotton merchant Evan Howell, who built a road from his cotton gin to Old Peachtree Road. In 1871, with a new railroad line coming through, it was renamed Duluth — after Duluth, Minnesota, whose own railroad connection had been mocked in Congress as wasteful by Kentucky Representative J. Proctor Knott. The story goes that Evan P. Howell suggested the name as a joke in a speech about the railroad reaching the Georgia town. So a pack of Dawg Pound tattoos was sold out of a Georgia town that took its name from a punchline about Minnesota.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🐶 About these\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe supply is finite - nobody's sealing up a 1994 Dawg Pound tattoo pack again, and once these last unopened ones are gone, they'll be very difficult to acquire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/rare-georgia-bulldogs-1994-temporary-tattoos-gift-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1994 Georgia Bulldogs Temporary Tattoos 🏈 NCAA Licensed College Football\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-cleveland-browns-its-football-season\"\u003eVintage 1999 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Cleveland Browns on 1997 Card 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/relive-1994-glory-penn-state-nittany-lions-vintage-tattoos-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1994 NCAA College Football Penn State Nittany Lions 🏈 Temporary Tattoos\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44590197211368,"sku":"VAG-8258129330408","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.5048876394_cgm2.jpg?v=1785439855"},{"product_id":"rare-georgia-bulldogs-1994-temporary-tattoos-gift-vintage-treasures","title":"Vintage 1994 Georgia Bulldogs Temporary Tattoos 🏈 NCAA Licensed College Football","description":"\u003ch2\u003eGo Dawgs in 1994? 🏈 Vintage Georgia Bulldogs NCAA Temporary Tattoos, Sealed\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 5 1\/2\" x 4 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOfficially licensed, still sealed, 1994.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn unopened pack of University of Georgia Bulldogs temporary tattoos from TAG Express, still sealed in the original clear sleeve with its tamper stamps. The card reads \u003cem\u003eTemporary Tattoos, Contains: 4 Assorted Transfers\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eUniversity of Georgia\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Georgia BULLDOG®\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eCollegiate Licensed Product™\u003c\/em\u003e roundel, and \u003cem\u003eApplies in seconds, Lasts for days, Easy to remove, Safe non-toxic\u003c\/em\u003e. Across the bottom of the front runs the line that dates it, \u003cem\u003eLicensed To and Manufactured By Highgate Products, Inc. 1994\u003c\/em\u003e, and up in the corner there's a \u003cem\u003eMade in USA\u003c\/em\u003e done in stars-and-stripes letters. The back carries the \u003cem\u003eOfficially Licensed Collegiate Products\u003c\/em\u003e seal, \u003cem\u003eLicensed To Highgate Products, Inc.\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eManufactured for TAG Express, Duluth, GA\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eMade in U.S.A. by Highgate Products, Inc.\u003c\/em\u003e, along with the application steps (they promise 3 to 5 days on the skin). My favorite part is the panel that reads \u003cem\u003eTag Express offers a complete line of auto and home accessories\u003c\/em\u003e: auto tags, auto tag frames, static cling decals, bumper strips, auto sun shades, mirror backers, key tags, gear tags, doorknob hangers, light switchplate covers and bookmarks. In Georgia a car tag is your license plate, and car tags lead that list, so these tattoos came from a car-accessory company in Duluth, out in Gwinnett County about 30 miles northeast of Atlanta.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is the era before college merchandise lived in a national webstore. It was sold at the stadium gate, in campus bookstores and in local sporting goods shops, printed in a run, and then gone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏈 Between the hedges\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGeorgia's traditions are older than most of the stadiums they are played in. \u003cstrong\u003eSanford Stadium\u003c\/strong\u003e opened on October 12, 1929, when Georgia beat Yale 15–0 in front of more than 30,000 people, and the privet hedges around the field have been there since the opening, so \"between the hedges\" has meant Athens ever since. The stadium is named for \u003cstrong\u003eSteadman V. Sanford\u003c\/strong\u003e, who came to Georgia in 1903 as an English instructor and rose to university president. The original hedges even had to come out for the 1996 Olympic soccer tournament, just two years after this pack was printed, because soccer needs a wider field.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd then there's \u003cstrong\u003eUga\u003c\/strong\u003e. Since 1956 every one of Georgia's live English bulldogs has come from the same Savannah family, \u003cstrong\u003eSonny Seiler\u003c\/strong\u003e's. Uga I was a wedding present, coach Wally Butts asked to use him as the mascot, and a law school friend came up with the name. Every Uga wears a spiked collar and a red jersey made from the same fabric as the players', and the dogs rest in a mausoleum right in the stadium. Uga V made the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1997 after lunging at an Auburn receiver. Red and black on a cream card is exactly that.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSold as one sealed pack.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JzOxCBI8oKw\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;\"\u003e\n \u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/rare-1994-nfl-cleveland-browns-dawg-pound-temporary-tattoos-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1994 Cleveland Browns Dawg Pound Temporary Tattoos 🐶 – NFL Licensed\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/relive-1994-glory-penn-state-nittany-lions-vintage-tattoos-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1994 NCAA College Football Penn State Nittany Lions 🏈 Temporary Tattoos\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-chicago-bears-nfl-fingernail-tattoos\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Chicago Bears 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44590594031848,"sku":"VAG-8258285928680","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.5049837220_4e5t.jpg?v=1785439863"},{"product_id":"2005-nascar-craftsman-truck-series-team-toyota-tundra-lenticular-card","title":"2005 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Team Toyota Tundra 🃏 3D Lenticular Card!","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember Team Tundra in NASCAR? 🏁 Team Tundra, Tougher With Every Race\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 7\" x 4\" ~ Nice shape, and the lenticular front still flips cleanly between its two images.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/C5P2k1P-UCo\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt's a lenticular card. A lenticular just means there are two images printed underneath a ridged plastic lens, and they trade places as you tip the card in your hand. Here it's a pit stop: the white #5 Toyota Tundra getting serviced, crew hanging off both sides, \"TEAM TUNDRA. Tougher with Every Race.\" running across the top and Toyota's truck-series web address along the bottom. The truck's nose is covered in decals - Goodyear on the tire, Simpson, Moog, Clevite, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, WIX and JE Pistons stacked up the fender, and a Sunoco sticker right on the bumper. The corner carries the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES oval, which is the actual series this truck raced in.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e🏎️ The #5 Truck\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA white #5 Toyota Tundra in those years belonged to Bill Davis Racing and its driver Mike Skinner, who won NASCAR's very first truck series championship back in 1995, joined Bill Davis Racing partway through 2004 and debuted the #5 Tundra at Las Vegas that fall. In 2005 he put it on the pole seven times and won at Bristol and Richmond, and in 2006 he won again at Las Vegas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🚛 Toyota Crashes the Truck Party\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToyota showed up in the Truck Series in 2004 running the Tundra, the first import manufacturer to race in modern-era NASCAR, and two years later, in 2006, Toyota took 12 wins and the manufacturers' championship - the first foreign automaker to win a manufacturers' title in any NASCAR series. Pretty good run for the new kid on the oval.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e🏭 A Plant Bound for San Antonio\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFlip the card and it turns into a trivia sheet - \"TOYOTA IN AMERICA\" - and one question asks what full-size truck Toyota would build \"later this year\" at its new San Antonio, Texas plant, while the very next one says Toyota would be able to build 1.71 million cars and trucks a year in North America by the end of 2006. The San Antonio answer is Tundra, and that's exactly what happened: ground broke on that plant, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas, in October 2003, and the first Tundra - a 2007 model - rolled off the line on November 17, 2006, after roughly $1.28 billion went into building the place. Since the card phrases the plant as something still coming, it had to have been printed before that truck actually rolled out - so sometime in 2005 or 2006, ahead of the opening.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e📊 The 386,000 Number\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnother answer on the back claims Toyota supported 386,000 jobs in the U.S., with a footnote crediting a 2005 Center for Automotive Research study. That study's real - CAR put the figure at 386,300 jobs tied to the roughly $13.4 billion Toyota had invested here by 2003, counting direct manufacturing jobs, dealer jobs and jobs created through supplier spending. A promotional stat, sure, but not one they made up.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e⛽ Sunoco on the Bumper\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat Sunoco decal on the truck's nose isn't just there for looks - Sunoco started supplying NASCAR's fuel with the 2004 season, a ten-year deal that replaced Unocal 76. So the truck in this scene is running on fuel from the same partnership era the card itself belongs to.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e🔧 Twenty Years Building Here\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLast trivia answer on the back: \"20 years, since 1985.\" That traces to NUMMI, the Toyota-GM joint plant in Fremont, California, which held its opening ceremony in April 1985, with Toyota-badged production - the Corolla FX - starting up the following year. That's the root of Toyota actually building cars on U.S. soil, and it's the number this card is counting from.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1990s-kelloggs-corn-flakes-racing-team-41-pin-nascar-pinback-nos\"\u003eVintage 1990s Kellogg's Corn Flakes Racing Team #41 Pin 🏁 NOS NASCAR Promo\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/rare-2001-winston-cup-ballot-nascar-collectible-treasures-gifts\"\u003eRetro 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Ballot 🏁 Year Tragic Loss Dale Earnhardt RIP!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/rare-vintage-1960s-professional-driver-decal-sticker-semi-truck-unopened\"\u003eVintage 1960s Professional Driver Decal 🚚 Embla Crest Semi Truck Foil Sticker\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44609890287848,"sku":"VAG-8266466754792","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.5084833810_papj.jpg?v=1785439985"},{"product_id":"vintage-1980s-limited-edition-1969-ny-mets-complete-postcard-set-only-5000","title":"Vintage 1980s Limited Edition 1969 NY Mets Complete Postcard Set 🃏 Only 5000 Ever!","description":"\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HytE9UVm1Io\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eOnly 5,000 Sets? 🃏 Vintage 1980s Limited Edition 1969 NY Mets Complete Postcard Set, Sealed\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 5 1\/2\" x 3 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFactory sealed in its original shrink wrap, never opened.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e⚾ The Miracle Mets, Still in the Wrap\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA complete 1969 New York Mets postcard set, still factory sealed in its shrink wrap just as it left Historic Limited Editions of Williston Park, New York. The front card is a watercolor of the World Championship Trophy, signed \"s. rini,\" and the retail sticker lays out what's inside: \"1969 New York Mets, Set of 36 Postcards. Limited issue, just 5,000 sets. Swoboda, Koosman, Harrelson, Boswell, Cardwell, Hodges, Gentry, Koonce, Martin, Pignatano, Grote, Berra, McGraw, Ryan, Seaver, Charles, Agee, Yost, Taylor, Jones, Gaspar, Garret, Shea Stadium and Championship Trophy, and much more. The entire '69 Team.\" That's a young Nolan Ryan in there, by the way. I came across a forgotten stash of these sealed sets, and I'm offering them for less than the $20 printed on that original sticker.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🎨 Susan Rini's Mets\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe back card is No. 36, \"1969 New York Mets, Rube Walker, From original artwork by Susan Rini,\" with the Official Licensee Major League Baseball mark, \"Limited Issue 5,000 Sets,\" \"Series No. 1,\" and a spot for a stamp. Susan Rini is a sports artist Historic Limited Editions commissioned for these sets, which came out from the late 1980s into the early '90s. Walker was the Mets' pitching coach from 1968 to 1981, part of Gil Hodges's 1969 staff with Joe Pignatano in the bullpen, Eddie Yost at third and Yogi Berra at first, and all three of those coaches are on the sticker's checklist too.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏆 1969\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis was the team nobody believed in. On July 9, 1969, at Shea Stadium, Tom Seaver retired the first 25 Cubs he faced before Jimmy Qualls singled with one out in the ninth. Seaver called it his \"Imperfect Game\" and said it was the best he ever pitched. Then in Game 5 of the World Series, on October 16, a pitch from Baltimore's Dave McNally hit Cleon Jones on the foot in the sixth inning. Umpire Lou DiMuro called it a ball until Gil Hodges came out and showed him the shoe polish on the baseball, and Jones went to first. Donn Clendenon homered right after that, and the Mets won the Series that afternoon. At the team's 40th reunion in 2009, Jerry Koosman told the story that Hodges had told him to rub that ball on his shoe. That's the '69 Mets for you.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1980s-limited-edition-only-5000-ever-1969-art-shamsky-ny-mets\"\u003eVintage 1980s Limited Edition Only 5000 Ever! 1969 Art Shamsky 🃏 NY Mets Postcard\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1980s-limited-edition-only-5000-ever-1969-tommie-agee-ny-mets\"\u003eVintage 1980s Tommie Agee NY Mets Postcard ⚾ 1969 World Series\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-susan-rini-1969-miracle-mets-uncut-postcard-sheet-seaver-ryan\"\u003eVintage Susan Rini World Champion 1969 Miracle Mets Uncut Postcard Sheet ⚾ Tom Seaver Nolan Ryan, Historic Limited Editions MLB Licensed Art\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44621794738408,"sku":"VAG-8271589114088","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.5154321995_xr6n.jpg?v=1785440028"},{"product_id":"rare-1970s-florida-sunshine-state-golf-postcard-captures-golfing-era-vintage","title":"Vintage 1970s Large Florida 18 Hole Golf Postcard 🃏 Sunshine State Memorabilia!","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember Florida Golf Postcards? ⛳ \"18 Holes of Golf in Florida's Tropical Atmosphere\" Large Maxi Card Postcard, Mike Roberts, Berkeley\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 7\" x 5 1\/2\" ~ Unused.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZdNweDQlLys\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA golfer in bright red pants in full swing on a sunny Florida course, with palm fronds overhead, a couple of buddies watching from the side and a deep blue sky beyond. This is a vintage 1970s large-format \"Maxi card\" postcard from Florida, the Sunshine State, printed by Mike Roberts of Berkeley and distributed by Russo Sales Co. of Miami, and it was never mailed. Those red pants are pure 1970s golf!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🔍 What's on it\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the front, the full-color photo inside a red border. On the back, \u003cstrong\u003ethe Maxi card\u003c\/strong\u003e in script, a stylized sun reading \u003cstrong\u003eFLORIDA, THE SUNSHINE STATE\u003c\/strong\u003e, the caption \u003cstrong\u003e18 HOLES OF GOLF in Florida's tropical atmosphere.\u003c\/strong\u003e, the card number \u003cstrong\u003eJ5764\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eU.S.A.\u003c\/strong\u003e in the stamp box, the distributor \u003cstrong\u003eRusso Sales Co., Miami, FL 33169\u003c\/strong\u003e, and the printer, \u003cstrong\u003eMIKE ROBERTS BERKELEY 94710\u003c\/strong\u003e, with its circled R globe logo. The back is clean and unwritten.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e📸 America's Postcard King\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMike Roberts was known as \"America's Postcard King.\" He came to the Bay Area in 1934 as a photographer in Berkeley, got into printing in the early 1940s, and in 1949 founded Mike Roberts Color Productions, one of the first to print color postcards from the new Kodachrome film. Roberts died in 1989 and his company carried on until 1998.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e☀️ The Sunshine State\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFlorida had been putting \"Sunshine State\" on its license plates since 1949, and in 1970 the legislature made it the state's official nickname, right around the time this card was selling to tourists who came down to play a round in the sunshine. Postcards like this are what a northern golfer mailed home in January to make everybody jealous.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏡 Display\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's a perfect gift for a golfer, a Floridian, or a snowbird, and it looks great framed in a golf room, a den or a clubhouse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/discover-1990s-coke-coca-cola-postcard-set-unopened-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 🥤 Unopened 1990s Coca‑Cola “Travel Refreshed” Postcard Set (NOS) – John Baeder Collection\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/stunning-1970s-firewood-label-brings-cozy-americana-home-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1970s Firewood Family Crate Label Santa Clara 🍎 CA Rustic Americana Decor\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1980-heart-love-elvis-postcard-rock-roll-memorabilia-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1980 I \"Heart\" Elvis Postcard 🃏 Royal Mini Print Rock \u0026amp; Roll Memorabilia\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44621945471208,"sku":"VAG-8271700001000","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.5106211800_6yji.jpg?v=1785440037"},{"product_id":"1980s-mlb-world-series-champ-hall-famer-george-brett-kc-royals-postcard","title":"Vintage 1980s MLB World Series Champ Hall of Famer George Brett KC Royals Postcard ⚾ NOS","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember George Brett? ⚾ Vintage 1980s Hall of Famer KC Royals Postcard, NOS\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 5 1\/2\" x 3 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"margin-bottom: 20px;\"\u003e\u003ciframe title=\"1980s George Brett KC Royals Postcard\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/X66gGJbPvww\" height=\"315\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n \u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eGeorge Brett in his Royals cap and jersey, grinning at the camera like he knows something you don't. This is a 1980s color postcard of him, and every one I have is new old stock - never mailed, never written on.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTurn it over and it tells you who made it: George Brett, Kansas City Royals in the corner, CL\/Sports #12 and SC18422-© Kansas City Royals at the bottom, Published by Coral-Lee, P.O. Box 314, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670 up the divider, and Mike Roberts Color Productions, Oakland, CA 94623 with the Mike Roberts trademark. It's the standard postcard size.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e⚾ The only one to do it in three decades\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGeorge Brett played his whole career for Kansas City, won the World Series with them in 1985, and went into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 1999. He's still the only player ever to win a batting title in three different decades - 1976, 1980 and 1990 - and he finished with 3,154 hits, one of the best third basemen the game has seen. In 1980 he flirted with .400 into September and finished at .390. And then there's July 24, 1983, the Pine Tar Game at Yankee Stadium: a ninth-inning home run taken away because of how far up the handle the pine tar went, Brett charging out of the dugout, and the league putting the homer back on the board. In the '80s he wasn't just a ballplayer, he was a fixture of American sports.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e✉️ Coral-Lee, the First Lady of postcards\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCoral-Lee was the publishing name of Coralie Sparre, a retired California schoolteacher. She'd collected postcards since the 1960s and used them as teaching aids, and when she retired in 1976 she decided somebody ought to be making postcards of what was going on right now - history while it happened. Her first project was the Carter presidency. It started as a 12-card set and grew to 72 cards by the time Jimmy Carter left office, and in January 1981 she handed him a bound album of them in the Oval Office - then made the photo of that into a postcard too. Roy Nuhn of the American Postcard Journal gave her a full page in late 1977 under the title Coral-Lee, First Lady of Postcard Publishing, and said she might turn out to be one of the most important postcard publishers ever. Her CL\/Sports line is how ballplayers like Brett ended up in her catalog.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e📸 Mike Roberts, America's Postcard King\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMike Roberts came to the Bay Area in 1934 and started out as a photographer in Berkeley. He took to Kodachrome soon after Kodak brought it out in 1936, and by 1941 he was a partner in the Litho Screen Company in Oakland. He founded Mike Roberts Color Productions around 1949 - some accounts say the early '50s - and turned out many thousands of color postcards of just about everything, which is how he got called America's Postcard King. In 1981 he took over printing the National Baseball Hall of Fame's postcards. He died in 1989.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e⚾ About these\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey're 5 1\/2 by 3 1\/2 inches. Frame one with a Royals pennant, slip it into a sleeve in your baseball binder, or give it to somebody who grew up listening to the Royals on the radio. The supply is finite - nobody's printing Coral-Lee's George Brett card again, and once these last unmailed ones are gone, they'll be very difficult to acquire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/tampa-bay-devil-rays-90s-mlb-keychain-collectible-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1990s Tampa Bay Devil Rays Keychain 🐟 Tag Express MLB Key Tag NOS Sealed\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1980s-limited-edition-only-5000-ever-1969-tommie-agee-ny-mets\"\u003eVintage 1980s Tommie Agee NY Mets Postcard ⚾ 1969 World Series\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1980s-limited-edition-only-5000-ever-1969-art-shamsky-ny-mets\"\u003eVintage 1980s Limited Edition Only 5000 Ever! 1969 Art Shamsky 🃏 NY Mets Postcard\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44623560737000,"sku":"VAG-8272429089000","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.5107120594_ea8l.jpg?v=1785440045"},{"product_id":"vintage-new-orleans-saints-bumper-sticker-revives-90s-fan-spirit-treasures","title":"Vintage 1990s NFL Officially Licensed New Orleans Saints 🏈 Bumper Sticker","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember New Orleans Saints Bumper Stickers? 🏈 New Orleans Saints Bumper Stickers, NFL Officially Licensed, WinCraft, 1990s\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 11\" x 3\" ~ Never used, still on the backing. Choose your style from the menu.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2sB7aFN5HcY\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eSaints bumper stickers straight out of the 1990s, NFL licensed and never stuck on anything. They've sat stacked together a long time, so you may find a little residue on the backing, and it wipes right off. Put one on the truck, the laptop or the cooler.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e⚜️ Rebirth\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe stickers come from before the hardest stretch the team ever had. When Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005, the Superdome became a shelter of last resort for thousands of people, and the Saints spent that whole season on the road, playing \"home\" games in San Antonio and Baton Rouge. They came back to a rebuilt Superdome on Monday night, September 25, 2006, against the Falcons, and in the first quarter Steve Gleason blocked a punt that was recovered for a touchdown. There's a statue of that play outside the stadium now, called Rebirth. Three and a half years later, on February 7, 2010, Drew Brees and the Saints beat the Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV, with Tracy Porter's interception return sealing it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey're all in Saints black and old gold, each still on its white backing with a hang hole, and there are three styles:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eStyle 1\u003c\/strong\u003e: the gold helmet with the fleur-de-lis and NEW ORLEANS over Saints in big white script, made in U.S.A. by WinCraft of Winona, Minnesota, NFL Officially Licensed Product.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eStyle 2\u003c\/strong\u003e: a Saints lineman down in his stance, NEW ORLEANS over big block SAINTS, an outline of Louisiana with the fleur-de-lis, and the WESTERN DIVISION roundel, from the Team NFL line by WinCraft.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eStyle 3\u003c\/strong\u003e: the helmet beside SAINTS over New Orleans in script, a Team NFL sticker from Tag Express of Duluth, Georgia - their name is in the small print down in the bottom corner.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e⚜️ Dating by Division\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat WESTERN DIVISION roundel on Style 2 is a nice clue. The Saints played in the NFC West from 1970 through 2001, and in 2002 they moved to the NFC South, so a Saints sticker that says Western Division comes from before then. The Team NFL brand on Styles 2 and 3 is from the 1990s too.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🎺 When the Saints Go Marching In\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe New Orleans Saints were born on November 1, 1966, All Saints' Day, when John W. Mecom Jr. was awarded the franchise, and the team took its name from the jazz standard everybody in New Orleans knows. The fleur-de-lis on the helmet is the old French symbol that's all over Louisiana. The early years were rough: twenty straight seasons without a winning record, and in 1980 fans famously wore paper bags over their heads and called the team the 'Aints. The first winning season finally came in 1987 under coach Jim Mora, the first playoff win in 2000, and after the 2009 season the Saints beat the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. They've played in the Superdome since 1975.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🚩 WinCraft of Winona\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWinCraft, the name printed on Styles 1 and 2, is a Winona, Minnesota maker of licensed pennants, banners and decals for the major sports leagues and hundreds of colleges, and it still makes Saints bumper stickers today. Style 3 comes from a different outfit altogether: its little foot line reads TAG EXPRESS DULUTH, GA, and you'll find that same Duluth, Georgia name on plastic NFL and college license plates from the 1990s too.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🖼️ Display\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePut it on the bumper, the toolbox or the garage fridge, or keep it on the backing as a piece of 1990s Saints history. Who Dat!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/california-angels-bumper-sticker-90s-mlb-gift-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1990s California Angels Bumper Sticker ⚾ | MLB Memorabilia\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/rare-1994-nfl-cleveland-browns-dawg-pound-temporary-tattoos-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1994 Cleveland Browns Dawg Pound Temporary Tattoos 🐶 – NFL Licensed\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-chicago-bears-nfl-fingernail-tattoos\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Chicago Bears 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Style 1","offer_id":44640520274152,"sku":"VAG-8281074041064","price":8.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Style 2","offer_id":44640520306920,"sku":"VAG-8281074041064-2","price":8.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Style 3","offer_id":44640520339688,"sku":"VAG-8281074041064-3","price":8.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.5165193167_b2ln.jpg?v=1785440072"},{"product_id":"vintage-new-york-jets-temporary-tattoos-nostalgic-gift-treasures-gifts","title":"Vintage 1990s New York Jets Temporary Tattoos 🏈 NFL Fan Gift","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember New York Jets Temporary Tattoos? 🏈 New York Jets Temporary Tattoos, Team NFL Body Sport\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 5\" x 4 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ojb3UGYbWHQ\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eVintage 1990s New York Jets temporary tattoos! This is a Team NFL Body Sport pack with the Jets helmet right on the front: the green helmet with the white JETS wordmark streaking across the side and a gray facemask. Each pack says it contains 1 large and 1 small transfer. The front promises they apply in seconds, last for days, are easy to remove and are safe and non-toxic, and the side adds \"Realistic\" and \"Swim \u0026amp; shower with them.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI love the directions on the back. Clean your skin, take off the protective sheet, press it on tacky side down, wet the back with a sponge or cloth, wait 30 seconds and slide the paper off. They say they last 3 to 5 days, and to get one off you rub it with alcohol, baby oil or adhesive tape. There is even a tip that for a more realistic look you should wash it lightly with soap and water. The ingredients are listed too: vinyl acetate P.V.A. co-polymer, D \u0026amp; C Yellow No. 5 Aluminum Lake, D \u0026amp; C Red No. 27, D \u0026amp; C Blue No. 1 Aluminum Lake and iron oxide. A temporary tattoo sold in the United States has to use color additives approved by the Food and Drug Administration, which is why every color is spelled out. MADE IN ENGLAND is printed at the bottom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🛩️ Why the Helmet Looks Like This\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat green helmet dates the art. The Jets switched to green helmets and a modern JETS wordmark in 1978, added black trim in 1990, and went back to their classic white-helmet look in 1998. So this is the helmet Gang Green fans grew up with, through the whole Sack Exchange era and every one of those rough early 1990s seasons.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe team started out in 1960 as the Titans of New York, playing in the old Polo Grounds for owner Harry Wismer, who explained the name by saying \"Titans are bigger and stronger than Giants.\" By 1962 he was broke, and in 1963 a five-man group led by Sonny Werblin bought the team for $1 million. Werblin renamed them the Jets because they would be playing near LaGuardia Airport, and because it rhymed with the Mets, who they would be sharing Shea Stadium with. Then he signed Joe Namath. Three days before Super Bowl III in January 1969, Namath stood up at the Miami Touchdown Club and personally guaranteed a win, and the Jets, 18-point underdogs, beat the Baltimore Colts 16 to 7 in one of the greatest upsets in sports.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1981 a fan named Dan O'Connor won a contest in the team magazine by naming the Jets' defensive line, Mark Gastineau, Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons and Abdul Salaam, the New York Sack Exchange. The Jets played their last game at Shea on December 10, 1983, and while fans pulled the place apart for souvenirs, the scoreboard read \"N.J. Jets.\" From 1984 on they played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and the Giants would not let anybody change the name. The 1990s were tough. Pete Carroll went 6 and 10 in 1994, and when owner Leon Hess, of the Hess gas stations, hired Rich Kotite for 1995, he told the press, \"I'm 80 years old, I want results now.\" Kotite went 4 and 28 over two years. In 1997 Hess brought in Bill Parcells, who had the Jets in the AFC Championship Game after the 1998 season, the same year this green helmet was retired.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏷️ Team NFL\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTeam NFL is printed across the top of the pack next to the league shield. NFL Properties, the league's licensing arm, was founded in 1963 to keep control of the league's and the teams' brands and to license official merchandise, and in the early 1990s it went after kids in a big way. It even made up a Team NFL Heroes mascot for every team, on stuffed dolls, school supplies and t-shirts. Most of those mascots only lasted a season or two, though a few, like Pat Patriot and the Broncos' Miles, were adopted by their teams. A pack of stick-on tattoos was the easy way for a kid to wear the helmet to the game.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🎁 A Fun Gift for a Jets Fan\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePerfect for a Jets fan's birthday, a tailgate or a stocking stuffer, or pin the pack up on the wall of the man cave next to the rest of your Jets stuff.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-dallas-cowboys-its-football-season\"\u003eVintage 1997 NFL Fingernail Tattoos Dallas Cowboys 🏈 It's Football Season!!!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1992-cincinnati-reds-temporary-tattoos-mlb-collectors-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1992 MLB Cincinatti Reds Temporary Tattoos ⚾ Mr. Red Fan Memorabilia!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1997-nfl-fingernail-tattoos-minnesota-vikings-its-football-season\"\u003eVintage 1997 Minnesota Vikings NFL Fingernail Tattoos 🏈 Sealed Sheet Superbowl Football Fan Gift NFL Properties Licensed Novelty\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44688860414184,"sku":"VAG-8302686535912","price":6.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.5231741691_p4it.jpg?v=1785440080"},{"product_id":"vintage-1992-cincinnati-reds-temporary-tattoos-mlb-collectors-treasures","title":"Vintage 1992 MLB Cincinatti Reds Temporary Tattoos ⚾ Mr. Red Fan Memorabilia!","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember Mr. Red? ⚾ 1992 Cincinnati Reds BodySport Temporary Tattoos with Mr. Red\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 5 1\/2\" x 4 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KlllbBxE3HA\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHere's a sealed 1992 BodySport pack of Reds tattoos ⚾, and the front says it holds 2 of each transfer shown. Two designs: the big one is the Running Man himself, Mr. Red, the ballplayer with a baseball for a head charging through a red C, CINCINNATI over the top and REDS underneath; the other is the old wishbone C with REDS inside. The MLB Genuine Merchandise seal is up in the corner, and along the bottom it promises the tattoos go on in seconds, last for days, come off easy and are safe and non-toxic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe pack is 5 1\/2 by 4 1\/2 inches. I've never opened one - I'd rather not ruin one just to show you more, since there are only so many of them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFlip it over and you get the instructions - clean the skin, cut out a transfer, peel the clear sheet, press it on sticky side down, wet the back with a sponge, wait 30 seconds, slide the paper off and rinse, good for 3 to 5 days; alcohol, baby oil or a piece of tape takes it off. The ingredients are P.V.A. copolymer, FD \u0026amp; C Blue No. 1, FD \u0026amp; C Yellow No. 5 \u0026amp; 6, FD \u0026amp; C Red No. 40, iron oxide and white titanium dioxide, and the fine print reads Copyright 1992 Under License to Highgate Products, Inc. of Dallas, Texas, MADE IN U.S.A.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🏃 How Mr. Red got his legs\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMr. Red was born in 1953, when Cincinnati Enquirer sports cartoonist Harold E. Russell drew an old-time Red Stockings player with a baseball head for the cover of the Reds yearbook. He landed on the uniform as a sleeve patch in 1955, with a black mustache and an old pillbox cap. He started running in 1961, and when the club brought in its no-facial-hair rule in 1968, even Mr. Red had to shave. Jerry Burnett of the Cincinnati ad agency Nolan, Keelor and Stites drew that clean-shaven Running Man, and he was the Reds' main logo through the whole Big Red Machine era and on into the early '90s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere's a good one. From 1968 right up through 1992, the year of this pack, the Running Man wore number 27, and no actual Reds player did. Logo historian Todd Radom says it was for Dal Maxvill, a St. Louis Cardinals infielder who happened to be the favorite player of owner Francis L. Dale's young son. A live Mr. Red in costume turned up in 1973, and the whole country saw him on NBC during Game 5 of the 1975 World Series. He vanished in the late 1980s, when owner Marge Schott's St. Bernards took over mascot duty, and didn't come back in costume until 1997.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔴 The Reds, then\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Reds were a charter member of the American Association in 1882, joined the National League in 1890, and carry the name of the old Cincinnati Red Stockings. That wishbone C has its own story: in April 1953, with McCarthyism going, the club said it would rather be called the Redlegs, and from 1956 to 1960 the word REDS came out of the C. It came back for good in the '60s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJohnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Pérez and Pete Rose - the Big Red Machine - won the World Series in 1975 and 1976, after the team moved from Crosley Field to Riverfront Stadium on the Ohio in 1970. In 1990, Lou Piniella's first year, the Reds led their division wire to wire, the only National League team ever to do it, with the Nasty Boys - Rob Dibble, Norm Charlton and Randy Myers - shutting the door, and then swept the heavily favored Oakland A's in four. In 1992 they bounced back from a losing year to a winning one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e⚾ Are the Reds Going to Win It All???\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis could be the year!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese are a little piece of baseball the way it used to be. Original MLB-licensed things like this are great to collect - or put one on and wear it, it's America's pastime - and that kind of interest isn't going anywhere! 😉 The supply is finite - nobody's printing 1992 Mr. Red tattoo packs again, and once these last sealed ones are gone, they'll be very difficult to acquire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGo Reds!!!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-new-york-jets-temporary-tattoos-nostalgic-gift-treasures-gifts\"\u003eVintage 1990s New York Jets Temporary Tattoos 🏈 NFL Fan Gift\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/rare-georgia-bulldogs-1994-temporary-tattoos-gift-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1994 Georgia Bulldogs Temporary Tattoos 🏈 NCAA Licensed College Football\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/relive-1994-glory-penn-state-nittany-lions-vintage-tattoos-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1994 NCAA College Football Penn State Nittany Lions 🏈 Temporary Tattoos\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44770213462248,"sku":"VAG-8337836507368","price":6.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.5316576697_cus3.jpg?v=1785440153"},{"product_id":"rare-1994-maryland-terps-temporary-tattoos-excite-cfl-collectors-vintage","title":"Vintage 1994 Maryland Terps Temporary Tattoos 🐢 College ACC Terrapins Memorabilia!","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember Maryland Terps Temporary Tattoos? The Terrapin You Wear on Game Day\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 5 1\/2\" x 4 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Nag2syvdO-8\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt the University of Maryland, luck has a shape: a grinning diamondback terrapin. Students rub the nose of the bronze Testudo statue before finals, and in the stands fans wore the terrapin on their cheeks. This is the game-day version, a sealed Imposters card of University of Maryland Terrapins temporary tattoos from 1994, never opened and never used.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePut one on for the next tailgate and you are back at Byrd Stadium in the mid-90s, in the red, white, black and gold.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat Is on the Card\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePackage size: 5 1\/2 x 4 1\/2 inches\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBrand: Imposters, in red script with a small TM mark, above the words TEMPORARY TATTOOS\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe card's promises: Easy to Apply, Easy to Remove, Safe \u0026amp; Non-toxic, Waterproof, Lasts for Days\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eContent: One Tattoo Sheet\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDesigns: four laughing terrapins climbing over a red block M, and four red \"Terps\" scripts\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND printed up the left edge of the sheet, and NC 52 in the lower corner\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHeader photo: a young couple, each wearing a \"#1\" tattoo on the cheek\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCondition: unopened and unused in its original clear bag\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLook closely and the \"Terps\" scripts read backward, each with a small reversed TM beside it. That is how a transfer tattoo is printed: pressed face down onto the skin, the word comes out the right way round.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eHow Maryland Became the Terrapins\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMaryland's teams were once known as the Old Liners. In 1932 Harry Clifton \"Curley\" Byrd, the football coach who went on to serve as the university's president from 1936, pushed for the diamondback terrapin as the school mascot. Byrd was a native of the Eastern Shore, from Crisfield, Maryland, where the Chesapeake Bay terrapins were plentiful.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Class of 1933 gave the campus a bronze terrapin as its class gift. A live diamondback sent by Holland Sea Food Company of Crisfield served as the model, and sculptor Aristide Cianfarani made the statue at Gorham Manufacturing Co. in Rhode Island. It was unveiled at Ritchie Coliseum in 1933. The model turtle died shortly after the unveiling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Legend of the Turtle That Kept Getting Stolen\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe story every Terp hears is that Testudo was stolen 12 times in 15 years. In 1947 Johns Hopkins students carried the statue off to Baltimore. Maryland students went after it and laid siege to the house where it was hidden, and more than 200 city police answered the call. The university eventually filled the turtle with hundreds of pounds of concrete and fastened it to its pedestal, and in 1965 moved it in front of McKeldin Library, where Testudo stands today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe tradition grew from there. Since the 1990s, students have rubbed Testudo's nose for good luck at finals and left offerings at his feet in the hope of good grades: coins, notes and flowers at first, and later traffic cones, road signs and even furniture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e1994: The Year the Terrapin Became Law\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1994 the Maryland General Assembly named the diamondback terrapin the official state reptile and the legally codified mascot of the University of Maryland, putting into law a bond that had run since Byrd's day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eByrd Stadium, Renamed\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe football stadium opened in 1950 and carried Byrd's name. Byrd transformed the old agricultural college into a modern university, and he was also a committed segregationist. In December 2015 the University System of Maryland Board of Regents voted 12-5 to rename it Maryland Stadium, after President Wallace Loh called the old name a painful reminder to African Americans that a generation earlier they had been unwelcome on the campus.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eFrom the ACC to the Big Ten\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1994 the Terrapins played in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which Maryland helped found on May 8, 1953, when it and six other schools split from the Southern Conference. The Board of Regents voted on November 19, 2012 to leave, and Maryland became a Big Ten school on July 1, 2014. Its official colors, red, white, black and gold, come from the Maryland state flag, and Maryland is the only NCAA school with four official colors.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eTemporary Tattoos, Then and Now\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTemporary tattoos began as candy and gum prizes printed in food coloring and moved onto the skin with a little water. The modern method, printing the image on a translucent film that transfers to the body, was developed by Keith R. Relyea and Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, the 3M Company, under a patent filed April 9, 1984 and granted June 10, 1986. By the time this Terps card was on the rack, a fan could buy a whole sheet of team logos in one sealed packet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🐢 About these\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe supply is finite in the plainest way - there's just this one sealed card, and once it's gone, it'll be very difficult to acquire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/relive-1994-glory-penn-state-nittany-lions-vintage-tattoos-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1994 NCAA College Football Penn State Nittany Lions 🏈 Temporary Tattoos\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/rare-georgia-bulldogs-1994-temporary-tattoos-gift-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1994 Georgia Bulldogs Temporary Tattoos 🏈 NCAA Licensed College Football\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1992-cincinnati-reds-temporary-tattoos-mlb-collectors-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1992 MLB Cincinatti Reds Temporary Tattoos ⚾ Mr. Red Fan Memorabilia!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44776014446824,"sku":"VAG-8340223623400","price":9.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.5322646735_dpdv.jpg?v=1785440163"},{"product_id":"relive-1994-glory-penn-state-nittany-lions-vintage-tattoos-treasures","title":"Vintage 1994 NCAA College Football Penn State Nittany Lions 🏈 Temporary Tattoos","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember Penn State's 1994 Season? 🏈 Vintage NCAA Nittany Lions Temporary Tattoos\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 5 1\/2\" x 4 1\/2\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2YdtKv6sD34\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\u003cp\u003e🏈 \u003cstrong\u003eIn 1994 Penn State went 12-0, beat Oregon in the Rose Bowl, and still finished second in the polls.\u003c\/strong\u003e This unopened pack of Nittany Lions temporary tattoos carries that same year on its front, printed under a pair of drawings of the most guarded statue in State College: the Nittany Lion Shrine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🦁 What is in the package\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA Tag Express temporary tattoo pack for the \u003cstrong\u003ePennsylvania State University\u003c\/strong\u003e, in a clear hard plastic case with a punched hang tab. The front card carries a red \u003cstrong\u003eCOLLEGIATE LICENSED PRODUCT\u003c\/strong\u003e seal, a flag-waving \u003cstrong\u003eMADE IN USA\u003c\/strong\u003e, and four promises: \u003cstrong\u003eApplies in seconds · Lasts for days · Easy to remove · Safe non-toxic\u003c\/strong\u003e. Under a red ribbon banner reading \u003cstrong\u003eTEMPORARY TATTOOS, CONTAINS: 3 ASSORTED TRANSFERS\u003c\/strong\u003e are two navy drawings of the crouching Lion Shrine, paws folded over its rock, and below them the lion-head logo in a navy oval over the \u003cstrong\u003ePennState\u003c\/strong\u003e wordmark. The foot of the card reads \u003cstrong\u003eLicensed To and Manufactured By Highgate Products, Inc. 1994\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe back of the card is an instruction sheet from another era: clean the skin, cut out the transfer, peel the protective sheet, press it on tacky side down, wet the back with a sponge or cloth, wait 30 seconds, slide off the paper and rinse. It \"Lasts 3-5 days,\" you can \"Swim \u0026amp; shower with them,\" and it comes off with rubbing alcohol, baby oil or adhesive tape. The ingredient list names P.V.A. copolymer, FD\u0026amp;C Blue No. 1, FD\u0026amp;C Yellow No. 5 \u0026amp; 6, FD\u0026amp;C Red No. 40, D\u0026amp;C cosmetic black oxide and white titanium dioxide, with a tip in small print: for a more realistic look, wash lightly with soap and water. The line at the bottom reads \u003cstrong\u003eMANUFACTURED FOR TAG EXPRESS, DULUTH, GA 30136, MADE IN U.S.A. By Highgate Products, Inc.\u003c\/strong\u003e The photographed back still wears a $3.29 store price sticker.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePackage size: 5 1\/2\" x 4 1\/2\" ~.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🗿 The statue on the card\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe lion drawn twice on this pack is the \u003cstrong\u003eNittany Lion Shrine\u003c\/strong\u003e, a gift of Penn State's Class of 1940. Sculptor Heinz Warneke and stonecutter Joseph Garatti carved it from a 13-ton block of Indiana limestone, and Warneke worked on it from June 1942 until October 3, finishing in less than four months. It was dedicated on October 24, 1942, during Homecoming, on a rise between Rec Hall and the old New Beaver Field.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt has needed protecting ever since. In 1966 six Syracuse University students doused the lion in orange paint from a fire extinguisher, and guarding the shrine through Homecoming weekend became a campus tradition that Lion Ambassadors and ROTC volunteers still keep today. For generations of Penn Staters, a photo with the shrine is the photo.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e⚾ A mascot invented on a baseball trip\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePenn State did not have a lion until 1904, when third baseman Harrison \"Joe\" Mason was touring Princeton's campus with his teammates before a game. A Princeton player bragged about the ferocity of the Princeton Tiger, and Mason answered on the spot: \"Well, up at Penn State we have Mount Nittany right on our campus, where rules the Nittany Mountain Lion, who has never been beaten in a fair fight.\" The bluff stuck. Nearly four decades later Mason, a 1907 graduate, stood up at the shrine's dedication and told the story of the mascot he had made up that day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏆 1994: the champions that never were\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe year on this package is the year of the team Penn State fans still argue about. Joe Paterno's 1994 Nittany Lions went 12-0 behind quarterback Kerry Collins and running back Ki-Jana Carter, put five players on All-America teams, and scored more than 40 points a game. They beat Oregon 38-20 in the Rose Bowl on January 2, 1995, and finished No. 2 anyway, behind an equally unbeaten Nebraska that claimed the national championship. The two teams never met: the Big Ten's contract sent Penn State to Pasadena while Nebraska played in the Orange Bowl.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat snub had a legacy. The old bowl tie-ins that kept two perfect teams apart were exactly what the Bowl Championship Series was built to fix, and in 1998 the Big Ten, the Pac-10 and the Rose Bowl finally joined it. The 1994 team helped push college football toward deciding its champion on the field.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏟️ Happy Valley's house\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBeaver Stadium is the second-largest stadium in the country, seating 106,572 against Michigan Stadium's 107,601, and Penn State's renovation could push it past Michigan for the top spot. On a White Out night the whole bowl is packed in white, and on game days it becomes one of the biggest gatherings in Pennsylvania.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e📜 When college logos became big business\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \"Collegiate Licensed Product\" seal on this pack belongs to the era when colleges were only starting to police their own marks. The Collegiate Licensing Company was founded in 1981 by Bill Battle, the former Tennessee coach, after he signed Alabama's Bear Bryant to a licensing deal and found the University of Alabama had no licensing program at all. Alabama became his first school client, and by 1983 he had signed eight more and moved the company from Selma, Alabama, to Atlanta. Tag Express worked from Duluth, Georgia, in the same Atlanta orbit, turning school logos into dime-a-dozen game-day items like this one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e✔️ Condition, in his words\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePackage is 5 1\/2\" x 4 1\/2\"~ I have never opened one as I don't want to ruin one to give more specifics or pictures as they are limited. One of them has some glue from the box it was in on the package; that will be the last one I sell. Tag Express products are top notch though always from what I have found.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAre the Nittany Lions going to win it all??? This could be another championship year! My pictures seriously don't do it justice. Go Penn State!!!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🏈 About these\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe supply is finite - nobody's packing up a 1994 Nittany Lions tattoo card again, and once these last ones are gone, they'll be very difficult to acquire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/rare-georgia-bulldogs-1994-temporary-tattoos-gift-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1994 Georgia Bulldogs Temporary Tattoos 🏈 NCAA Licensed College Football\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/rare-1994-maryland-terps-temporary-tattoos-excite-cfl-collectors-vintage\"\u003eVintage 1994 Maryland Terps Temporary Tattoos 🐢 College ACC Terrapins Memorabilia!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/rare-1994-nfl-cleveland-browns-dawg-pound-temporary-tattoos-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1994 Cleveland Browns Dawg Pound Temporary Tattoos 🐶 – NFL Licensed\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44789068824808,"sku":"VAG-8344414421224","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.5332063025_jug9.jpg?v=1785440171"},{"product_id":"rare-1979-john-mcenroe-tennis-embossed-stamped-envelope-collectible-vintage","title":"Vintage 1979 John McEnroe Embossed Stamped Envelope ✉️ First Rookie Masters Win!","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember John McEnroe's First Masters Title? 🎾 1979 Colgate Grand Prix Masters Cover, John McEnroe's First Masters Title, Madison Square Garden\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 6 1\/2\" x 3 3\/4\" ~ Unaddressed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IU-3o0bRmUo\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat a comeback! This is a vintage 1979 commemorative cover for the Colgate Grand Prix Masters at Madison Square Garden, a Smith Sports Cachet, never mailed to anybody. On the left, inside a gold embossed border, a color photo of a young John McEnroe in his red headband and a red-and-white shirt. At the upper right, an orange eagle US Postage stamp tied by a round NEW YORK, N.Y. JAN 10 1979 10001 postmark, the opening day of the tournament. And the printed story in the corner tells you why it's worth keeping.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🔍 What's Printed on It\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCOLGATE GRAND PRIX MASTERS\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJANUARY 10-14, 1979\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMADISON SQUARE GARDEN\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\"JOHN McENROE WON THE GRAND PRIX MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP AGAINST ARTHUR ASHE, WHO HAD HIM DOWN 4-1 IN THE THIRD SET. HE OVERCAME TWO MATCH POINTS AGAINST HIM TO PULL OUT A 7-5 VICTORY.\"\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSmith Sports Cachet (in tiny type up the side of the photo)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA gold embossed shield with a Z\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat gold Z shield is the mark of Historic Limited Editions, John Zaso's company, the silk-cachet makers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏆 McEnroe vs. Ashe, January 1979\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis was the Masters, the year-end championship of the Grand Prix tour. It counted as the 1978 Colgate-Palmolive Masters, the finale of the 1978 season, but it was played at Madison Square Garden from January 10 to 14, 1979. In the final a 19-year-old John McEnroe, in his rookie year as a pro, met Arthur Ashe, and it went down to the wire. McEnroe lost the first set 7-6, won the second 6-3, and fell behind 4-1 in the third, then saved two match points and pulled it out 7-5. It made him the youngest man ever to win the Masters, and it was his first one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's a great match-up for a cover like this: the fiery kid from Queens who would go on to be world No. 1 and win seven Grand Slam singles titles, against Arthur Ashe, the first Black man to win the U.S. Open, Wimbledon and the Australian Open, playing in one of the last big finals of his career.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏡 Display\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's a perfect piece for a tennis fan, a McEnroe or Ashe collector, or anybody who remembers watching tennis in the late '70s, and it looks sharp framed with the Madison Square Garden story showing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/rare-1979-martina-navratilova-embossed-envelope-collectible-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1979 Martina Navratilova Embossed Stamped Envelope ✉️ Tennis Legend!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1994-martina-navratilova-retires-tennis-embossed-stamped-envelope\"\u003eVintage 1994 Martina Navratilova Retires ✉️ Tennis Embossed Stamped Envelope!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1992-battle-sexes-embossed-stamped-envelope-navratilova-connors\"\u003eVintage 1992 Battle of the Sexes Silk Cachet Cover 🎾 | Navratilova vs Connors\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45220641571048,"sku":"VAG-8491824840936","price":9.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.5629976739_jita.jpg?v=1785440692"},{"product_id":"rare-1979-martina-navratilova-embossed-envelope-collectible-vintage-treasures","title":"Vintage 1979 Martina Navratilova Embossed Stamped Envelope ✉️ Tennis Legend!","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember Martina Navratilova at Madison Square Garden? 🎾 Martina Navratilova, 1979 Avon Women's Tennis Championship Cover, Madison Square Garden\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 6 1\/2\" x 3 3\/4\" ~ Unaddressed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_vmLC6wXiHU\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eA tennis legend on her way to the top! This is a vintage 1979 commemorative cover for the Avon Women's Tennis Championship at Madison Square Garden, with a silk cachet picture of a player inside a gold embossed border, an orange \"A\" eagle stamp cancelled NEW YORK, N.Y., MAR 21, 1979, and a printed caption telling how Martina Navratilova beat Tracy Austin in the final. It's a Smith Sports Cachet cover, never addressed. This stunning, commemorative envelope recalls Martina Navratilova's (the previous year's Wimbledon Women's Singles Champ) triumph over the prodigy from California, Tracy Austin, on Sunday, March 25, in the tournament's finale.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🔍 What's on it\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the left, a color picture printed on silk, set in a gold embossed checkerboard frame. Look close and you can see the fine weave of the cloth. It has with \u003cstrong\u003eSmith Sports Cachet\u003c\/strong\u003e in tiny type up the side and an embossed shield with a \u003cstrong\u003eZ\u003c\/strong\u003e below. That Z shield is the mark of Historic Limited Editions, John Zaso's company, the silk-cachet makers. Zaso's covers had their picture reproduced on a silk-like cloth and fixed to envelopes that were already stamped and postmarked, and you can see it here. The postmark is opening day, March 21, but the caption reports the final, played March 25. Across the cover, \u003cstrong\u003eAVON WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eMARCH 21-25, 1979\u003c\/strong\u003e, and the caption: \u003cstrong\u003eBEFORE A RECORD WOMEN'S CIRCUIT CROWD OF 13,752, MARTINA NAVRATILOVA BEAT TRACY AUSTIN, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 FOR THE $100,000 TOP PRIZE AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN.\u003c\/strong\u003e In the corner, the orange eagle stamp marked \u003cstrong\u003eA\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eUS Postage\u003c\/strong\u003e, tied by a round \u003cstrong\u003eNEW YORK, N.Y. MAR 21 1979 10001\u003c\/strong\u003e postmark on the opening day of the tournament.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏆 The 1979 Avon Championships\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Avon Championships were the big season-ending championship of women's tennis, and the 1979 edition, the eighth, was played March 21 to 25 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Navratilova beat a 16-year-old Tracy Austin in three sets in the final, her fifth singles title of the year and the 29th of her career, for $100,000. She came into it as the reigning Wimbledon champion, having beaten Chris Evert in the 1978 final for her first major singles title, and Austin, from the Palos Verdes Peninsula in California, was one of the great teenage prodigies the game has ever seen. That summer she went on to win Wimbledon again, and she would become one of the greatest players the game has ever seen.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe final was a rematch. Back in January, at the 1979 Avon Championships of Washington, Austin had beaten Navratilova 6-3, 6-2. At the Garden, Martina turned it around. Sports Illustrated called the 13,752 people who came to watch the largest tennis crowd in the history of the women's game, the same number printed in the caption. Austin wasn't done, either. Six months later she won the 1979 U.S. Open at 16 years and 9 months, the youngest champion it has ever had.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAvon's name was only on the championships for four years, 1979 through 1982, and Navratilova won the trophy twice in that run, in 1979 and 1981. The trophy itself was much older than the sponsorship. The International Tennis Hall of Fame says it was made and hand-etched in England in 1879.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e📮 The \"A\" stamp\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat orange eagle stamp with no price on it is a neat piece of postal history. When the Postal Service knew a rate increase was coming but not what the new rate would be, it printed stamps with a letter instead of a number. The \"A\" stamp was the very first of them, issued May 22, 1978, when first-class postage went from 13 to 15 cents, and later came B, C, D, E and on down the alphabet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏡 Display\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's a perfect gift for a tennis fan, a Navratilova fan, a stamp collector, or anybody who remembers the Garden in the '70s, and it looks great framed in a den or a tennis club. Nobody is printing these covers again. Once these last ones are gone, they'll be very difficult to acquire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/rare-1979-john-mcenroe-tennis-embossed-stamped-envelope-collectible-vintage\"\u003eVintage 1979 John McEnroe Embossed Stamped Envelope ✉️ First Rookie Masters Win!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1994-martina-navratilova-retires-tennis-embossed-stamped-envelope\"\u003eVintage 1994 Martina Navratilova Retires ✉️ Tennis Embossed Stamped Envelope!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1992-battle-sexes-embossed-stamped-envelope-navratilova-connors\"\u003eVintage 1992 Battle of the Sexes Silk Cachet Cover 🎾 | Navratilova vs Connors\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45221763285224,"sku":"VAG-8492123422952","price":9.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.5584056242_8s6u.jpg?v=1785440700"},{"product_id":"vintage-1992-battle-sexes-embossed-stamped-envelope-navratilova-connors","title":"Vintage 1992 Battle of the Sexes Silk Cachet Cover 🎾 | Navratilova vs Connors","description":"\u003ch2\u003eNavratilova vs Connors? 🎾 Vintage 1992 Battle of the Sexes Silk Cachet Cover\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 6 1\/2\" x 3 3\/4\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"margin-bottom: 20px;\"\u003e\u003ciframe title=\"Vintage 1992 Battle of the Sexes Navratilova vs Connors Envelope\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yZhDVxOcHCQ\" height=\"315\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n \u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e🎾 Jimmy Connors against Martina Navratilova, Las Vegas, 1992, and this cover was cancelled in Las Vegas the very day they played. It's a silk cachet event cover, the kind made in small runs for collectors, and I haven't found another one of these for sale anywhere.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🔍 What's On It\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAcross the top, \u003cstrong\u003eBATTLE OF THE SEXES, NAVRATILOVA - CONNORS\u003c\/strong\u003e. The picture is two black-and-white photos side by side, Navratilova hitting a forehand and Connors his two-handed backhand, printed on silk and set in a shiny silver-blue foil frame. Down in the corner the paragraph reads \u003cstrong\u003eTHE TENNIS BATTLE OF THE SEXES WAS FOUGHT IN LAS VEGAS IN A CLOSE MATCH BETWEEN MARTINA NAVRATILOVA AND JIMMY CONNORS. THE MATCH WAS WON BY JIMMY CONNORS.\u003c\/strong\u003e The stamp is the 29-cent Flag over White House, tied on with a \u003cstrong\u003eLAS VEGAS, NV, SEP 25 1992\u003c\/strong\u003e postmark. It's unaddressed and the back is blank.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat little Z in a shield beside the frame is the mark of Historic Limited Editions, John Zaso's company out of Williston Park on Long Island. They made silk-cachet covers for big events from the 1970s into the 1990s, usually a few hundred of each, and had them postmarked in the city where the event happened.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏟️ The Match\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was billed as the \"Battle of Champions,\" but everybody called it the second Battle of the Sexes. Friday, September 25, 1992, outdoors at Caesars Palace, on pay-per-view. Connors was 40, Navratilova 35, and they evened it up: Connors got only one serve per point, and Navratilova could hit into half of the doubles alleys. A sellout crowd of 13,832 showed up, and Connors went off as a 6-1 favorite.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe won 7-5, 6-2. Navratilova double-faulted away a set point in the first set and made eight double faults all told. \"I was more nervous today than any match I've ever been in,\" she said afterward. Connors had warned everybody beforehand: \"You consider it fun. I consider it my job playing against Martina.\" The winner took home $500,000.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd the best part came out more than twenty years later. In his 2013 memoir, Connors admitted he'd bet a million dollars on himself to win in straight sets and lose no more than eight games. 7-5, 6-2 is seven games. He won that bet too.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first Battle of the Sexes was Billie Jean King over Bobby Riggs in Houston on September 20, 1973. This one came nineteen years and five days later.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e📬 The Stamp\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat 29-cent coil stamp came out on April 23, 1992, printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, for the 200th anniversary of the laying of the White House cornerstone in 1792. That's why it says The White House 1792 1992.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e📏 Details\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNavratilova vs Connors event cover with a silk cachet\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHistoric Limited Editions (Z shield), silver-blue foil frame\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFlag over White House stamp with the Las Vegas match-day cancel\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUnaddressed, blank back\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYou'll get one cover like the ones shown\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e🖼️ Frame it for a tennis fan, a Las Vegas collection or a sports den. It's a great gift for anybody who remembers that night or who loves the King-Riggs story.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1994-martina-navratilova-retires-tennis-embossed-stamped-envelope\"\u003eVintage 1994 Martina Navratilova Retires ✉️ Tennis Embossed Stamped Envelope!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/rare-1979-john-mcenroe-tennis-embossed-stamped-envelope-collectible-vintage\"\u003eVintage 1979 John McEnroe Embossed Stamped Envelope ✉️ First Rookie Masters Win!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/rare-1979-martina-navratilova-embossed-envelope-collectible-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1979 Martina Navratilova Embossed Stamped Envelope ✉️ Tennis Legend!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45222164201704,"sku":"VAG-8492201509096","price":9.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.5584780352_d8yj.jpg?v=1785440709"},{"product_id":"vintage-1994-martina-navratilova-retires-tennis-embossed-stamped-envelope","title":"Vintage 1994 Martina Navratilova Retires ✉️ Tennis Embossed Stamped Envelope!","description":"\u003ch2\u003eWhen Did Martina Navratilova Retire? 🎾 \"Martina Navratilova Retires\" Silk Cachet Cover, New York, November 15, 1994\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 6 1\/2\" x 3 3\/4\" ~ Unaddressed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LRJLdM3PTWo\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe end of an era! This is a vintage 1994 commemorative cover for Martina Navratilova's retirement, never mailed. On the left, inside a gold embossed border, a painted portrait of Martina reproduced on silk-like cloth, her face in warm orange tones with a little figure of her lunging for a low shot below, captioned MARTINA NAVRATILOVA and RETIRES. At the upper right, a 29¢ White House stamp is tied by a round NEW YORK, NY NOV 15 1994 10199 postmark, and a small gold embossed Z shield sits beside the printed tribute.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🔍 What's Printed on It\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMARTINA NAVRATILOVA \/ RETIRES (on the silk portrait)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\"MARTINA NAVRATILOVA, ONE OF THE MOST TALENTED WOMEN'S TENNIS PLAYERS EVER, RETIRED. MARTINA WON 167 MAJOR TENNIS TITLES, 18 GRAND SLAM TITLES, INCLUDING WIMBLEDON NINE TIMES; AND WAS RANKED IN THE TOP FIVE FOR 20 CONSECUTIVE YEARS.\"\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe 29¢ White House 1792-1992 stamp, NEW YORK, NY NOV 15 1994 10199\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe gold embossed Z shield\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat Z shield is the mark of Historic Limited Editions, John Zaso's company, famous for its silk cachets in the 1980s and 1990s. A staff artist painted an original portrait of the athlete or the event, the painting was reproduced on a specially made silk-like cloth, and the silk was applied to envelopes that had already been stamped and postmarked. They usually made just 200 to 600 of each.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏆 Her Farewell Night at the Garden\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLook at that postmark date. On the night of Tuesday, November 15, 1994, Martina Navratilova played her farewell singles match, in the first round of the Virginia Slims Championships at Madison Square Garden. Gabriela Sabatini beat her 6-4, 6-2 in front of 17,131 people. Then the lights went down and Martina walked out into a spotlight carrying flowers and a box of tissues. A red banner with a yellow tennis ball, \"1994\" and her name went up to the rafters, up there with the Knicks and the Rangers, and she was the first woman the Garden ever honored that way. The women's tour gave her a pearl-white Harley-Davidson, and she rode it around, grinning. She said that if she had to lose, she'd rather lose to Sabatini than anyone else, \"because she's a good human being.\" That night closed out 22 years on the tour.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis remarkable envelope is a lasting tribute to her legendary career and her first \"retirement.\" It didn't stick. She kept playing doubles, came back to singles in her forties, and at Wimbledon in 2004, at 47, she won a first-round singles match 6-0, 6-1. In September 2006 she finally bowed out for good by winning the US Open mixed doubles with Bob Bryan, her 41st major doubles title. She was 49, about a month short of 50, and Guinness World Records lists her as the oldest winner of a Grand Slam title.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn all she won 167 singles titles, the most anyone has won in the Open era, plus 177 doubles titles. Her majors came to 18 in singles, 31 in women's doubles and 10 in mixed, and nine of those singles titles were at Wimbledon. She did it as an American by choice. Born in Prague on October 18, 1956, she asked the United States for political asylum in 1975 at 18 and became a U.S. citizen in 1981.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e📮 The White House Stamp\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 29-cent stamp shows the flag flying over the White House, with \"The White House 1792 1992\" printed in the corner. It came out in Washington on April 23, 1992, for the 200th anniversary of the day the White House cornerstone was laid, October 13, 1792. Bureau of Engraving and Printing artist V. Jack Ruther designed it, and it was printed in rolls of 100, 500 and 3,000 stamps.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏡 Display\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's a perfect piece for a tennis fan, a Navratilova collector or anybody who loves the history of women's sports, and it looks great framed with the silk portrait and the postmark showing. Nobody is making these 1994 covers again. Once these last ones are gone, they'll be very difficult to acquire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/rare-1979-martina-navratilova-embossed-envelope-collectible-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1979 Martina Navratilova Embossed Stamped Envelope ✉️ Tennis Legend!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1992-battle-sexes-embossed-stamped-envelope-navratilova-connors\"\u003eVintage 1992 Battle of the Sexes Silk Cachet Cover 🎾 | Navratilova vs Connors\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/rare-1979-john-mcenroe-tennis-embossed-stamped-envelope-collectible-vintage\"\u003eVintage 1979 John McEnroe Embossed Stamped Envelope ✉️ First Rookie Masters Win!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45227124457704,"sku":"VAG-8493464781032","price":9.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.5637016817_olba.jpg?v=1785440716"},{"product_id":"rare-1991-reggie-jackson-gold-embossed-yankees-collectible-envelope-vintage","title":"Vintage 1991 Reggie Jackson Embossed Stamped Envelope ⚾ NY Yankees Tribute, Bronx","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember Reggie Jackson at Old Timers Day? ⚾ Reggie Jackson, New York Yankees Old Timers Day, July 27, 1991\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 6 1\/2\" x 3 3\/4\" ~ Canceled in the Bronx, unaddressed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KjNbvfqQRYQ\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIntroducing the Vintage 1991 Reggie Jackson Gold Embossed Stamped Envelope, a remarkable tribute to the legendary New York Yankees player and Hall of Famer, Reggie Jackson. This envelope features a stunning gold embossed design showcasing Reggie and the iconic NY Yankees logo and pays homage to Jackson's incredible career.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the left, inside a gold embossed stamp-shaped frame, is a painted portrait of Reggie in his Yankees pinstripes, glasses and mustache, signed srini by the artist Susan Rini, the same painter behind the 1969 Miracle Mets postcard series. On the right, a real F rate Flower stamp is tied on by a round STADIUM STA. BRONX, N.Y. cancel dated JUL 27, 1991, from the Stadium Station post office in the Bronx, on Old Timers Day itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏷️ Every Word on the Envelope\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNEW YORK YANKEES, OLD TIMERS DAY, REGGIE JACKSON, around the cachet\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\"REGGIE JACKSON WAS PRESENT AT THIS 1991 OLD TIMERS DAY. THE FORMER YANKEE AND FUTURE HALL OF FAMER WAS AMONG THE YANKEE OLD TIMERS WHO TURNED OUT FOR THE EVENT. THE STARS INCLUDED BOYER, TRESH, LINZ, RICHARDSON AND OTHERS.\"\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Yankees top hat logo in gold, and a small Z shield mark\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSTADIUM STA. BRONX, N.Y., JUL 27, 1991, 10452, on the cancel\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eF, Flower, USA, For U.S. addresses only, on the stamp\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🎩 Mr. October\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRenowned as \"Mr. October,\" Reggie Jackson earned his distinctive nickname for his incredible clutch hitting during the postseason. Thurman Munson came up with it during the 1977 World Series, telling reporters to \"go ask Mister October.\" During his time with the Oakland Athletics, Jackson helped win three consecutive World Series titles from 1972 to 1974, and upon joining the New York Yankees he won back-to-back championships in 1977 and 1978. The one everybody remembers is Game Six of the 1977 World Series, when he hit three home runs in a row, each on the first pitch, off three different Dodgers pitchers. They even named a candy bar after him, the Reggie! bar, handed out at the 1978 Yankees home opener.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe finished his 21 seasons with 563 home runs and 14 All-Star selections. Two years after this envelope, the \"future Hall of Famer\" line came true: he went into Cooperstown in 1993 on his first ballot with 93.6 percent of the vote, and the Yankees retired his number 44 that same year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🧢 The Old Timers\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe printed note names some of the other old timers who turned out that day, Boyer, Tresh, Linz and Richardson, the Yankees of the early 1960s. Phil Linz has one of the great Yankee stories. On August 20, 1964, after a loss to the White Sox, he was playing \"Mary Had a Little Lamb\" on a harmonica on the team bus when manager Yogi Berra told him to knock it off. Linz didn't catch what Yogi said, Mickey Mantle told him Yogi wanted it louder, and the harmonica ended up flying through the bus and nicking Joe Pepitone's knee.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e✉️ The F Stamp\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe stamp is a nice bit of postal history too. The Post Office issued the non-denominated F rate Flower stamp, a single red tulip, on January 22, 1991, ready for the jump in first-class postage to 29 cents, and it was the first rate-change stamp to say \"For U.S. addresses only.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🖼️ Display\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's a great piece for a Yankees fan or a Reggie collector, and it looks sharp framed or slipped into a cover album.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/rare-civil-war-centennial-lincoln-envelope-1961-vintage-treasures-gifts\"\u003eVintage 1961 Civil War Centennial Series Lincoln ✉️ Embossed Stamped Envelope\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/rare-1961-1963-civil-war-centennial-dixipex-iv-cacheted-cover\"\u003eVintage 1961-1963 Civil War Centennial DIXIPEX IV Embossed Cacheted Cover ✉️ Postally Used Envelope\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1990s-looney-tunes-key-chains-luggage-tag-bugs-bunny-tasmanian\"\u003eVintage 1990s Looney Tunes Key Chains 🐰 Luggage Tag, Bugs Bunny, Taz, Tweety\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45253062689000,"sku":"VAG-8501516599528","price":9.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.5606513712_247e.jpg?v=1785440773"},{"product_id":"vintage-1950s-60s-monmouth-park-jockey-club-voting-trust-certificate","title":"Vintage 1950s-60s Monmouth Park Jockey Club Stock Certificate 🐎 Jersey Shore Horse Racing, Oceanport NJ","description":"\u003ch2\u003eRemember Monmouth Park Jockey Club? 🐎 A Voting Trust Certificate From the Jersey Shore\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12\" x 8\" ~ Issued voting trust certificates, filled in and stamped. They vary a little one to the next.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HYxvMvnmwnk\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eA Monmouth Park Jockey Club Common Stock Voting Trust Certificate for 100 shares, engraved in deep maroon and cream. Across the top in red it reads \"Issued Subject to All Rules and Regulations of the New Jersey Racing Commission,\" a line the corporation's own charter required in red on every share it issued. Under it is an engraved view of the old grandstand entrance, carriages and top-hatted crowds pulling in under the arches, captioned \"Opening Day 1870.\" The Columbian Bank Note Company printed it. These are issued certificates, filled in for their holders, so the names, numbers, dates and stamps differ from sheet to sheet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏛️ Haskell, Iselin and Schley\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnder a Voting Trust Agreement the club's common shares were held by three trustees, printed right on the sheet: Amory L. Haskell, Philip H. Iselin and Reeve Schley. They held the vote; the certificate holder kept the dividends and the right to get the actual stock when the trust ended, \"on the 19th day of September, 1964,\" under an agreement \"dated the 20th day of September, 1954.\" The Commercial Trust Company of New Jersey, a Jersey City bank organized around the turn of the century, countersigned as agent. Par value was one cent a share.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThose three names are Monmouth Park history. Amory L. Haskell, who led the legislative charge to bring racing back to New Jersey, was president and chairman of the club from 1945 until he died in 1966, and the track's biggest race still carries his name. It was first run in 1968 as the Monmouth Invitational and became the Haskell in 1981, a million-dollar Grade I for three-year-olds. Philip H. Iselin, a New York women's-apparel man, was the club's treasurer from 1946 to 1968 and then its president and chairman, and he went on to be president of the New York Jets. Reeve Schley Sr. was a vice president of the Chase National Bank from 1919 to 1946.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🌊 Opening Day 1870, and a 53-Year Wait\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe date in the vignette is the real one. The first Monmouth Park opened on July 30, 1870 in Eatontown, and folks called it \"the Newmarket of America\" after England's racing town. Old-timers along the Shore still repeat that name with pride; it was never an official title, just what everybody called it. This was a Gilded Age track through and through. A New York businessman with a real taste for a wager, New Jersey Senate President Amos Robbins and John Hoey of the Adams Express Company put it up three miles from Long Branch to bring summer trade to the Shore towns, and people came by horse, by carriage, by rail and on the steamboats that ran every day from New York City. Jim Fisk, Jay Gould and Boss Tweed were all there on opening day. President Grant, who spent his summers at Long Branch, was not, and a couple thousand grandstand seats sat empty; once he took a box the crowds followed, and in 1872 a record 25,000 people turned out for the Monmouth Cup and filled the hotels all around. I love that it took a president buying a box to get the place going. The track struggled, and in 1878 David D. Withers, George L. Lorillard, James Gordon Bennett Jr. and George P. Wetmore bought it and brought it back. It got a brand-new neighbor in 1890, but New Jersey banned betting in 1894 and outlawed gambling altogether in 1897, and the track went dark. It took a 1939 constitutional amendment to allow parimutuel betting again. Haskell, Iselin, Schley and a group of New Jersey businessmen organized the Monmouth Park Jockey Club, built a new track in Oceanport, and opened it on June 19, 1946 to a crowd of 18,724, after a 53-year wait.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e🏇 The Track\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe main track is a one-mile oval, 100 feet wide, with the poles color-coded so you can read the race at a glance: green and white at the eighths, red and white at the quarters, black and white at the sixteenths. The turf course is a 90-foot-wide, seven-eighths-mile oval of bluegrass and rye. Behind the clubhouse there's a 16-stall oak saddling enclosure leading to a tree-shaded English walking ring. The backstretch holds about 1,600 horses in 38 barns, practically its own small town, with a post office, the racing secretary's office, a chaplain, and a rec hall for movies, seminars and church services. In the middle of it all is the Quadrangle and the Frenchman's Kitchen, whose motto goes: \"Eat your betting money, but never bet your eating money.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/monmouth-jockey-club-stock-certificate-horse-racing-heyday-vintage\"\u003eVintage 1940s-1950s Monmouth Park Jockey Club Stock Certificate 🐎 Jersey Shore Horse Racing Wall Art\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1960s-atlantic-refining-company-stock-certificate-brown\"\u003eVintage 1960s Atlantic Refining Company Stock Certificate 🛢️ Brown, Under 100 Shares, $3 Cumulative Preference\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1960s-atlantic-refining-company-stock-certificate-oil-americana-green\"\u003eVintage 1960s Atlantic Refining Company Stock Certificate 🛢️ Green, 100 Shares, Common Stock\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46673060430056,"sku":"VAG-8948402421992","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.6240646742_dbcn.jpg?v=1785441636"}],"url":"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/collections\/vintage-sports-memorabilia.oembed?page=3","provider":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","version":"1.0","type":"link"}