{"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":"\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\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize: 2 1\/2\" x 2 1\/4\" ~\u003c\/strong\u003e Sealed in the original package. They vary a little one to the next.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e⚾ The Last Year of a Classic Cardinals Logo\u003c\/h2\u003e\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\/rare-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","url":"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-mlb-st-louis-cardinals-keychain-1997-last-year-logo","provider":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","version":"1.0","type":"link"}