Offered for sale is an original, vintage cloth and paper construction pin-back of Eddie Mathews. The design, although made of different materials, is somewhat similar to that of the Star Cal decals, which were manufactured only five years earlier. The paper photo insert of Mathews is surrounded by a blue cloth and vinyl "holder" with a paper backing and attached pin. The overall condition is excellent for the time period with some light cracking along the white vinyl edges as well as some mild discoloration on the reverse side. The pin has some light oxidation from its age.

The image used of Eddie Mathews most closely matches pictures taken of him during the 1957 and 1958 seasons. Since the Milwaukee Braves were National League champions during those two years, we believe that it is likely that it was manufactured during that time period. Our best guess is that this nearly unique piece of baseball nostalgia was part of a local, Milwaukee promotion or perhaps, was a Milwaukee County Stadium souvenir that was sold during a very short time period. To date, we have seen only one other example—a red color variety that was identical except in lower condition. It was offered to us by noted pinback collector and author, Paul Muchinsky, at the 2014 National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.

Front view of cloth pin

Back view of cloth pin