PENNANT FACTORY
Homemade pennants inspired by designs of the past
The designLast year I re-created Notre Dame Stadium's scoreboard. In case you missed how that project turned out, you can see for yourself here. And because I'm nearly as obsessed with scoreboards as I am pennants, I thought I might take a stab at one more: Dodger Stadium's iconic mid-century scoreboard. Dodger Stadium is today the third oldest ballpark in baseball. Built in 1962, the venue represents perhaps the best example of mid-century architecture ever utilized in stadium design. Its car friendly parking lots; its use of unadorned concrete; its lush landscaping throughout the grounds; and of course, the angled panel roof above the outfield pavilions--all convey that this stadium was made nearly sixty years ago. But, of all these design features, the hexagonal scoreboard, in my opinion, says "1962" better than anything else. Not only is its shape consistent with mid-century design; there's nothing else like it in sports. It represents a design element entirely unique to Dodger Stadium and, for this reason, I've always admired it. When the park first opened, electronic scoreboards were considered cutting edge. Up to that point, scoreboards were much smaller; they were situated closer to the field of play; and, through the 1950s, many were still hand operated. But, incandescent light bulbs meant that Dodger Stadium's scoreboard could be controlled from the press box with the push of a button. Remarkably, from 1962 through the late 1990s the hexagonal scoreboard remained relatively unchanged. Only the advertisement perched atop the scoreboard--an orange branded "76" for the Union Oil Co. of California--saw alteration when the petroleum giant modernized their logo. That's pretty much it. Many great photos have been taken over the years at Dodger Stadium. Of these, my favorites depicted Sandy Koufax being Sandy Koufax. Photographers soon realized that the scoreboard's placement, coupled with its bright lighting, made for the perfect photo. Around the year 2000 or so new ownership came in and made some significant changes to the scoreboard display. Incandescent light bulbs were replaced by high resolution LED bulbs. The static scoreboard layout gave way to a multi-use format that could be altered between scoreboard and message board, as needed. And after four decades, the omnipresent "76" advertisement for the Los Angeles-based oil company yielded to new sponsors, like Coca-Cola, Budweiser, and Mercedes Benz. In the past decade, current ownership gutted the scoreboard entirely; replacing the display with a hexagon shaped video board, capable of even more versatility. But, much like Notre Dame Stadium's scoreboard, the hexagon shaped scoreboard housing at Dodger Stadium remained constant, even as the display boards within received updates. I have to commend the current ownership group for the substantial investments they have made at Dodger Stadium within the past decade. These owners seem to have a good pulse on the types of changes fans really need. At the same time, they've recognized those design elements that make the ballpark special; and they've managed to preserve many of those aspects. And while I enjoy a timely replay on those giant hexagon shaped video boards, I must confess: I miss the simplicity of the old display board. So I decided to re-create it. The jobThankfully, there's no shortage of photos depicting the old scoreboard as it appeared in the 1960s through the 1990s. So designing my scoreboard housing came easy. The challenge came in obtaining a a good, high resolution photo of the scoreboard display; and, more importantly, one that depicted a particularly significant game played at Dodger Stadium. And, it goes without saying: a game that ended in a Dodger win! I narrowed four decades of Dodger baseball down to two games meeting my criteria: (1) Sandy Koufax's perfect game, September 9, 1965 versus the Cubs; and (2) Kirk Gibson's pinch hit home run during game #1 of the World Series, October 15, 1988. I truly admire the south paw and everything about the 1960s; but, for me, Gibson's homer was the moment I fell in love with the Dodgers; and when I really began to appreciate the game of baseball. So, Gibson/1988 it was. Next I searched online for vintage images of the scoreboard display from that game. I needed one taken seconds after Gibson's home run ball landed somewhere in the right fight field pavilion. Thankfully, the internet is full of information. I found this: The challenge in re-creating a particular game/scoreboard isn't just in finding an image of the display board; rather, finding an image taken straight-on of it. Most photos will depict the scoreboard from an angle. If you're hoping to print that image as a photo and affix same to your scoreboard, these won't work. The letters will come out skewed. It won't look right. With my scoreboard display image in hand, I began building the scoreboard housing. Like the Notre Dame Stadium scoreboard I re-created earlier, I used floral foam. I took one block and cut it into the shape of a hexagon matching the above dimensions from the real scoreboard. For the veneer, I covered the foam in gray corduroy fabric, intended to mimic the corrugated steel exterior of the real scoreboard housing. After printing, cutting, and gluing the display on to the hexagon, my scoreboard was taking shape. Wooden stakes served as my support columns. After inserting these into the hexagon's underside, I glued the opposite ends to a wooden base. All wood surfaces were then painted in gray, to resemble painted steel. Finally, the UNOCAL "76" advertisement.... I again turned to the internet to ensure my logo was the correct design for the year 1988. I printed this image out, glued it to a circular piece of foam, then inserted it into the top-side of the hexagon foam. Just like hanging a star atop a Christmas tree! UPDATE: I was just informed that, after a more than two decade absence, the old 1980s-era version of the "76" logo will return to the Dodger Stadium scoreboard in 2020. The resultIt's been 30+ years, and counting, since the last great moment in Los Angeles Dodgers history. But, with my new scoreboard, every day feels like 1988 again! Note: All unquoted material on these pages is © 2020 K.R. Biebesheimer & Son. All rights reserved. Short excerpts may be used after written permission obtained and proper credit is given. ♦♦
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AuthorIn 2018 I started a separate website called Pennant Fever dedicated to 20th century felt novelty manufacturers. It focuses on these companies' history, products, etc. Eventually, my interest in these businesses inspired me to start making my own pennants. THIS site you're currently viewing, Pennant Factory, is where I'll showcase some of the felt projects I've taken on. Most are reproductions of real pennants once for sale to the public. I've done my best to re-create the originals as authentically as possible based upon surviving photos, known dimensions, etc. Others are my original work, intended to look like the styles of yesteryear. Some turned out better than others. See for yourself. Enjoy! -KRB Projects:
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