(LOT 1706)
Extremely Rare 1915 Boston Red Sox American League Champions Pennant Issued During Babe Ruth's 1915 Rookie Season – Measures Approx. 11" x 29-3/4"
The 1915 Boston Red Sox campaign resulted in the "Beantown" heroes winning the American League Pennant via a sensational 101-50 record (.669 winning percentage), besting the second-place Detroit Tigers by 2-1/2 games. The BoSox would go on to easily defeat the overmatched Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series in an uneventful five games, claiming their third World Championship in the franchise's 15th season. Led by the finest pitching staff in baseball, Boston would boast five pitchers with 15 wins or more including Ernie Shore (19); Rube Foster (19); Dutch Leonard (15); "Smokey" Joe Wood (15) and their incomparable rookie southpaw George Herman "Babe" Ruth who posted an outstanding 18 wins and 2.44 E.R.A. in his inaugural season. Also ably assisting Boston were their two future HOF outfielders Tris Speaker and Harry Hooper, who were joined by a formidable infield of Hoblitzell, Barry, Scott and Gardner. Indeed, the Boston squad was the finest team in baseball, and one of the most momentous artifacts from that championship campaign is this ultra-rare 1915 Red Sox American League Champions pennant. Measuring approximately 11" x 29-3/4", it has been neatly mounted and framed to 17" x 36" dimensions, and to the best of our knowledge, we know of only a single other existing example.

One of the major highlights of this extraordinary scarcity is the fact that it includes a "1915" caption. Indeed, many of the pre-1920 team championship pennants exclude a specific year, leading to some ambiguity of the exact calendar year issue. The golden-brown felt surface does reveal scattered areas of modest soiling, with minimal fraying throughout the pennant. For full disclosure, there is a hole situated near the left border as well as a "pinhole" near the upper right shoulder of the generic left-handed batter who is positioned on a super eye pleasing green patch. Most significantly, virtually all of the captions are completely intact, with the exception of some minor wear to the "5" in 1915. The critical and imposing "RED SOX" white logo literally jumps off the pennant, joined by additional bold white captions reading: "AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONS – 1915." The lower 6" tassel is completely intact, and while the upper tassel may not have retained its original full length, due to it being folded underneath the pennant during the framing process, we cannot determine with 100% certainty its remaining length.

Our esteemed consignor actually purchased this pennant 52 years ago at a Massachusetts yard sale. At that time, he was an ardent 10-year-old Red Sox fan, infatuated with the 1967 "Dream Team" that took the Nation by storm in their storybook ride to the '67 Fall Classic. This particular yard sale included several pennants for sale, one being a 1967 team pennant with the other being this 1915 marvel. Carrying only $4 in his pocket (his remaining allowance), he politely asked the seller the price of the '67 pennant. When told it was $6, he literally "begged" the seller to give it to him for $4, but he would not budge off of his $6 asking price. Totally frustrated, little Richie noticed the 1915 pennant and asked if he could have that one for $4 with the seller agreeing to those terms. Ironic to say the least, little did Richie know that he had just purchased a remarkable keepsake, worthy of Cooperstown itself via its definitive 1915 pedigree. To reiterate, what makes this magnificent heirloom so significant is its definitive 1915 lineage dating the pennant to Ruth's true rookie season, with any artifacts from "The Babe's" inaugural campaign bursting with unprecedented pricing potential!


MIN BID $3,000
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