The History of Pennant Flags

It’s no secret that we LOVE pennants! Pennants are a great way of commemorating special events, adding a fun design element to a space, or can even be a great gift. Long story short we are big pennant fans. Recently on Pinterest and other design sites, there seems to be a big trend emerging, the usage of vintage pennants as decorative pieces. These pennants are often intriguing because they give you an insight into the past and what was important enough to people to be placed on a pennant. As I’ve looked through these pennants I have wanted to learn more about the origins of the felt pennant flag and how these triangle-shaped pieces of fabric brought people together.

The History:
As early as 1895 in Australia, pennant flags of winning teams were raised on post for people to see who the winners were. Traditionally, pennant flags were used as a way to show support for a particular athletic team and were used on all levels of sport: high school, collegiate, professional. These pennants were often made in the athletic team’s colors and had images of mascots or team symbols woven onto them. As sporting events evolved pennant flags became commemorative souvenirs of championships won or special team events (think Baseball World Series).

Pennant flags really began to make waves thanks to the introduction of football as a college sport. During the 1900s the game began to pick up speed and was the fastest growing sport across college campuses. Colleges began to capitalize on the football teams and sold pennants to students so they could show their school spirit while attending the games.

Eventually, the pennant pandemonium spread to professional athletics and tourist destinations. Major league baseball teams began creating pennant flags as souvenirs and popular destinations began creating pennants with city names or landmarks on them. These souvenirs became popular amongst children and led to pennant flags becoming a commonplace item sold at a majority of sporting events and at other souvenir shops.

Around the 1960s the trademarking of team logos and mascots led to a decrease in the overall production of pennant flags, as many of the pennant manufacturers could not afford the high price of licensing the design. Today pennant flags have begun a type of resurgence and can be found in support of everything from athletic teams and universities, to everyday life events. To start creating your custom pennant flag contact us today.

*This article was inspired by a blog post from Pennant Fever, to read their post click here.