MEMENTOS AND MEMORIES

A unique and original way to remember and display something special...

 

Everyone has that childhood or seemingly distant memory with the memento that makes it come alive again. Why not enshrine that memento in a way that enhances those treasured memories.

 

The example shown concern baseball. It is baseball of the past, a wonderful time when the game was still a game and not a business. Players were in it to win it; they longed for the glory of winning it all and played as a team. Before it was a business and money and performance enhancing drugs were the route to quick success, it was talent and excellence.

 

The three items memorialized below remember three baseball teams before they were winners. We loved them because of what they did and who they were.


Any fantastic memento can and should be remembered in a way like this.

If you have a memory that you would like displayed in this fashion, please contact Tom at: Tom@ThomasRucktenwald.com

 


 

THE MILWAUKEE BRAVES (circa 1957)

The pennant and World Series ticket are from the 1957 season, where the Milwaukee Braves won it all. The button commemorates Warren Spahn Day. The Milwaukee Braves hat is authentically signed by Eddie Matthews.

A few short years later, after years of success and breaking attendance records for all of baseball, the Braves declined to mediocrity and were lured away to the city of Atlanta through an endorsement deal with Coca Cola. Carpetbagging for quick money became the name of baseball. The Braves announced their move but legally were not allowed to break their lease with Milwaukee County Stadim; they were forced to stay one more year. Even with terrible attendance of that year, often erroneously cited as the reasoning for their move, the Braves did not have the worst attendance in the league.

This item remembers the great team and fans at a time of their height, when baseball was truly a game on the field and not the front office greed for financial gain.

 

 

THE MILWAUKEE BREWERS (circa 1970)


Baseball tried to "punish" Milwaukee, telling they would never get another franchise. But when the Seattle Pilots went bankrupt after their first season, Baseball had few choices where they could instantaneously go. The Milwaukee Brewers were born, and the city inherited a team that was committed to the city and team that was made up of players that the city could again love.

 

This presentation remembers the beginning, with the very first pennant (1970), the hat most popular to the team during the 1970's and 1980's when they arose into a team of distinction, and several pins and mementos from the past, the larger white item being a pressbox pass for the closing of Milwaukee County Stadium, a place of history, beginning in 1953. The enshrined 1969 ticket was the first game hosted by the Brewer management, with funds going toward the purchase of a team.


As baseball expanded into big business, cities like Milwaukee were left to primarily host also-rans. Big market teams in Los Angeles and New York spend on one player what small market teams spend on an entire roster. Although Milwaukee offered their star pitcher a 9-figure contract, they were second to the Yankees, who offered over $60M more! The Brewer management has often been resourceful and clever, pushing a contending team into the playoffs through a key acquisition. Baseball, however, will most likely never be as it was in these early days because the financial where-with-all of the organization and the ability of the city along with the city's population and cost-of-living cannot support the over $200M per year that big markets can do to provide a consistently competitive team. Gone are the days when kids grew up with and loved that favorite player for an entire career.

 

 

THE ANAHEIM ANGELS (circa 1999)

The California Angels became the Anaheim Angels beginning in 1999. Edison Field was the refurbished stadium, becoming a place to really watch a baseball game. The team was competitive and a night at the stadium was fun.

The ticket and pin were from the very first game in the stadium. The pennant and hat were current to that game and night.

The club had been sold by the family and heirs of original owner Gene Autry to Disney in 1997.

A few short years later, the team changed its colors to the red that we see today. The Anaheim Angels were World Series champions in 2002 and were winners to some extent in the following years.

In 2005, the club was purchased by the present ownership, who dishonored the spirit of the agreement that Autry and Disney had with the City of Anaheim by renaming the club the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, skirting the letter of the law by including Anaheim in the club's legal name, but having the uniforms and the league cite the team as Los Angeles. While exhibiting modest success since the name change, the team has not been a true winner since they dishonored their agreements. The expected fortune in being aligned with Los Angeles has not occurred and the TV and radio press and media consider the team a second sister to the Dodgers, mentioning them in passing, even when the Dodgers were a lesser team.

 

 

 

Created by

Thomas Rucktenwald

Email:  tom@thomasrucktenwald.com 

 

 

The presentation shown is an example of something that can be created for you and your special mementos and memories.