Washington Nationals

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The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C., United States. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The team moved into the newly-built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium. The new park is located in Southeast D.C. near the Anacostia River and with views of the Capitol. The Nationals name originates from the two former Washington baseball teams who held the same name (used interchangeably with Senators). They are nicknamed "the Nats," a shortened version of the Nationals name that was also used by the old D.C. teams.

An expansion franchise, the club was founded in Montreal, Quebec in 1969. The then-Montreal Expos were the first major league team in Canada. They played their home games at Jarry Park Stadium and later in the Olympic Stadium. The Expos had its highest winning percentage in the strike-shortened season of 1994, when it had the best record in baseball. The team's subsequent shedding of players caused fan interest to drop off. After the 2001 season, Major League Baseball considered revoking the team's franchise, along with either the Minnesota Twins or the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. After being purchased by MLB in 2002, the team was moved before the 2005 season to Washington, becoming the Nationals. This was the first complete name change for a relocating team in Major League Baseball since 1972, when the Washington Senators left D.C. to become the Texas Rangers.

See what Dean’s Cards has to offer on their Nationals Team Page!

Retired Numbers	42
Colors
Red, Navy Blue, Gold, White
Name
Washington Nationals (2005–present)
Montreal Expos (1969-2004)
Other nicknames
The Nats
Ballpark
Nationals Park (2008–present) RFK Memorial Stadium (2005-2007) Hiram Bithorn Stadium (San Juan) (2003-2004) Olympic Stadium (Montreal) (1977-2004) Jarry Park (Montreal) (1969-1976)
Major league titles
World Series titles (0)	None
NL Pennants (0)	None
East Division titles (1)	1981

Minnesota Twins

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The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. They have played in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome since 1982, but will move to the new Target Field in 2010.

One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1901 as the Washington Senators. In 1905, the team changed its official name to the Washington Nationals. The name "Nationals" appeared on uniforms for only 2 seasons, and was then replaced with the "W" logo for the next 52 years. The media often shortened the nickname to "Nats". Many fans and newspapers (especially out-of-town papers) persisted in using the "Senators" nickname. Over time, "Nationals" faded as a nickname, and "Senators" became dominant. Baseball guides listed the club's nickname as "Nationals or Senators", acknowledging the dual-nickname situation.

The team name was officially changed to Washington Senators around the time that long-time team president Clark Griffith died and his son Calvin took over the team. It was not until 1959 that the word "Senators" first appeared on team shirts. "Nats" continued to be used by space-saving headline writers, even for the 1961 expansion team, which was never officially known as "Nationals".

See what Dean’s Cards has to offer on their Minnesota Twins Team Page!

Retired Numbers	3, 6, 14, 29, 34, 42
Colors
Navy Blue, Red, White
Name
Minnesota Twins (1961–present)
Washington Nationals/Senators (1901–1960) Kansas City Blues (1894–1900)
Other nicknames
The Twinkies
Ballpark
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (1982–2009) Metropolitan Stadium (1961–1981) Griffith Stadium (1911–1960) a.k.a. National Park (1911–1920) National Park (1903–1910) American League Park (1901–1902)
Major league titles
World Series titles (3)	1991 • 1987 • 1924
AL Pennants (6)	1991 • 1987 • 1965 • 1933 • 1925 • 1924
Central Division titles (4)	2006 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002
West Division titles (4)	1991 • 1987 • 1970 • 1969

Montreal Expos

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The Montreal Expos (French: Les Expos de Montréal) is the name of a Major League Baseball team that was located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1969 until the end of the 2004 season, when the team was moved to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Nationals.

Named after the Expo 67 World's Fair, the Expos started play at Jarry Park under manager Gene Mauch. The team's initial majority owner was Charles Bronfman, a major shareholder in Seagram. Following the 1976 Summer Olympics, starting in 1977 the team's home venue was Montreal's Olympic Stadium. After a decade of losing seasons, the team won a franchise-high 95 games in 1979, finishing second in the National League East. The Expos began the 1980s with a core group of young players, including catcher Gary Carter, outfielders Tim Raines and Andre Dawson, third baseman Tim Wallach, and pitchers Steve Rogers and Bill Gullickson. The team won its only division championship in the strike-shortened split season of 1981, ending its season with a 3 games to 2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.

See what Dean’s Cards has to offer on their Expos Team Page!



 

Established: 1969 (Expansion team)

Relocated: December 3, 2004 (to Washington, D.C.)

Major league affiliations: *National League (1969–2004) **East Division (1969–2004)

Stadium:Jarry Park Stadium, Montreal (1969–1976) Olympic Stadium, Montreal (1976–2004) Hiram Bithorn Stadium (San Juan, Puerto Rico) (2003–2004)

Uniform Colors: Blue, White, Red

Logo Design: A stylized "M" for Montreal, containing a red "e" for Expos, and a blue "b" for baseball.

Mascot: Souki (1978), Youppi (1979–2004)

Theme Song: Les Expos sont là ("The Expos are here") by Marc Gélinas

Division Championships: 1981

National League Championships: None

World Series Championships: None

Toronto Blue Jays

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The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s American League. The "Blue Jays" name originates from the bird of the same name. They are nicknamed "the Jays", which is featured on the team's logo and on the front of the home uniform.

An expansion franchise, the club was founded in Toronto, in 1977. Originally based at Exhibition Stadium, the team began playing its home games at the SkyDome, upon completion of its construction in 1989. As of 2009, the Blue Jays are owned by Rogers Communications, and in 2004, the SkyDome was purchased by the company, which renamed the venue to Rogers Centre. They are the first and only team outside the United States to win a World Series, the first team to win a World Series in Canada, and the fastest AL expansion franchise to win a World Series (winning in their 16th year, beating the Kansas City Royals' record by one year). With the fellow Canadian franchise Montreal Expos relocating to Washington, D.C. after the 2004 season, and becoming the Washington Nationals, the Blue Jays are currently the only MLB team outside the United States.

See what Dean’s Cards has to offer on their Blue Jays Team Page!

Retired Numbers	42
Colors
Blue, Black, Graphite, Silver, White
Name
Toronto Blue Jays (1977–present)
Other nicknames
The Jays, Blue Birds
Ballpark
Rogers Centre (1989–present) Formerly named SkyDome (1989-2005) Exhibition Stadium (1977-1989)
Major league titles
World Series titles (2)	1992 • 1993
AL Pennants (2)	1992 • 1993
East Division titles (5)	1985 • 1989 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993

Potato Chip Pins - Crane's Pins and Guy's Pins

Since we originally wrote this blog, we have learned a lot more about these pins thanks to collectors and customers.  Click here to see our updated blog.


Dean's Cards has just added a nice collection of  Crane's Pins and Guy's Pins to the inventory of DeansCards.com  The potato chip pins of the 1960s may comprise the most interesting and yet poorly understood areas of the memorabilia world. The pins are stamped with the logo of Guy's Potato Chips, located in Kansas City, or Crane's Potato Chips in Decatur, Illinois.

The Guy's Potato Chip pins are the better known product and therefore more information is readily available. Guy's Chips is still currently in business and continues to produce snacks. Crane's, however, was purchased by a larger food corporation several years ago.

The pins themselves were made by Crane's in 1961, 1964, and 1965 and by Guy's in 1962, 1965, and 1966. The pins from each issuer can be easily confused with the other because the same basic team logos were used, but the coloration varies from set to set. One easy way to tell who made the pins is to look on the back, where there is a stamped logo. The year can be determined by looking on the back in some cases. The Guy's pins from 1962 have a blank back, but the 1965 and 1966 pins have the date stamped on the back. Only the 1961 set from Crane's has the date stamped on them.

The coloration on the front of the pins varies greatly. The 1961 and 1965 Crane's pins are almost identical, but they vary in blue and black ink. They are filled in with white, red, and either blue or black colors. The 1964 Crane's pins have a gold metallic sheen and then red and blue ink over that. The 1964 pins show damage more readily than the fully colored pins and are therefore harder to find in decent condition. All of the Guy's pins are fully filled in with an art deco style color scheme. The Guy's company made much more colorful pins when compared to the Crane's company pins.

These pins have become more popular in recent years and are now even graded by PSA. These pins also include past teams such as the Washington Nationals and the Houston Colt .45s  If you have any information on these pins or collected them as a kid, I would love to hear about it.