1989 Reading Phillies Hall of Fame poster

As I am sure you all know, the Phillies AA-affiliate team re-branded themselves as the Reading Fightin' Phils last weekend. For anyone unfamiliar with the update, the change comes complete with an ostrich fist and a strange, hot dog logo hat. Anyway, I wanted to acknowledge the loss of the classic Reading Phillies moniker the only way I know how - by taking a look at some memorabilia.

My expertise is not in the minor league memorabilia market, but I was curious to see if the re-branding resulted in any interesting lots being posted on eBay. There are actually quite a few items listed, but these three posters commemorating the 1989, 1990 and 1991 Reading Phillies Hall of Fame inductions stuck out to me. Each one was sponsored by the Reading Eagle and feature the logos and players many of us grew up watching. The fact that posters were used to mark the date is pretty typical for this era, and the fact that these survived in such great shape is a tribute to the owner.

1991 Reading Phillies Hall of Fame Poster

My personal favorite is the 1989 poster. The design is very cool - with the two pennants and a glove/ball displaying the induction year. The highlight though is the player pitching on the left-hand side of the page. The artwork makes it a frame-worthy item. The following two years seem less inspired with the player portraits lessening in quality each successive season (though Schmidt on the '90 poster is pretty good). The seller is asking $5 each, but I would think all three for $10 is probably a better price for the lot.

1990 Reading Phillies Hall of Fame poster