Unexpected Swastikas

I did not expect to ever title a blog post quite like this, but I think it will make sense. My great-great-aunt Glee passed away in September, and she left quite the collection of amazing curiosities for the family to examine. As we sorted through everything, my now-late Uncle Cedric brought out two incredible pieces of Native American clothing that Glee and her husband had somehow acquired in the southwest (and then stowed away in their attic forever). The first piece I'll wait to write about until later, but the second was a blanket:


...which was then modeled by my father...

I'd read about how the swastika used to be a symbol associated with things other than, you know, Nazi Germany. Until then, however, I hadn't seen an instance of that in person.

THEN, this week in nerdy baseball news - more swastikas!

The photo above was the catalyst for a pretty in-depth research journey highlighted by a Rob Neyer reference on ESPN this week. Apparently, the Boston Braves wore caps with good-luck swastikas in the early 20th century - go here for the full story. It's worth reading - but don't take my word for it!