[Chip R]

I think WOY may be right about MLB taking control of the marketing and the team being good for several years in a row and the 90 team kind of sneaking up on people.

The 70s was when all the marketing for sports started. If you went back in a time machine and went to a game in 1967 I think you would see quite a contrast in not only what kind of people went to games but what they wore as well. You may see a kid wear a team hat but no one was wearing team T-Shirts and jerseys. If they had giveaways it certainly wasn't on the scale of what it is today.

Also, during the BRM era, the Reds were very good at marketing their product. It helped that they were one of the best teams in baseball but when you have a good product, marketing it is much better than not marketing it. I would guess the Reds got a cut of most if not all that merchandise. I think we know that after that era and up until about a few years ago, the Reds were not very good at marketing their product for whatever reasons.