Toronto Blue Jays Swiss Army Pocketknife

CANADA. 
Swiss Army Pocketknife, Souvenir, c. 1980s. 

The Toronto Blue Jays baseball club came into existence as an expansion team along with the Seattle Mariners for the 1977 season. Only the second Major League team to be based outside the U.S., they would balance the then National League’s Montreal Expos (now Washington Nationals) by joining the American League. Originally owned by quintessential Canadian brewing company, Labatts, the Blue Jays ended a long desire by city leaders to bring MLB to Toronto. That effort came close with a proposed move of the San Francisco Giants to Ontario in early January 1976, a move halted by a court order that led to the Blue Jays’ expansion the following year. Though the early years included the struggles typical of any expansion team (their very first game having been played on April 7, 1977, in a snow storm), the fortunes of the team improved during the 1980s under then manager Bobby Cox. Cito Gaston would take over managing in the late 1980s and in their impressive new SkyDome Stadium the Jays achieved their first sustained high water mark as a franchise. Ironically, it began by defeating Bobby Cox, who was at the helm of the Atlanta Braves during the 1992 World Series between the two teams. Toronto’s dramatic win in Game 6 is still one of the more thrilling events in series history, Joe Carter’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth securing the first MLB title for the Jays. The team rode the momentum to repeat as world champions of baseball the following year, defeating Philadelphia for the 1993 crown … This wonderful find took some time to pin to a specific date. And so, we were thrilled when it came clear that we could date it to that run of franchise success in the early 1990s. This now classic logo remained largely unchanged from the club’s start in the 1970s. But starting around the disastrous “strike year” of 1994, a lighter blue was introduced to replace the darker shade of blue seen here around the jay’s neck, beak, and eye (as well as font changes that moved away from the original electronic billboard style lettering). And so, we have here not only a mint-condition find, but one tied to a storied period in Toronto Blue Jay history—a fantastic gift for the diehard fan. Including the standard components of knife blade and nail file on one side, small scissors on the other, and the requisite tweezers and toothpick, this classic miniature Swiss Army knife is one of the most unique brand name treasures we have yet come across. 

Condition: Like New. 
Sports Related. 
Dimensions: 0.5" wide x 2.25" long / 4" long with blade extended