Thread by @FCBarcelona

A few months ago, a young collector of sports antiques from Valencia contacted the Barça museum.
A pennant from 1937 had come into his hands. This is the story behind it.
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Pablo Pérez (pictured right) is the collector who felt the pennant must have value “because it’s from the Spanish Civil War, and it’s very hard to find collectors’ items from that era”.

It remained to be seen what Barça would make of the discovery.

After a thorough analysis, the Museum curators realised that the pennant held exceptional historical value for the club.

But why?

The pennant was given by Barça to Levante FC before a 2-1 win in the Mediterranean League at Les Corts on 11 April 1937.

The Barça XI that day was: Iborra, Babot, Rafa, Argemí, F. García, Berdina, Ventolrà, Escolà, Gual, Balmanya & Munlloch.

The Mediterranean League was a championship played from January to May 1937 in the midst of the Civil War. It was contested in the zone that was loyal to the Republic: Catalonia and Valencia. The only territories where it was possible.

And the winners were…

... Barça! 🔵🔴


We won the only edition of the Mediterranean League, played under extreme conditions with war raging elsewhere in the country.

It was not repeated in 1938 because the Francoist troops had reached the sea, cutting Catalonia off from Valencia. The war prevented it from happening.

A Francoist decree in 1939 put a stop to the competition. That decree is still binding today.

The Spanish Federation doesn’t recognise that title, but Barça includes it in its official honours list. 🏆

A few weeks after that game with Levante, most of the team went down in history for a very different reason: they went on a tour of Mexico and the USA, internationalising Barça and saving the club financially by raising $12,900.

The Mediterranean League trophy has since been lost so this pennant is especially valuable. 👏

It is the only surviving memento of the competition.

The 1937 pennant is the oldest on display in the Barça Museum. Before it, the oldest one dated back to 1952.

Barça Stadium Tour & Museum 👉 ow.ly/ZKqQ30mZSYT

Pennants are still an important tradition today. Barça always gives one to teams that play at the Camp Nou for the first time, as well as all of its European opponents.