Sports Trading Pins Build Bridges, Join Hearts, Create Friendships

Sports trading pins are a cherished part of sports today, and have been for many years. They are popular with young and old alike, and have been referred to as the "Number One Spectator Sport of the Olympic Games." Sports trading pins help bring people together.



Sports trading pins have their roots in the first of the modern Olympic Games at the turn of the 19th century. Athletes at the 1896 games used pins to identify themselves and officials. A decade later, Swedish athletes introduced the precursors to modern sports trading pins, in their national colors of blue and yellow. Athletes began swapping trading pins among themselves as souvenirs of the games.



It’s easy to see why Olympic sports trading pins became popular. They’re small enough to carry and trade easily. Their attractive artwork and unique affiliation with the Olympics makes them ideal one-of-a-kind keepsakes for athletes and officials.



Spectators joined in the fun at the at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. That’s when visitors to the Games joined the athletes in celebrating by swapping sports trading pins. Before long, corporate sponsors saw how popular sports trading pins were becoming and introduced their own trading pins as well.



Coca-Cola became one of the foremost sponsors of the mania for sports trading pins at the Olympics. The company created its own official Olympic Pin Trading Center for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, attracting more than 17,000 visitors a day.



Coke’s center for sports trading pins at the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona saw more than 500,000 visitors, representing 70 countries. Coke celebrated the trading pin center on its website, saying the sports trading pins were "cultural currency – sparking trades, creating personal connections and breaking down barriers among people of different backgrounds, languages and customs."



From the start of their popularity, sports trading pins have increased enormously over the past 30 years. At the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, more than 3 million pins changed hands. By the time of the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, sports trading pins took on political overtones. Many Chinese traders rejected the official Chinese pins in favor of trading pins from the American and Taiwanese athletes and teams instead.



But the true center of the universe of sports trading pins is the town of South Williamsport, Pa. Every August, the town is overrun by Little Leaguers, their parents, coaches and families for the Little League World Series. Teams from around the nation and around the world show up to play in the tournament and bring their sports trading pins with them. The pin trading reaches such a fever pitch at the tournament that many people spend the entire week trading pins and never see a baseball game.



Sports trading pins are so popular because they are a fun, affordable hobby that many people can enjoy with others. The act of trading breaks the ice and turns strangers into friends. Many people have discovered a wider world beyond their hometown as a result of sports trading pins.