Back in December, we posted a piece on the Rebel Lures Catalog 1975/76, showcasing Rebel’s wares for that product year. Today in Rebel 1974-75, we’re doing the same for the prior year’s tackle and comparing what was offered in this catalog versus the following year.
This catalog posed a bit of difficulty in trying to determine what year it was published. The 75-76 catalog was pretty easy to determine due to the fact that the date of the catalog was printed on the color chart page. This catalog, was a bit more confusing.
First off, in the 75-76 edition, the Rebel R Series baits were marked as “New” in that catalog, where in this catalog there was no “New” introduction. This made me wonder if this catalog was from the 76-77 year. But more things pointed to the 74-75 model year than this possible red herring.
For example, the color chart located on the inside back cover had discontinued colors in it with the image of those colors still present. The 75-76 catalog didn’t even mention the discontinued colors. This bit of information is important for collectors of Rebel lures in that it tells them what year certain colors were discontinued. Another telltale sign was the price list that accompanied this catalog, which stated 1974-75, but since it was an insert, this couldn’t be trusted fully as it could have been slipped into this catalog from another.
What sold me on the year of this catalog was found on the lower right bottom of the catalog, the numerals 74-5. Unlike the 75-76 catalog, these number were not front and center, and took a bit to find. Yet, they tell me the year this book was published with near certainty.
Now that we’re fairly certain of the year, let’s look into this catalog more in depth.
The cover of the catalog, as seen in the lead-in image, features a shot of some of the new R Series crankbaits. It’s a plain and simple image but one that clearly shows the packaging of this year, another important key for those who collect Rebel products.
Inside the front cover are some pictures of happy Rebel customers with their catches of big fish. From here, Page 1 comes into view.
Pages 1 through 3 are nearly identical to the 1975-76 catalog presented a few months back. They feature all sizes and configurations of the Amazing Minnow, Spoonbill, Humpy and the Super R. From Pages 4 on, this catalog differs greatly from the 75-76 edition by displaying baits that were not available in the later edition.
For example, in this 1974-75 catalog, on Page 4, Rebel displays the Rebel Shad Spin and the Rebel Rocket Shad. Neither of these baits are available in the 1975-76 catalog. This leads me to believe that these baits were discontinued in 1975-76.
Another example is found on Page 5. In this catalog, Rebel displays their Rebel Poppers, Bonehead Popper and Rebel Skipper. The Poppers and Bonehead Popper are present in the 1975-76 edition but not the Rebel Skipper. Again, I assume this bait was discontinued after 1975.
Next is the Rebel Pop-R found in the 1975-76 catalog, that is not present in the 1974-75 catalog. This leads me to believe that the infamous Pop-R was introduced in 1975-76, yet the entry in that catalog does not say “New.”
The center of the catalog provides a great display of some of Rebel’s offerings for this year. The Rebel trolling motor, baits hung from rope and in a tackle box. It’s a nice display that features a good amount of what they had to offer for that year.
On to Page 8, we come to the R Series crankbaits. Again, this appears to be the first year they offered this series, obviously in response to the alphabet crankbait craze that started in 1973 with the Big-O. Missing, is the word “New,” as pointed out earlier. I’d like to get my hands on a 1973-74 catalog to see if these baits were available then to really nail down the date they were introduced.
Another addition to the line-up that happened between the 74-75 and 75-76 years was that of the Jumpin’ Minnow. You’ll see that the Jumpin’ Minnow was not displayed in the current catalog.
Rebel’s saltwater offerings didn’t change between the two catalog years with the Sea-Gar, Windcheater Popper and Super Minnow all available.
Page 11 is where the catalog takes a huge divergence from the later catalog.
On this page, Rebel displays their spinnerbait line-up, the Rebel Destroyer series, the Rebel Drop Spin and the Rebel Revolver. The Destroyer series is a standard single or double spin spinnerbait that featured a swivel for the line tie.
The Drop Spin, on the other hand, was a spinnerbait designed to ride upside down by placing a weight on the blade shaft and possibly a plastic head. I’ve never seen one of these baits before so I’m not sure how exactly it was designed.
The Rebel Revolver, on the other hand, was a tailspin jig where the line tie was at the end of a long piece of wire coming out of the head. Although this is another bait I’ve never seen before, it looks to me as if it would catch fish today. I just wonder how it would come through grass.
Rebel also featured some smaller baits on Page 12. They had their Hot Spin, their answer to the Beetle Spin, the Sizzle Tail, a small grub and lead head, as well as Buck Tail and Marabou jigs. None of these offerings were shown in the 1975-76 catalog.
The inside of the back cover provided the color chart for the 1974-75 catalog year, where the back cover itself displayed the Rebel Bass Boat, Rebel trolling motor, along with a few baits. This ended the catalog itself, minus the price list insert, which can be viewed in the gallery below.
I’d like to again thank Dustin Lucas for loaning this catalog to us to share with you all. If anyone out there has more Rebel catalogs they’d like to share, please leave a comment below and we’ll get with you.
To view the entire catalog, please view the gallery below, click on the first image and use the arrows to scroll through each page.
Gallery – Rebel 1974-75
1974-75 Rebel Catalog Front Cover
1974-75 Rebel Catalog Inside Front Cover
1974-75 Rebel Catalog Page 1
1974-75 Rebel Catalog Page 2
1974-75 Rebel Catalog Page 3
1974-75 Rebel Catalog Page 4
1974-75 Rebel Catalog Page 5
1974-75 Rebel Catalog Page 6
1974-75 Rebel Catalog Page 7
1974-75 Rebel Catalog Page 8
1974-75 Rebel Catalog Page 9
1974-75 Rebel Catalog Page 10
1974-75 Rebel Catalog Page 11
1974-75 Rebel Catalog Page 12
1974-75 Rebel Catalog Inside Back Cover
1974-75 Rebel Catalog Back Cover
1974-75 Rebel Catalog Price List
Who would have thought that divining the date of a catalog would be such an ardulous task? I mean, heck, these catalogs were only released a few short years ago, weren’t they? Can’t be 50-odd years already!
I absolutely LOVE looking at these old catalogs. This is such a treasure, and I’m so grateful to BFA for documenting and archiving these publications. This is the best history.
Hey David. Thank you for the kind words. Yes, it is a royal pain in the sphincter trying to figure out the date of a catalog. Such a simple thing to do, yet a lot of these catalogs have nothing referring to a date.