Collecting Milestone Complete - 1947 Bond Bread Jackie Robinson Set

[CharleyBrown]

On October 11, 1947, African American newspapers across the country announced a historic endorsement deal that would pave the way for so many others to come:

Jackie Robinson had officially agreed to let Bond Bread use his image to promote their products to the African-American communities in Brooklyn, and other parts of the United States.

Dixie Walker, often considered to be one of the Dodgers' players that was most outspoken about not wanting to play with Jackie Robinson, was the face of Wonder Bread.

Bond Bread saw the opportunity to use Jackie Robinson to cross racial lines, and to build a stronger African-American consumer base. However, there was one hitch to their plan - Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson had made an agreement that endorsement deals would not be part of the picture during his rookie season.

Finally, upon completion of the World Series in 1947, Branch Rickey conceded, and allowed Robinson to ink the deal with Bond Bread for $500. This would pave the way for other endorsement deals soon after (Old Gold Cigarettes and Borden's Milk).

I don't want to go into further details about the set / endorsement deal, as I am finalizing my research on it. I will post my findings once they are complete, and my article has been written.

What I will say, though, is that the mystique and history behind this set has attracted some powerhouse collectors and famous individuals.



That being said...

On May 27, 2011, I began my journey to do what seemed like the impossible: collect the entire set of 13 Jackie Robinson Bond Bread cards. I had just started getting back into collecting after a nearly 20 year hiatus.

I actually had sent Donald Spence a message on eBay inquiring about the set... to which he told me that it took him nearly 6 years to finish his #1 set.

Challenge accepted.

To up the ante, I told myself that I would not buy the Portrait Facsimile card (most common in the set with a total pop of 59) until I had the other 12 cards in my possession.

And so I stayed the course...

Until, more than 3 1/2 years ... on January 20, 2015, I received the final card that I needed for the set. Ironically, it was Spence that sold me that final card, which was the Portrait Facsimile card. I had stuck to my word.



I do have to say that I owe A LOT (endless) thanks to a couple of individuals that have really been a tremendous help in getting me to this point... those two being Greg S. (BOTN) and Jason E. (JackieRobinson.net). I also want to thank Mike (seamhed) for further feeding my interest in the set, and planting the seed to really research the set and its significance.

At 13 cards, one wouldn't think that this set would be all that difficult to complete. However, those that have started this beast will tell you otherwise, and the pop reports speak for themselves.

Because I have purchased the majority of the non-portrait SGC Bond Breads, and cracked them out to put them in PSA holders, I'll list only the PSA population reports:

Total Population for the Set: 193 cards
Awaiting the Pitch - Total Pop: 13
Batting, No Sleeves - Total Pop: 8
Batting, White Sleeves - Total Pop: 19
Fielding, Ball in Glove - Total Pop: 9
Fielding, No Ball Visible - Total Pop: 14
Leaping, Scoreboard - Total Pop: 10
Leaping, No Scoreboard - Total Pop: 6
Portrait, Glove in Air - Total Pop: 6
Running Down the Baseline - Total Pop: 12
Running to Catch the Ball - Total Pop: 10
Sliding - Total Pop: 20
Throwing - Total Pop: 7
Portrait, Facsimile Sig - Total Pop: 59


Some stats, and then some pictures...

First Bond Bread card purchased: Batting, White Sleeves (raw - would grade a PSA 1.5)

Multiples that I have owned at one point during my collecting journey:
Sliding (2 - PSA 3, PSA 5 - sold the PSA 3);
Batting White Sleeves (3 - PSA 1.5, PSA 4, PSA 6 MK - sold the PSA 1.5 and PSA 4)
Leaping, No Scoreboard (2 - PSA 2, PSA 3 - sold the PSA 2)
Leaping, Scoreboard (2 - PSA 2, PSA 6 - sold the PSA 2)
Running to Catch the Ball (2 - PSA 4, PSA 6 - sold the PSA 6)


And now, pictures of my set (total grade: 4.12), one of only 4 complete sets (2 more were completed in the past, 1991, and 2010)

Portrait - Facsimile Signature - 1947


Portrait - Glove in the Air - 1947-1948


Leaping, No Scoreboard - 1947-1948


Fielding, No Ball Visible - 1947-1948


Fielding, Ball in Glove - 1947-1948


Awaiting the Pitch - 1947-1948


Batting, White Sleeves - 1947-1948


Batting, No Sleeves - 1949


Leaping, Scoreboard in Back - 1949


Running Down the Baseline - 1949


Throwing - 1949


Sliding - 1949


Running to Catch the Ball - 1949

[LeftHandedDane]

That is an awesome set, and a terrific accomplishment! Congrats.

I look forward to reading your paper about the set - a fantastic piece of Americana, not just baseball.

Thanks for sharing.

[clydepepper]

Shaun- That is a wonderful accomplishment. I admire your dedication to the task. I appreciate you sharing the details.

Jackie is always on my to-buy list as he is one of five Hall-of-Famers that played in the majors and were born in Georgia. I have all his Topps cards except 1952, but would someday love to get some of the earlier cards.

Your collection is a great tribute to this great man...Congratulations!

-Raymond

[bcbgcbrcb]

Shaun:

Great job completing the set!

I once owned the most common card in the set for my BB HOF RC collection, it was one of my favorites.

I assume that you also have the Jackie card from the Regular Bond Bread set from '47?

[Rickyy]

Congrats! Absolutely one of my favorite post war cards too!

Ricky Y

[cdn_collector]

This is awesome. I've always loved (but never owned any of) this set.
I think it's doubly awesome that you've been researching the set and look forward to your article.

Congratulations, and thanks for sharing!

Cheers,

Richard.

[toppcat]

Very, very impressive - one of the toughest postwar regional/specialty sets that there is. Congrats!

[CharleyBrown]

Thanks all! It's been a blast collecting, and further researching this set.

One of my favorite things about the set has been that it has given me the opportunity to get to know other collectors, make some friends, and share information regarding the hobby.

Phil,

I don't actually own that card from the regular Bond Bread set. I've been so focused on this set that I passed on numerous examples. That will likely be a goal for 2016.

The most common card in this set is his true RC IMO - while this set is often said to have only been released in Brooklyn, I strongly believe (and I am in the process of gathering evidence to support that belief) that this set was actually distributed in various major cities with significant African-American populations (Baltimore, Richmond, etc). The remaining 12 were released between 1947 and 1949-1950.

[Mark70Z]

Congrats on finishing the set! This is a great accomplishment and thanks so much for taking the time to share with the Net54 community; it is appreciated.

[71buc]

Congrats Shaun that's quite an accomplishment!

[bcbgcbrcb]

Thanks for the info, Shaun. I didn't realize that many of the cards in the set were not issued in 1947 but later.

[1963Topps Set]

A big tip of the hat for not only completing a vintage set, but a very historical one as well!

[ledsters]

Congratulations on completing your set!

[brian1961]

Shaun, again, heartiest of congratulations on completing your Bond Bread Jackie Robinson set. Sharing your joy, journey and research has been enjoyable, interesting, enlightening, and endearing. Some characters are just an oozing braggadocio, and wouldn't lift a finger to give us research info. The way you've shared with us has been refreshing and makes me feel very glad for you. Where for some of us, including myself, who cannot hope to even secure one of he cards, but find the set fascinating nonetheless, we're sure proud of you. ---Brian Powell

[CharleyBrown]

Thanks again all!

Originally Posted by brian1961

Shaun, again, heartiest of congratulations on completing your Bond Bread Jackie Robinson set. Sharing your joy, journey and research has been enjoyable, interesting, enlightening, and endearing. Some characters are just an oozing braggadocio, and wouldn't lift a finger to give us research info. The way you've shared with us has been refreshing and makes me feel very glad for you. Where for some of us, including myself, who cannot hope to even secure one of he cards, but find the set fascinating nonetheless, we're sure proud of you. ---Brian Powell

Thanks Brian! I'm really hoping to put the final pieces together shortly. Once I do, I look forward to sharing everything that I've gathered to shed more light on this set with the boards and in the hobby.

IMO, that's one of the best things about this hobby. After all, we are celebrating moments in history, and it's enthralling to learn and share with others intriguing information about the sport we all love.

The images in this set pull you in, and knowing that Jackie's deal with Bond Bread paved the way for other African-American baseball players to secure endorsement deals with companies that had in the past targeted a predominantly white customer-base makes this set all the more historically significant.

[Volod]

I guess this is off-topic, but what the heck was "homogenized" bread anyway? Applied to Borden milk, of course, homogenized meant simply complete mixing of the cream and milk, but there's no separation of any bread ingredients, so did Bond just appropriate the term because if it was useful in selling milk, why not slap it on the bread?

[the 'stache]

Shaun, congratulations! I look forward to reading your article.