OT: Revisiting the D302 Jackie Robinson Bond Bread Release Date

[CharleyBrown]

Over the past year, I've done quite a bit of research that has answered many of the questions about this set.

Much of my research findings can be seen in this incredible lot in the upcoming November auction from Goldin Auctions:

https://goldinauctions.com/Extremely...-LOT27398.aspx

I don't wish to copy / paste, as seeing all the cards together as one set is quite amazing, but here's a summary of the write up:

The first card was the Portrait-Facsimile card with the bio back. This card was first seen in Harlem in June / July of 1947, and was distributed by grocery store owners, and also in promotional packages with two slices of bread and coupons.

It should be noted that, as early as June of 1947, African-American newspapers in all major baseball U.S. cities began running advertisements promoting Jackie's endorsement deal with Bond Bread, and also the availability of the promotional card. This is quite interesting, as it was initially believed that Branch Rickey would not allow Jackie to sign an endorsement deal until the season was over, as he didn't want it to be a distraction.

Come September of 1947, the card's distribution expanded to every major city from Montreal to St. Louis. This Bond Bread set should no longer be considered a regional set for that very reason. As such, the Bond Bread facsimile-signature card should be considered Jackie's true rookie card / first nationally distributed rookie card.

In the summer of 1948, the next batch of 6 cards were distributed to all major baseball cities (targeting black communities). These cards included: Glove in Air, Leaping No Scoreboard, Fielding No Ball in Glove, Fielding Ball in Glove, Awaiting Pitch and Batting White Sleeves. The Glove in Air and Leaping No Scoreboard were limited in their distribution, which is why they are far scarcer than any other card in the set.

In the summer of 1949, the remaining 6 cards were released. These cards included: Sliding (photo taken during the July 2, 1949 game against the Giants), Leaping Scoreboard, Batting No Sleeves, Throwing, Running Down Baseline and Running to Catch Ball. The Throwing and Batting No Sleeves cards were also limited in distribution, which makes sense given their scarcity.

As such, it is now known that the Jackie Robinson Bond Bread set was not a regional issue, but instead, was distributed to all major baseball cities (Montreal, Detroit, New York, St. Louis, etc. etc.), and it's official release date should be 1947-1949, with the bio card being the lone 1947 release and his first nationally distributed baseball card, and the other 2 groups of 6 being released in 1948 and 1949 respectively.

The number of portrait-facsimile cards distributed by Bond Bread is staggering given the pop numbers today. Bond Bread's records indicate that 2 million portrait cards were distributed in September 1947 across all major cities from Montreal to St. Louis. Why so few are known to still exist is unknown. I am still hunting down population numbers from the 2 groups of 6 cards.

On another note... in my research, I have also discovered that the 1948 date assigned to the Old Gold cigarette cards of Jackie Robinson is incorrect. Both cards were released in 1947. The Kneeling in Dugout card was actually released in September of 1947, and the Leaping card was released in October of 1947. As such, neither card was released in 1948 as was previously believed.

In fact, the Kneeling card that I own features a hand-written date of Sept 30th, 1947 written in pencil on the front of the card.



The MK surely detracts from the PSA grade, but I think it adds tremendous value to the card as it confirms the dating that I found in my research.

[Exhibitman]

That is really interesting information. Thanks for posting it.

[DeanH3]

Shaun,

I applaud all your efforts in researching this under-appreciated set. Kudos to you and thank you for sharing it with our community.

[Exhibitman]

Got me to pull the trigger on a Jackie portrait card. I'd been looking for a while but the answers here convinced me to add one to the collection.

[71buc]

Great work!

[CharleyBrown]

Originally Posted by 71buc

Great work!

Thanks Mike. You were the one to get the ball rolling on this, and I thank you 100000x for it!

[vintagerookies51]

Great read! I love this set. It's taken a lot of patience so far and I'm not even halfway yet

[Leon]

Great info....thanks for sharing!!

Originally Posted by CharleyBrown

Over the past year, I've done quite a bit of research that has answered many of the questions about this set.

Much of my research findings can be seen in this incredible lot in the upcoming November auction from Goldin Auctions:
....
I don't wish to copy / paste, as seeing all the cards together as one set is quite amazing, but here's a summary of the write up:

The first card was the Portrait-Facsimile card with the bio back. This card was first seen in Harlem in June / July of 1947, and was distributed by grocery store owners, and also in promotional packages with two slices of bread and coupons.

It should be noted that, as early as June of 1947, African-American newspapers in all major baseball U.S. cities began running advertisements promoting Jackie's endorsement deal with Bond Bread, and also the availability of the promotional card. This is quite interesting, as it was initially believed that Branch Rickey would not allow Jackie to sign an endorsement deal until the season was over, as he didn't want it to be a distraction.

Come September of 1947, the card's distribution expanded to every major city from Montreal to St. Louis. This Bond Bread set should no longer be considered a regional set for that very reason. As such, the Bond Bread facsimile-signature card should be considered Jackie's true rookie card / first nationally distributed rookie card.

In the summer of 1948, the next batch of 6 cards were distributed to all major baseball cities (targeting black communities). These cards included: Glove in Air, Leaping No Scoreboard, Fielding No Ball in Glove, Fielding Ball in Glove, Awaiting Pitch and Batting White Sleeves. The Glove in Air and Leaping No Scoreboard were limited in their distribution, which is why they are far scarcer than any other card in the set.

In the summer of 1949, the remaining 6 cards were released. These cards included: Sliding (photo taken during the July 2, 1949 game against the Giants), Leaping Scoreboard, Batting No Sleeves, Throwing, Running Down Baseline and Running to Catch Ball. The Throwing and Batting No Sleeves cards were also limited in distribution, which makes sense given their scarcity.

As such, it is now known that the Jackie Robinson Bond Bread set was not a regional issue, but instead, was distributed to all major baseball cities (Montreal, Detroit, New York, St. Louis, etc. etc.), and it's official release date should be 1947-1949, with the bio card being the lone 1947 release and his first nationally distributed baseball card, and the other 2 groups of 6 being released in 1948 and 1949 respectively.

The number of portrait-facsimile cards distributed by Bond Bread is staggering given the pop numbers today. Bond Bread's records indicate that 2 million portrait cards were distributed in September 1947 across all major cities from Montreal to St. Louis. Why so few are known to still exist is unknown. I am still hunting down population numbers from the 2 groups of 6 cards.

On another note... in my research, I have also discovered that the 1948 date assigned to the Old Gold cigarette cards of Jackie Robinson is incorrect. Both cards were released in 1947. The Kneeling in Dugout card was actually released in September of 1947, and the Leaping card was released in October of 1947. As such, neither card was released in 1948 as was previously believed.

In fact, the Kneeling card that I own features a hand-written date of Sept 30th, 1947 written in pencil on the front of the card.



The MK surely detracts from the PSA grade, but I think it adds tremendous value to the card as it confirms the dating that I found in my research.

[tedzan]

Really great research, Charley Brown.

My very first BB cards I collected were the 48 cards in the 1947 Bond Bread issue. In 1947, my sister and I were pulling them from Bond Bread packages.
My recollection of this is very clear. Between the kids in our neighborhood, we had 100's of them and we were able to determine that 48 cards comprised
a complete set. These cards were available in the Spring/Summer of 1947 thru 1948.

However, I never saw any of the Jackie Robinson cards in our area. We grew up in Hillside (NJ) which was only 25 miles from NYC. So, as you stated, the
initial release of the Jackie Robinson card(s) must have been strictly limited to NYC.


TED Z
.

[CharleyBrown]

Originally Posted by tedzan

Really great research, Charley Brown.

My very first BB cards I collected were the 48 cards in the 1947 Bond Bread issue. In 1947, my sister and I were pulling them from Bond Bread packages.
My recollection of this is very clear. Between the kids in our neighborhood, we had 100's of them and we were able to determine that 48 cards comprised
a complete set. These cards were available in the Spring/Summer of 1947 thru 1948.

However, I never saw any of the Jackie Robinson cards in our area. We grew up in Hillside (NJ) which was only 25 miles from NYC. So, as you stated, the
initial release of the Jackie Robinson card(s) must have been strictly limited to NYC.


TED Z
.

Thanks Ted! I believe that the distribution of the Jackie Robinson cards were limited to predominantly black neighborhoods.

Out of curiosity, did markets ever sell prepackaged bread by the slice?

This card was listed on eBay tonight: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1947-BOND-BR...16.m2516.l5255

The Cardozo Market stamp is the second I've seen. The address puts Cardozo Market quite close to Howard University, which further verifies the availability of these cards in major cities. The stamp leads me to believe that the 2 groups of 6 were also distributed by the store owners, as was the first. However, what I'm trying to figure out is if the Cardozo Market store owner received the cards direct from Bond Bread to distribute to customers, or if he/she opened packages of bread to sell by the slice, and then stamped the card.

[tedzan]

Hi Shaun

OK, our small town didn't have any black neighborhoods, and that may explain why the Jackie Robinson cards were not available to us.


" Out of curiosity, did markets ever sell prepackaged bread by the slice ? " ..........

Not in our area....the markets in our town only had the full bread loaf packages. I was lucky in that my Father and my Uncle owned restaurants
which bought a lot of Bond bread. Hence, I collected a lot of these cards, and I still have them. Here's an original 1947 BOND BREAD wrapper......











TED Z
.

[CharleyBrown]

Originally Posted by tedzan

Hi Shaun

OK, our small town didn't have any black neighborhoods, and that may explain why the Jackie Robinson cards were not available to us.


" Out of curiosity, did markets ever sell prepackaged bread by the slice ? " ..........

Not in our area....the markets in our town only had the full bread loaf packages. I was lucky in that my Father and my Uncle owned restaurants
which bought a lot of Bond bread. Hence, I collected a lot of these cards, and I still have them. Here's an original 1947 BOND BREAD wrapper......











TED Z
.

Incredible pieces Ted. Were the set of 48 cards wrapped in individual plastic packages, or were they loose in the bread packaging? Do you have the full set from the original cards you obtained from your father and uncle?

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by CharleyBrown

Incredible pieces Ted. Were the set of 48 cards wrapped in individual plastic packages, or were they loose in the bread packaging? Do you have the full set from the original cards you obtained from your father and uncle?

Shaun

1st....I'm not sure, but the cards were not loose inside the bread loaf (otherwise they would have had "bread stains" on them). It's almost 70 years ago,
and my recollection is somewhat fuzzy on how these cards were inserted. Perhaps, my sister remembers..

2nd....I have the 44 baseball cards. I must have traded away the 4 boxers years ago.



TED Z
.

[jason.1969]

[QUOTE=On another note... in my research, I have also discovered that the 1948 date assigned to the Old Gold cigarette cards of Jackie Robinson is incorrect. Both cards were released in 1947. The Kneeling in Dugout card was actually released in September of 1947, and the Leaping card was released in October of 1947. As such, neither card was released in 1948 as was previously believed.

In fact, the Kneeling card that I own features a hand-written date of Sept 30th, 1947 written in pencil on the front of the card.[/QUOTE]

Other than the pencil marking, which could be unreliable, are you able to share what other information leads you to believe the Old Gold cards date to 1947? Thank you very much!

[CharleyBrown]

Memory Lane, Inc has a very nice write-up on the Jackie Robinson Bond Bread set in their latest auction catalog using much of the research I've posted here.

Some strong prices lately.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by CharleyBrown

Memory Lane, Inc has a very nice write-up on the Jackie Robinson Bond Bread set in their latest auction catalog using much of the research I've posted here.

Some strong prices lately.

The write-up is in need of some copy-editing, but it conveys the information in dribs and drabs in between the overused adjectives. I would love to see the facts laid out in simple, straight declarative sentences with citations to relevant authorities.

I am more grateful each auction that I went on a Jackie Robinson card buying spree when '42' was released.

[CharleyBrown]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

The write-up is in need of some copy-editing, but it conveys the information in dribs and drabs in between the overused adjectives. I would love to see the facts laid out in simple, straight declarative sentences with citations to relevant authorities.

I am more grateful each auction that I went on a Jackie Robinson card buying spree when '42' was released.

Definitely could use some copy-editing. I'm glad they used a lot of my research, though. I just wish they would have given a little bit of credit.

I hear you, though. I am beyond grateful I completed the set when I did. I just wish I never sold my '48 Leaf!