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use of chemical stimulants in the deadball era

Posted By: GlennMy most recent ebay pick-up: <img src="http://img485.imageshack.us/img485/1407/060116kp.jpg">

use of chemical stimulants in the deadball era

Posted By: ChrisLove that! Is it a letterpress piece or just a cutout from a magazine?

use of chemical stimulants in the deadball era

Posted By: warshawlawand cocaine to liven up your day <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14>

use of chemical stimulants in the deadball era

Posted By: Scott GrossGreat pick up ............ ........... gotta' love Waddell's comment "...does not leave an after effect." A man who knew what he was talking about.

use of chemical stimulants in the deadball era

Posted By: Steve M.Coca-Cola used to contain cocaine. Coca-Cola was named back in 1885 for its two "medicinal" ingredients: extract of coca leaves and kola nuts. Just how much cocaine was originally in the formulation is hard to determine, but the drink undeniably contained some cocaine in its early days. Frederick Allen describes the public attitude towards cocaine that existed as Coca-Cola's developers worked on perfecting their formula in 1891: The first stirrings of a national debate had begun over the negative aspects of cocaine, and manufacturers were growing defensive over charges that use of their products might lead to "cocainism" or the "cocaine habit". The full-throated fury against cocaine was still a few years off, and Candler and Robinson were anxious to continue promoting the supposed benefits of the coca leaf, but there was no reason to risk putting more than a tiny bit of coca extract in their syrup. They cut the amount to a mere trace. Allen also explains that cocaine continued to be an ingredient in the syrup in order to protect the trade name "Coca-Cola": But neither could Candler take the simple step of eliminating the fluid extract of coca leaves from the formula. Candler believed that his product's name had to be descriptive, and that he must have at least some by-product of the coca leaf in the syrup (along with some kola) to protect his right to the name Coca-Cola. Protecting the name was critical. Candler had no patent on the syrup itself. Anyone could make an imitation. But no one could put the label "Coca-Cola" on an imitation so long as Candler owned the name. The name was the thing of real value, and the registered trademark was its only safeguard. Coca leaves had to stay in the syrup. How much cocaine was in that "mere trace" is impossible to say, but we do know that by 1902 it was as little as 1/400 of a grain of cocaine per ounce of syrup. Coca-Cola didn't become completely cocaine-free until 1929, but there was scarcely any of the drug left in the drink by then: By Heath's calculation, the amount of ecgonine [an alkaloid in the coca leaf that could be synthesized to create cocaine] was infinitesimal: no more than one part in 50 million. In an entire year's supply of 25-odd million gallons of Coca-Cola syrup, Heath figured, there might be six-hundredths of an ounce of cocaine. So, yes, at one time there was cocaine in Coca-Cola. But before you're tempted to run off claiming Coca-Cola turned generations of drinkers into dope addicts, consider the following: back in 1885 it was far from uncommon to use cocaine in patent medicines (which is what Coca-Cola was originally marketed as) and other medical potions. When it first became general knowledge that cocaine could be harmful, the backroom chemists who comprised Coca-Cola at the time (long before it became the huge company we now know) did everything they could with the technology they had available at the time to remove every trace of cocaine from the beverage. What was left behind (until the technology improved enough for it all to be removed) wasn't enough to give a fly a buzz.

use of chemical stimulants in the deadball era

Posted By: BobMr. Steroid just belted 713 off the facing of the upper deck <img src="/images/sad.gif" height=14 width=14>

use of chemical stimulants in the deadball era

Posted By: leonHe says, in the ad, he drank it after the game. Sort of like Bonds not using steroids during the game, I guess. What a shame such an ass will surpass Ruth in HR's. Such is life....

use of chemical stimulants in the deadball era

Posted By: craigthats really a neat item. it made me think of this ty cobb ad that is in a newspaper i own, another of my collections. the sunday, sept. 10, 1916 san francisco examiner has an ad on page N7 of ty cobb selling nuxated iron. he is shown sliding in the picture. the ad is actually very lon with him describing how it keeps him this the physical condition it takes to be "the worlds greatest baseball player." i will try to scan the ad tonight, hopefull i can, and post it tomorrow afternoon. craig

use of chemical stimulants in the deadball era

Posted By: GlennChris, I don't really know how to tell if it's letterpress, but it's definitely not from a magazine. It's on a thin sheet of cardboard. As far as I can tell, it's an original piece from around 1910 (the end of Waddell's career). The bottle shown at the bottom of the sign was replaced by the now famous contoured Coke bottle in 1916. If I'm right about the age, the piece has held up remarkably well for its size. There was a similar, and I think slightly smaller Coca Cola sign featuring Hughie Jennings on ebay recently (a month ago?), and I think that one was from 1915.

use of chemical stimulants in the deadball era

Posted By: Daniel BrettaNice ad piece...I saw a bunch of these hit ebay a few weeks ago.

use of chemical stimulants in the deadball era

Posted By: GlennThanks for the compliments, everyone. It looked pretty cool in the auction, but it looks even better now that I actually have it.

use of chemical stimulants in the deadball era

Posted By: drcAs it uses coca leaves in the flavoring and the cocaine can't be entirely removed from coca, today's Coke has cocaine in it. The US government overseas the use the coca, the leaves go through a chemical process before Coca Cola uses it and the amount in the drink is below trace.

use of chemical stimulants in the deadball era

Posted By: craighere is that ty cobb ad. craig <img src=http://members.aol.com/dmbbfan/tycobbiron.jpg>

use of chemical stimulants in the deadball era

Posted By: ChrisGlen, Thanks for the reply... Are the letters, arrows, player images, etc. at all indented in the paper -- meaning can you tell the paper was pushed in by whatever printed the image? I'm not sure how to better describe what I'm asking...

use of chemical stimulants in the deadball era

Posted By: GlennNothing like that, at least none that I can detect with my eyes and fingertips. The texture is uniform across the whole piece, with nothing stamped/pressed/in relief on it -- same as an ordinary baseball card except that it's monochromatic.

use of chemical stimulants in the deadball era

Posted By: Howard W. Rosenberg<img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1147263139.JPG">

use of chemical stimulants in the deadball era

Posted By: prewarsportsTo the best of my knowledge, this was originally an advertisement from a magazine which someone made into a cardboard display piece within the last 30 years. I do not think this was done to deceive but rather to make a nice display in the 1970's or early 1980's. All the ones I have seen of this piece have been as such, and I have seen the original ad in a magazine (might have been National Geographic) and it was much smaller which is why Lajoie looks really grainy in your piece after he was enlarged. Do not take this opinion as gospel because I am not looking at the piece and so I can not make a 100% accurate opinion, but I have seen several of these over the years and they were all modern in their production.