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Originally Posted by packs
I can’t explain why more people didn’t save a baseball card. The article shows advertisements for the portrait card in newspapers and notes Robinson’s status as a national spokesman.
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Great, were those advertisements over weeks, months, or even longer? Or is it possible it was just a one-time ad, in one particular newspaper, in one particular city? Was Homogenized Bond Bread sold in places other than major league cities that had MLB teams? Were these cards also available across entire states and all smaller cities and rural areas as well? That article you pointed to mentioned the portrait cards as possibly a type of promo card handed out at certain stores. Well if so, how many locations, how many cards, and for how long?
I put forth what would seem to be a very sensical and logical argument that even if white kids didn't care much for Robinson cards, you would think that in the predominantly black communities/areas they would have been like gold, wouldn't you? And I could see some black adults, not just black kids, possibly wanting and cherishing these cards of the first ever black MLB player as well. Now that makes some possible logical sense, doesn't it?
So why aren't there many, many more of these cards still out there? Could it possibly be that Bond Bread didn't get distributed as much in areas that had predominantly large black populations? Back then in 1947, American communities were nowhere near as integrated as they are today, and minorities tended to live together in somewhat tight-knit communities. So, could another possibility be that Bond Bread wasn't available as much in those black communities back then after all? Or maybe it was the other way around, and these were targeted sales aimed more at the black communities, and maybe therefore not as available in the white communities after all. Those ads in the article you posted clearly showed black people in them, and let's be totally honest and face reality, back in 1947 ads showing all black people in them would most likely not be used to advertise any sales in predominantly white communities. And either way, if so, it could definitely be a logical argument/reason there are maybe not as many of those cards still around today, and also a possible reason/proof that maybe these Bond Bread cards were possibly at least somewhat limited in their distribution after all. Anyone put it beyond the Bond Bread company to purposely limit Robinson cards to being inserted/available in their bread being sold mostly in black communities, or given away as promos at predominantly black stores, at least initially to see how well the rest of the country accepted/rejected Robinson? And if these cards were predominantly distributed in black communities, and not white communities, the much smaller black population would be a very logical reason that not many of these cards survived to today after all, as the black population made up only a small percentage of the overall U.S. population in 1947.
I'm not able to offer any definitive proof either way, merely putting forth some logical thinking and arguments as to possibles reasons these may not have been as widely distributed as some claim. All you've done is basically just tell me you don't know! No logic, no sense, no anything other than you can't come up with a possible reason these may not have been a regional or limited issue. Other than you found a Beckett article showing a single ad, and a single newspaper article in a predominantly black paper, denoting Robinson a national spokesman. And that is your sole proof and argument as to why you think this Bond Bread set was not possibly a regional or limited issue, and with no other logical arguments or possible explanations as to why so few of these Jackie cards still exist today then? Heck, in the article itself it even states that though Robinson was heading up a national campaign, it was only being advertised in predominantly black newspapers, in black communities that accounted for what, about 10%-15% of the total U.S. population back then. If that is the case, and that is where these '47 Robinson Bond Bread cards were at least initially targeted for distribution, how would that not possibly be a limited release?