[CharleyBrown]

Bob, I am on mobile, so I don't have easy access to my research, but I believe there may have been another thread as well, in which I provide substantial evidence to the number distributed, citing research from multiple newspapers across the country.. which also provides evidence as to where the cards were distributed.

Your subtle digs are rather insulting tbh, particularly given that you hadn't taken the time initially to track down any of the posts / research. The research was done for the benefit of the collecting community to get a deeper understanding of Jackie's first endorsement deal. Period. I would have to research further, but I believe, when it was released, the BB portrait card was the widest distributed card since the start of the world war.

FWIW, Philadelphia Gum Company was in its infancy in 1948. I'd be interested in knowing how widely that set was distributed. From what I remember, 1948 marked the year that the U.S. was coming out of a paper shortage, which led to Bowman releasing its 1948 set. It appears as though the Swell Sport cards were given out by shop owners that sold Swell Gum.