Posted By:
J HullScot:
Nice summary of what we know about Kleinow and Smith. As Ted said, they certainly are "mysterious." There's still the lingering mystery of why Kleinow (Bos) and Smith (Chicago & Bos) are more plentiful with Polar Bear backs than any other brand. If we now move those cards into the 350-460 category, this fact doesn't seem quite so anomolous. From what I've been able to tell, the 350-460 cards are about 2.75 times more common with Polar Bear backs than the 460-only cards are. Quite a few of the (perhaps now 56) cards in 350-460 series seem to be at least as commonly found with Polar Bear as they are with Piedmont 350, Piedmont 350-460, or any other back.
However, presumably the 350-460s were double-printed with Polar Bear backs, once in the 350 series and once in the 460 series -- or at least once, who knows how the print runs were actually managed. Thus the high Polar Bear frequency on these cards.
And therein lies the mystery. Kleinow (NY) and Smith (White Cap) are found with Polar Bear backs, so the explanation isn't as easy as saying that the team change was made to the cards DURING the 350 series, before Polar Bears were printed (and, necessarily, that PB was the final brand printed in that series). If that had been the case, Kleinow (Bos) and Smith (Chicago & Bos) would have been double-printed like the other 350-460s and...mystery solved.
Jamie