I think you might be reading too much in to the smoking part of the phrase on the card. I don't think it's a stretch to say that the folks ate ATC would put that on the card regardless of what type of tobacco it was distributed with. Even the ad Tim just posted again basically says that Ty Cobb tobacco is "granulated cut plug smoking tobacco" The fact that some people may have chewed it probably didn't matter a bit to the marketing execs at ATC. Capitalize on the name of a star baseball player from Georgia in order to sell tobacco product. Smoking was becoming fashionable and more popular as Potomacyanks post states. in 1900 over 3.5 billion cigarettes were sold and over 6 billion cigars ....Duke was selling 90% of the cigarettes made at this time. I wonder if ATC had plans for naming any other brands after players ? Obviously, Ty Cobb was not the only tobacco user playing baseball at the time. with the impending break up of ATC, I doubt they did though.
here's some interesting info on the break up of ATC in May of 1911
1911-05-29: SCOTUS: "Trustbusters" break up American Tobacco Co. US Supreme Court dissolves Duke's trust as a monopoly and in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890). The major companies to emerge are: American Tobacco Co., R.J. Reynolds, Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company (Durham, NC), Lorillard and British-American Tobacco (BAT). RJ Reynolds says, "Now watch me give Buck Duke hell." BAT is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Liggett & Myers was given about 28 per cent of the cigarette market:
Piedmont
Fatima
American Beauty
Home Run
Imperiales
Coupon
King Bee
Fatima (the only 15 Turkish blend
and the cheap straight domestic brands.
P. Lorillard received 15 per cent of the nation's business:
Helmar
Egyptian Deities
Turkish Trophies
Murad
Mogul
and all straight Turkish brands
American Tobacco retained 37 per cent of the market:
Pall Mall, its expensive all-Turkish brand, named for a fashionable London street in the 18th century where "pall-mall" (a precursor to croquet) was played.
Sweet Caporal
Hassan
Mecca
R. J. Reynolds received no cigarette line but was awarded 20 per cent of the plug trade.
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