T206 Reference / Reflections.....Tuesday Nite Trivia

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

Hi Ted,
Allow me to offer a more detailed explanation for my position:

The years 1909-11 were fiercely competitive for the various American tobacco brands, and they went to great lengths to sign up baseball players and to issue literally millions of cards each to include in their cigarette packs. This was a major marketing endeavor that turned out to be wildly successful.

Ty Cobb tobacco, on the other hand, had no part in this at all. If they printed only a single sheet of 100 cards, as you suggest, that sounds to me like no more than a one-day marketing campaign, limited to a very small geographic area. Yes, they "borrowed" the red image of Cobb, and designed the back to conform with what was circulating in America, but they were not at all competing with the other brands. How could they? How could a hundred cards compete with the millions being produced elsewhere?

And even if the American Lithograph Company printed them, that in itself doesn't make them part of the national promotion. So I will go so far as to say they have nothing at all to do with T206's, other than they have a similar appearance, something not uncommon in the 1910-era.

That said, if we took a survey, I'm guessing the majority would say they are T-206's. And that's okay, I don't mind taking a minority position. And why are you and I the only ones discussing this? Don't others want to take a break from the PSA/PWCC debacle and talk real baseball cards?

Barry

1st, I will answer your last comment regarding "the PSA/PWCC debacle". It has been "sucking" most of the oxygen out of this forum for weeks. It's not surprising that you and I are
the only guys here talking about this Ty Cobb subject.

My guess that approx. 100 cards were printed by American Litho (and then shipped to the Reidsville Plant in N.C.) may be an underestimation However, with only 22 of these cards
have been discovered to date, I may not be too far off on this number.

Perhaps, some more guys will chime in here with some interesting opinions.


TED Z
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