December pickups

[CharleyBrown]

Originally Posted by brian1961

Shaun,

First off, I sincerely apologize for not commenting until today. I "was called away from my computer desk" to do some serious shopping with my wife and son. Anyways, I was so looking forward to your responses. My friend, you sure gave us a wonderful dissertation on this magnificent set.

Your "B" is stunning. Targeting African-American communities nationwide truly makes sense, as this was a major step which represented and greatly interested African-Americans throughout the USA. Thus, wherever Bond's distribution regions coincided with Black communities, those cards could have been given out.

Just a comment to substantiate "A": I was a student at Ball State University when the gorgeous 1977 Wonder Bread Stars Wars set was released. As this was the bread used by the dorm cafeteria, I had access to the loaves lying out to makes sandwiches. The Star Wars free prize card was lying in the poly bag with the bread. I helped myself to many a card while preparing peanut butter and honey sandwiches for lunch. My point is that the oil from the Wonder Bread would absorb into the card from the time it was packaged at the bakery, until the moment the consumer got to claim his free prize. Now, my memory on this next particular point is not as sharp, but can you verify this Shaun-----I DON'T SEEM TO RECALL ANY OF OUR SUBJECT LATE 40S BOND BREAD REGIONAL JACKIE ROBINSON CARDS BEING STAINED BY BREAD OIL, AND THEREFORE SUBJUGATED WITH THE DREADED QUALIFYER OF "ST".

USING SHERLOCK HOLMES ANALYSIS AND DEDUCTION, IF YOU CAN CONFIRM THE ABSENCE OF STAINED CARDS, THEN I WOULD DEDUCE YOUR "A" EITHER / OR ANSWER POINTS TO YOUR SECOND CHOICE----THE CARDS WERE GIVEN TO BREAD DELIVERYMEN, GROCERY STORE OWNERS, AND THEN FINALLY LOCATED AT THE CHECK-OUT STATION, WHEREUPON A CUSTOMER WOULD BE PRESENTED WITH A BOND BREAD JACKIE ROBINSON CARD WHEN THEY PURCHASED BOND BREAD.

Brian,

Excellent points, and the idea of comparing stains of other bread issued cards is brilliant.

That being said, might be this be considered a oil stain from bread?:



Not as apparent, but this card also has some light discoloration in spotty areas:

This lot also has a few cards demonstrating stains (this lot included both the cards above). It should be noted that the Leland's description states that they were packaged with the bread, though provides no other details. http://www.lelands.com/auction/Aucti...Cards-%2813%29

Aside from those stained cards, the majority of Bond Bread cards that I have seen have lacked spot stains. I have seen a few that have demonstrated toning. I plan to compare stains from the Wonder Bread Star Wars and Football issues to see how the stains from these cards match up. I also plan to go back and research many of the Bond Bread issues I've seen to pay closer attention to any stains that might be there, but not so obvious.

Because all of the stained cards above come from the same collection, it is possible that the staining took place after the fact while in LaRocca's possession. There have been tales of bread delivery drivers giving out the most common portrait card to kids, and the majority of those stained in the lot were that same portrait card.

Typing this out has made me realize that Sal LaRocca might hold many of the answers that we are looking for... time to send a few emails I guess.

** Update **

I didn't want to add another post to this thread, as I don't want to disrupt the pickups thread (and I'll likely end up writing an article of some sort this year once my research has been completed), but after going over my research, it looks like the endorsement deal was announced October 11, 1947. I believe it was Jackie's first endorsement deal, as Branch Rickey had strictly prohibited any endorsement deal negotiations on Jackie's behalf, as he knew Jackie would have enough to deal with during his first year in the Bigs.

He would soon sign another endorsement deal with Old Gold Cigarettes (despite the fact that Robinson never smoked), and Borden's Evaporated Milk.

I believe the Bond Bread set (along with the advertising posters) represents the first endorsement deal by an African-American baseball player.