OT: Revisiting the D302 Jackie Robinson Bond Bread Release Date

[CharleyBrown]

Will consolidate all my recent findings in a new thread, and I probably should do an official write-up for collecting publications, but here's some tidbits:

Jackie was first approached by Dixie Walker in early May informing him of a nationally-known bread company's desire to secure his endorsement. Jackie turned down that company. It is unclear if it was General Baking / Bond Bread, or Wonder Bread (which had already signed Dixie Walker).

It was reported on May 31 that Jackie had signed a deal for $500 with General Baking / Bond Bread, a nationally known bakery to endorse their bread. This was Jackie's first endorsement deal. He would later sign on with Old Gold Cigarettes later in 1947, after the facsimile Bond Bread card was released.

By July 1947, 2 million copies of the facsimile card were printed. Distribution began in Harlem, but by October, copies were distributed from Montreal to St. Louis. Cities such as Montreal, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Detroit, Norfolk, Baltimore, Washington D.C., New York, Cleveland and St. Louis were areas of distribution.

General Baking / Bond Bread, along with companies like Phillip Morris, Pepsi-Cola, and Royal Crown Cola (R-C Cola), made a push in 1948 to make more connections to the Black community and reach their market, starting a new trend that featured prominent Black athletes, actors, etc. in various phases of everyday life. This would explain the "At-Home" advertisement featuring Jackie, Rachel and Jackie Jr. in the kitchen, Jackie showing Jackie Jr. how to bat, and Rachel carrying groceries.

Past articles about the issue stated that Bond Bread was succumbed to pressure / backlash for their endorsement agreement with Jackie Robinson. Those articles said that Bond Bread ended their deal with him and pulled all their cards, which is why the issue is so scarce.

I believe that to be incorrect, though I am still looking for concrete proof / evidence to dispute that claim. Given the trend of major companies to make inroads / expand their reach into the Black community / market in 1948, it makes little sense that they would immediately reverse course. Furthermore, Jackie went on to endorse Chesterfield Cigarettes in 1949 and Borden's Evaporated Milk in 1950 (which distributed a facsimile autographed 8x10 photo of Robinson in exchange for 3 labels and 10 cents).

For that reason, I believe Jackie signed onto a 2-3 year deal with General Baking / Bond Bread and at the completion of that deal's terms, the agreement was not renewed.