1976 Mr. Softee, 1976 Quaker Ice Cream, or 1977 Quaker Oats?

[Cliff Bowman]

On another thread asking about an MSA George Brett file photo I supplied a scan of an MSA product iron on transfer of George Brett, I just took for granted that it was a 1977 Quaker Oats issue because that's what I have seen them listed as before. But out of curiosity I did some googling on them and I don't think they are Quaker Oats or what else they are described as. I found them listed three ways, 1976 Mr. Softee, 1976 Quaker Ice Cream, and 1977 Quaker Oats. I don't believe any of the three are correct. PSA lists them as 1976 Mr. Softee for reasons unknown. Trading Card Database has them listed as 1976 Mr. Softee with a checklist of twelve players that could be either 1976 or 1977, but I found two unlisted players, Reggie Jackson and Tom Seaver, and the Jackson proves that this is not a 1976 issue. Reggie Jackson is shown as a Yankee, he signed with them on November 29, 1976 so I would say without a doubt that puts these in 1977. I have no idea where the suspected origins of Mr. Softee, Quaker Ice Cream, or Quaker Oats came from, the iron-ons have just Quaker on them. I found an ad sheet on eBay from an iron on transfer company named Quaker that advertises rock stars, monsters, animals, and their logo matches the logo on the baseball iron on transfers perfectly. It's my opinion that these should be listed as 1977 Quaker Iron On Transfers. The known checklist is George Brett, Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Randy Jones, Dave Kingman, Jerry Koosman, Fred Lynn, Joe Morgan, Thurman Munson, Amos Otis, Bill Russell, Nolan Ryan, Mike Schmidt, Tom Seaver. Since Jackson is listed as a Yankee and Kingman and Seaver are listed as Mets that puts these in the early to mid 1977 range. I also found a couple of iron transfers of Don Gullett-Yankees and Joe Morgan-Reds but they are a little different format, and Quaker also made NBA iron transfers that are the same time period. If anyone can add more players or has a theory why they are described as Quaker Oats, Quaker Ice Cream or Mr. Softee please do.

[mybestbretts]

Great thread. I was chasing Quaker Oats and found nothing, mystery solved

[mybestbretts]

I do think MSA was involved in all

[Cliff Bowman]

I ran across a reason why they are referred to as Mr. Softee or Quaker Ice Cream, they were supposedly sold at Mr. Softee Ice Cream outlets in the New York area in that time period. If that was the only place they were sold I'm sure the iron on transfers of Randy Jones, Amos Otis, and Bill Russell were huge sellers , and unless the Reggie Jackson-Yankees iron on transfer was a later addition that still puts these as a 1977 issue. If anyone has that issue of Sports Collectors Digest April 21, 2006 it would be cool if they could show the article here.

[cardinalcollector]

Also same photos (I believe) as the RC Cola transfers:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1978-Atlant...AAAMXQq8BQ74v5

[Cliff Bowman]

Originally Posted by cardinalcollector

Also same photos (I believe) as the RC Cola transfers:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1978-Atlant...AAAMXQq8BQ74v5

I know that the Brett photo is different, I wouldn’t doubt that some or many of them used the same photos.

[Musashi]

Reviving this old thread, but I have some similar iron-ons and was wondering if anyone else knows anything about them? The Quaker name is on them, beyond that I'm not sure of anything. The Background design is different from the other iron ons of the period. I tried an image search, and google has never seen them either. They measure about 14x12, so much larger than the other iron ons as well.

[ChiefBeef]

TCDB lists them as a 1976 set called Mr Softee Iron-ons. Shows a set with 13 patches. Mr Softee was sold in a lot of places, and probably some ballparks in NE, therefore putting out player patches for the fans. Read where a Mr Softee vendor went after a pretzel truck vendor over a secret spot to sell in NY. Got arrested for battery. (2006 maybe). What a world.

[toppcat]

One thing worth noting, Mr. Softee, so far as I can recall, was just comprised of local ice cream truck franchises, with no retail. They MAY have sold it at Shea Stadium at some point in the 70's but I am not all sure on that point.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Sitll wondering about the massively oversized Phillies with different designs from the 1976-77 and the RC Cola, which we're very familiar with. Has anyone ever seen them? See Brian's post above for an image.