Circa 1947 Bond Bread Jackie Robinson Portrait PSA FAIR 1.5 - True Rookie Card!

Sold For:

$5,880

Year:

1947

Auction:

2023 Fall

Lot #:

1337

Category:

Postwar Baseball - 1950s Cards

Graded FAIR 1.5 by PSA. Modestly graded example of one of the truly great Jackie Robinson cards, and one that in our opinion is a classic that is deserving of a place of honor in any card collection. Dating from 1947, this card represents Robinson's true rookie card. This card has a unique design in the thirteen-card 1947 Jackie Robinson Bond Bread set. It is the only card in the set that features a biography along with advertising on the reverse. In the 1970s, a legendary find of approximately seventy-five high-grade examples of this card "walked in" at a New York convention. The gentleman in possession of all the cards had received them as a youngster directly from a Bond Bread delivery-truck driver in 1947. As we know, all cards from the find were just the one special biography card, and despite pleas from the youngster for the additional cards in the set, the driver was never able to fulfill his requests. Because of this find long ago and accompanying story, we have always thought that this uniquely designed card in the set may have been produced to be given out at stores directly by grocers at the checkout counter, as a special advertising vehicle when the set was announced, as opposed to being issued one card per loaf (as was the case with the other twelve cards in the set, each of which has advertising-only reverses). Outstanding research assembled and presented on Net54baseball.com conclusively proves the set was actually issued over a period of several years (1947-1950), with the portrait card among the first issued in 1947. Here's the link: http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=171169. The card has superb image clarity. The important reverse is intact and boldly printed. Downgraded due to scattered creasing, corner wear (particularly the bottom two), and surface damage along the bottom edge. Opening Bid $1,000.