1919-21 H.A. Robinson / Robinson Cruso / Our Hero Peanuts Set and Checklist (W514)
‘It’s In The Details’
Title | H.A. Robinson / Robinson Cruso / Our Hero Peanuts W514 Strip |
Year | 1919-21 |
Size | Varies by Cut |
Images | Color |
Type | Food/Strip |
Number in Set |
120 |
H.A. Robinson / Robinson Cruso / Our Hero Peanuts (W514) Overview
The W514 strip card set is one of the more significant such issues. It includes almost all of the banned members of the 1919 Chicago Black Sox team, including would-be Hall of Famer Joe Jackson. The lone player not included is Fred McMullin.
While most of the W514 cards are found with blank backs, some feature an ad for H.A. Robinson Company, creating a similar but slightly different issue.
The cards were discovered by noted collector Bob Lemke and revealed on his blog in 2009. Since other copies had not surfaced, there was some initial skepticism about the legitimacy of these cards. Forgeries of other similar type cards (where collectors added stamps to the backs of issues in an effort to increase their value) were known and at the time, this was a new find to the hobby (at least new in the sense that it was not previously publicized). But a second has since surfaced, adding a little to the legitimacy.
It is not completely confirmed how those cards would have been distributed. However, an empty ‘Our Hero’ package was found and mentioned by Lemke in 2015 that mentions ‘a prize’ in each package. Cards could have been for prizes but until more definitive proof appears, the mode of distribution for these cards will not have been completely known.
The cards are the work of H.A. Robinson Company, a peanut manufacturer for their ‘Our Hero’ and ‘Robinson Cruso’ (sans ‘E’) brands of peanuts. On the blank-backed W514 cards, the company printed or stamped (appears to be printed) an advertisement for their packages of those peanuts, stating that each was five cents.
Back Variations
It should be noted that the known cards actually have slightly different backs with different fonts used.
It certainly does not mean they are not legitimate and other companies also used more than one type of back. However, the variances do need to be recorded.
- The first discovery (featuring Eddie Cicotte) has a decidedly thicker font than the one in the Bill Killifer card seen here.
- Very significant differences can be seen in the serif of the letters in the ‘5 CENTS’ wording.
- Many of the lines of text do not match up exactly in the two versions.
- The second period after the ‘A’ in H.A. Robinson is lower on the Cicotte card.
- The spacing after the two horizontal lines is different. The lines ‘Try a Package’ and ‘H.A. Robinson’ are positioned lower on the Cicotte example.
H.A. Robinson / Robinson Cruso / Our Hero Peanuts (W514) Checklist
Since the H.A. Robinson cards are extremely rare, it is not known if every card in the 120-card W514 set can be found with these advertisements. The only known cards with this back are of Eddie Cicotte and Bill Killefer.
The full W514 checklist is below and these would be cards that could presumably have the H.A. Robinson ad on the back.
- Ira Flagstead
- Babe Ruth
- Happy Felsch
- Doc Lavan
- Phil Douglas
- Earle Neale
- Leslie Nunamaker
- Sam Jones
- Claude Hendrix
- Frank Schulte
- Cactus Cravath
- Pat Moran
- Dick Rudolph
- Art Fletcher
- Joe Jackson
- Bill Southworth
- Ad Luque
- Charlie Deal
- Al Mamaux
- Stuffy McInnis
- Rabbit Maranville
- Max Carey
- Dickie Kerr
- George Burns
- Eddie Collins
- Steve O’Neil
- Bill Fisher
- Rube Bressler
- Bob Shawkey
- Donie Bush
- Chick Gandil
- Rollie Zeider
- Vean Gregg
- Miller Huggins
- Lefty Williams
- Tubby Spencer
- Lew MCCarty
- Hod Eller
- Joe Gedeon
- Dave Bancroft
- Clarke Griffith
- Wilbur Cooper
- Ty Cobb
- Roger Peckinpaugh
- Nic Carter
- Heinie Groh
- Bob Roth
- Frank Davis
- Leslie Mann
- Fielder Jones
- Bill Doak
- John McGraw
- Charles Hollocher
- Babe Adams
- Dode Paskert
- Rogers Hornsby
- Max Rath
- Jeff Pfeffer
- Nick Cullop
- Ray Schalk
- Bill Jacobson
- Nap Lajoie
- George Gibson
- Harry Hooper
- Grover Alexander
- Ping Bodie
- Hank Gowdy
- Jake Daubert
- Red Faber
- Ivan Olson
- Pickles Dilhoefer
- Christy Mathewson
- Ira Wingo
- Fred Merkle
- Home Run Baker
- Bert Gallia
- Milt Watson
- Bert Shotten
- Sam Rice
- Dan Greiner
- Larry Doyle
- Eddie Cicotte
- Hugo Bezdek
- Wally Pipp
- Edd Roush
- Slim Sallee
- Bill Killefer
- Bob Veach
- Jim Burke
- Everett Scott
- Buck Weaver
- George Whitted
- Ed Konetchy
- Walter Johnson
- Sam Crawford
- Fred Mitchell
- Ira Thomas
- Jimmy Ring
- Wally Schang
- Benny Kauff
- George Sisler
- Tris Speaker
- Carl Mays
- Buck Herzog
- Swede Risberg
- Hughie Jennings
- Pep Young
- Walter Reuther
- Joe Gharrity
- Zack Wheat
- Jim Vaughn
- Kid Gleason
- Casey Stengel
- Hal Chase
- Oscar Stanage
- Larry Shean
- Steve Pendergast
- Larry Kopf
- Charles Whiteman
- Jess Barnes
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