That Salada goodness

I've been fighting a bug for the last few days and haven't had much energy so I dug through my scan folder for something to post. (Tell me you've never done that).

I picked these Salada coins up off eBay a few weeks ago. I really only wanted a Colts example for my Baltimore Colts collection but Ol' Milt called out to me so I added him to my cart and checked out. These were issued from 1962 through 1963. I believe both of these are '63 vintage. A 'parallel' set of the baseball coins as well as hockey versions were available in Canada under the 'Shirriff' brand name at roughly the same time (and later that decade). I have the Salada Billy Pierce but the Shirriff one has proved to be elusive.

Jimmy Orr was a big deal in Baltimore during his 10 seasons there (then again every Colt was a big deal to Charm City fans). He always seemed to be catching TD passes from John Unitas in the right-hand corner of the endzone of Memorial Stadium's south end. That corner was dubbed 'Orrsville'. 

And with the Super Bowl coming up tomorrow it's appropriate (though painful for me) to note an infamous moment of Colts' lore. From Wikipedia:

Orr is known for his part in a play in Super Bowl III against the New York Jets. On the last play of the first half, Colt quarterback Earl Morrall handed off to Tom Matte, who threw a lateral back to Morrall in a flea-flicker play. Orr was wide open and waving in the end zone, but Morrall did not see him (perhaps because Orr was camouflaged by a backdrop of uniformed band members outlining the end zone). Videos of the play reveal that on an otherwise overcast day, the sun mysteriously came out just before the play, and shone directly into Morrall's face, while Orr was downfield in the shadows. Morrall threw instead to fullback Jerry Hill, but the ball was intercepted by New York Jets safety Jim Hudson.

I loved Milt Pappas before he was traded to the Reds for Frank Robinson in December of 1965. I was kind of disappointed that he was gone. But I got over it. 

As noted on the reverse of these coins they came in packages of Salada Tea and Junket desserts. I don't recall having either product in our home growing up. I do remember hearing and seeing commercials for Junket Rennet Custard. I had no idea what that was and didn't until a few minutes ago when Google enlightened me. Apparently the same company that now owns the rights to that name also owns the rights to the Salada Tea brand. Whatever.

1963 Salada Coin-Billy Pierce

I've been chasing this little gem for awhile. Most were just a bit pricey for my taste, north of $50 and frequently close to $100. But this one came along and I grabbed it at a very reasonable price. I'm not sure why the Pierce is among the higher priced coins in the set. I haven't seen anything to indicate why it carries a premium other than vague references to some being more scarce than others. But there it is. 

The back is pretty impossible to decipher even to the naked eye, never-mind in a scan. But there is Junket Rennet Custard logo there and apparently these were issued in boxes of the dessert mix as well as Salada Tea in 1962. They are plastic with paper inserts depicting the player. 221 coins made up the set with some players appearing on two teams due to trades and some other coloring variations. The next year the 63 issued coins were made of metal and were painted.

There is a parallel set called Shirriff Coins that were issued in Canada. There is a checklist with known variations that can be found here. I have a handful of these things, all Orioles and I picked them up a long time ago. So long ago that I can't remember where or when. I posted the Brooks Robinson from the 1962 set over a year ago.

But even today most of them can be had for very little. Except the Billy Pierce, of course.

Late addition:
Mark Hoyle sent me a shot of his Red Sox '62 Salada set in the original display 'shield'. It's a terrific item. But now I have something else on my wantlist!

1962 Salada Brooks Robinson Coin

Pretty simple item, a Brooks Robinson 'coin' from the 'Salada Tea set' of 1962. These were promo items found in packages of several different products including Salada Tea and Junket custard mix. I have about six of these, all Orioles, with two coming from the similarly designed metal 1963 set. It's a plastic 'coin' with the front picture printed on paper and inserted into the frame. I believe they only come in blue and red and I have no idea if players are available in both colors.

The back has a couple of lines about the set including the fact that "there are 200 coins. Ten from each team". In truth there are 221 coins and the variations up the checklist to over 260. The 1963 set consisted of 63 coins. That info on the reverse side of '62 coins is printed 'in relief', sort of an embossed deal, so it doesn't show up in a scan. The 1963 set had more standard printed backs. There is a bit of info on the sets here (1962) and here (1963).

I'm not sure where I picked this Brooks coin up. I don't think it was something I saved from the days it was issued but I do know that, like Post Cereal/Jello card boxes, I bugged my Mom to buy this stuff. I was surprised to find it is still available. Salada Tea is still around as well.