“For a treat instead of a treatment … I recommend Old Gold cigarettes.”

Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn Dodgers
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
Old Gold
1948

Tobacco companies offered endorsement deals to every great and landmark figure in baseball Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe Dimaggio, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams and other Hall of Fame talents featured here.

Jackie Robinson, gave his endorsement for R.J. Reynolds’ Old Gold cigarettes, Robinson would face tremendous backlash during his career as he transcended baseball to become a pioneer for integration of not only sports but also improving race relations in the United States.

These stars and baseball’s national appeal gave cigarette makers a broad audience of consumers to push their products on. Robinson’s inclusion in Old Gold’s advertising indicates cigarette makers’ willingness to court minority customers, a topic covered in our exhibition on minorities and smoking.