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TOBACCO PRODUCTS CORP. OF CANADA C140 CANADIAN SPORTS CHAMPIONS BOBBIE ROSENFELD CARD (CANADA)
The C140 card of Canadian athletic legend Bobbie Rosenfeld is a very significant. It is the first card from a set ever produced that featured a named individual basketball player. The following year, Dominion Chocolates released a similar card with the same image, but this Tobacco card from 1924 holds the honor of being the first.
The Tobacco Products Corporation of Canada was a historical enterprise notable in the 1920s for issuing this vintage trading card set, Canada Sports Champions, designated as C140 cards in the American Card Catalog. The set consisted of 45 cards and featured Canadian athletes from a variety of sports. Bobbie Rosenfeld is the only card that featured basketball.
The cards were likely issued as a partnership with Wright & Ditson, as advertisements for their sports equipment were on the reverse of the cards, with a statement that the card had a 2 cent purchase value towards Wright & Ditson products.
Bobbie Rosenfeld was one of Canada's most versatile female athletes, competing at an elite level in track & field, softball, basketball, ice hockey, and tennis. She set multiple records and was a Gold medal Olympian at the 1928 games in Amsterdam. She played basketball for the Edmonton Grads, the most dominant women's basketball team of the era and was inducted into several halls of fame, including Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. In 1949, Canada named Bobbie the female athlete of the half-century (1900-1950).
The C140 Rosenfeld is very scarce, with only a few copies ever graded. Earlier examples of PSA slabs incorrectly date the card to 1920, although it has been established that this is indeed a 1924 release. Measurements: 1.375" x 2.625"
1924
