Billy from Jewel

In the late sixties there were several grocery chains serving Chicagoland.  Some had a smaller presence like High-Low, Kroger, and an up-and-coming Dominicks.  The big three were A&P, National, and Jewel.  My mom did most of her shopping at National.

In 1969 I wished she went to Jewel because Jewel had jumped on the Cubs bandwagon.  Look at this ad from the Chicago Tribune on August 18, 1969.  And the ad wasn't in the food section.  It was on page five of the sports section.

Jewel was offering Cubs pictures, mugs, Tee shirts, and autographed balls.

Four different pictures per week were available.  You can see from the ad that this was the week for Billy Williams' picture.  It only took me 45 years, but I've finally got the picture:

What a great looking picture!  It measures 6" x 9" and is on photo paper.  The color is still pretty sharp for something this old.  It looks to be a picture from 1967 (no '68 Illinois Sesquicentennial patch or '69 Baseball centennial patch on his right sleeve).  

For reasons that I don't understand, this is not on the PSA master list, though other photos and non-card items are included.  That didn't stop me though, and I'm glad to finally have the picture.