Description:

Bob Cousy retired in 1963 and went to work doing promotions and clinics for the H.P. Hood Dairy Company. These 2 3/8” x 3 7/8" cards were distributed during this time period. Bob Cousy confirmed to a collector friend of mine that he used these cards during the period from 1963-1966. One of the Massachusetts-based company's slogans during this period was "Schoolboy or Celtic, they both get energy to burn from Hood Milk!" The cards come in two variations. The most common variation has a blue ink facsimile signature and says "yours for better fitness, Bob Cousy". At the bottom of the card it has the Hood logo and below that, it has the "Boston Traveler" logo. The Boston Traveler was a newspaper that is now defunct. The other variation is in black ink and only has the Hood Dairy emblem. Currently, the reason for the difference in cards is unknown. The Boston Traveler newspaper did go out of business in 1967, so maybe Hood had plans to use these cards longer?? We may never know. The black ink Hood card appears to be the rarer of the two. Twenty years ago, it was believed that these cards were exceedingly rare. However, as time has gone on, we have seen a few small finds of these, which have brought the price down slightly. I've also included an image of an 11 x 17 advertisement for John Alden fine foods that uses the Cousy graphic from this card.