In the world of baseball collectibles, few items hold the mystique of the elusive 1954 ALAGA Syrup Willie Mays Postcard, a collectible so scarce that most collectors won’t ever lay eyes on one in person. Luckily, for avid fans of Willie Mays seeking a connection to the baseball legend’s collaboration with ALAGA, there exists a moderately more accessible treasure — an advertising poster. In this piece, I’ll chat about the details and scarcity of both items while also discussing a few of ALAGA’s magazine and newspaper ads featuring Mays and another baseball luminary, Hank Aaron.
The Alabama-Georgia (ALAGA) Syrup Company
According to their website, the Alabama-Georgia (ALAGA) Syrup Company was established by Louis Broughton Whitfield, Sr., along with his wife, Willie Vandiver Whitfield, in 1906. The first can of ALAGA syrup was packed in January 1907, and by 1920, “Alaga Syrup had grown into a national brand thanks to the revolutionary manufacturing methods which brought ALAGA syrup to customers throughout the country in metal cans, a remarkable packaging and distribution feat for its day.”
WSFA News 12 published a piece about the company in celebration of it being over a century old. In it, they mention that the company has had some pretty big names endorse the product over the years, including Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Clark Gable, Bear Bryant, Shug Jordan, and Nat King Cole.
1954 ALAGA Syrup Willie Mays Postcard
The year of issue of the 1954 ALAGA Syrup Willie Mays Postcard is approximate. Mays is pictured in a New York Giants cap (they moved to San Francisco in 1957), and ALAGA syrup ads featuring Mays started showing up in 1955 in Ebony Magazine, among other publications, making a 1954 date seem reasonable.
The front of the 3-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ postcard features a borderless black-and-white portrait with a facsimile autograph.
The back has an advertisement for ALAGA syrup, which states, “Willie Mays says, ‘I was raised on ALAGA Syrup’ on the left side with a postage stamp square on the upper right and space to write a note to the right of the ad.
PSA has only graded the previously pictured example (it resides in the current number 1 ranked Willie Mays Master Set on the registry), and unfortunately, I can’t make out any postage cancels for dating. While the SGC Pop Report doesn’t include the card, and I haven’t run across any Beckett-graded examples, the Trading Card Database includes the following example:
Given the postcard’s rarity and Mays’s popularity, I couldn’t even begin to estimate its price.
1960s Willie Mays Alaga Syrup Advertisement Poster
Now, if you’re a Willie Mays fan and enjoy having syrup with waffles (order intended) as much as I do, you might want to try and grab one of the 1960s Willie Mays ALAGA syrup Advertising Posters for your collection. They’re approximately 10″ x 20″ and one-sided; it reads ALAGA Syrup along the top, followed by a picture of Mays in the middle with a quote from him reading: “Say hey! Love that real ribbon cane flavor”, followed by a bottle of soup with waffles along the bottom. Goldin sold the following example in April 2017 for $255.
The posters aren’t super common, but they aren’t as scarce as the postcard. There was a single copy on eBay in Nov 2023 for $539.99 (it was framed and JSA authenticated), and besides the Goldin copy I already mentioned, there have been a few other sales over the years, too. For example, SCP sold a framed copy in November 2010 for $428. Heritage has sold a handful of them, including a framed copy in October 2020 for $192, a lot of three in 2019 for $264, a single copy for $120 in October 2017, another for $199.50 in December 2016, and another in June 2016 for $203.15.
Willie Mays and Hank Aaron ALAGA Syrup Newspaper and Magazine Ads
I mentioned earlier that ads featuring Mays and ALAGA started appearing around 1955; they had quite a nostalgic appeal. In two of the following examples, Mays says he was “raised on Alaga Syrup.” And one says, “It brings back bright memories every time I taste it.”
I believe the ads ran for about ten years, starting in the mid-50s; the rightmost Mays Ad, dated to 1963, uses the same image of Mays but includes french toast instead of waffles.
Hank Aaron was featured in various similarly written ads for ALAGA syrup, and the right most of the following four was published in 1966. Unfortunately, I haven’t found any Hank Aaron postcards featuring the ALAGA brand. Also, the third Aaron ad may actually be a poster.
This ad featuring Mr. and Mrs. Aaron is my favorite; those pancakes look delicious!
Conclusion and Further Reading
I actually didn’t know the 1954 ALAGA Syrup Willie Mays Postcard existed until I stumbled upon it while flipping through the first few pages of the Standard Catalog of Vintage Baseball Cards. Though ownership remains a distant prospect for almost everyone, the poster is a more attainable quest—a cherished piece rumored to have found favor with Mays. I also love it when there are items that bridge the gap between collecting, baseball history, and Americana!