B/G Sandwich Shops plate, or the tale of Ralph Moody who wrote Come On Seabiscuit!

To coin, or resurrect a word, I'm a nostalgist, I prefer old, used things to the shiny and new. Chipped crockery lives out its last days on my shelves, and when it finally breaks, it lives a second life mounted on my wooden fence outside the kitchen window—not a wall of shame, but an honored spot for venerable service rendered.

I have an old B/G Sandwich Shop plate from San Francisco. I knew it was old but I had no idea that it dated back to the Depression era, or that B/G Sandwich Shop ushered in the era of counter lunch sandwiches. My plate is from the ancestor of the lunch counter sandwich and apple pie with a mug of java joe era. Move over Subway. And fast food.

B/Gs motto was "A meal a minute" "A National Institution," "Purely American," and "A place for nice food."And they served it up in 40 cities across the nation. Nobody knows how many B/Gs there were, LA had six, Chicago had at least ten, and Milwaukee had two shops. What began as a toasted sandwich joint in 1926, expanded into hundreds of railroad car styled diners in 40 cities. By the end of the 1960s early 1970s, most had disappeared. Enter the era of McDonald's.

Matchbook from Los Angeles (ebay photo) sold.

Three generations of my family have used that old plate, it's seen some serious wear. It's been dropped, the edges are chipped. But it's a sturdy plate, I remember how it sounded as it dropped to the floor and spun, sounding like the hubbub of a train leaving the station. But it never broke.

When I was young, I made up a story that the plate logo stood for the initials of my brother and I. Baba & Guy. So of course we fought over the who got to use the plate. I usually won because I was the eldest. We had no idea what it stood for and it never dawned on me to turn the plate over.

After a time in our house in San Francisco, having been liberated from the B/G Sandwich Shop on Market Street by an aunt or uncle, or even my grandfather, the plate resided another 50 to 70 years in our then summer home in Forest Knolls. The plate's in bad shape, the glaze is worn off, it's chipped and stained. At one point, I nabbed it, and used it as a watercolor palette for many years. Then it resided beneath various potted plants for decades.

Yesterday, I washed the plate off and noticed the logo at the bottom, so I Googled it, and found a blog mentioning the sandwich joint. Thanks to a blogpost by dannwoellertthefoodetymologist, I have a newfound appreciation for that old plate.

B/G Sandwich Shops were a nationwide chain with first references found in 1920, as the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce welcomed its new members, including B/G Sandwich Shops, with the description, "Located at 1022 Market St. – ‘A meal a minute.’ This concern operates attractive sandwich shops in forty cities, the chain extending from California to New York.” B/G Sandwich Shops operated at least into the 1950s, and although it is unknown how many shops were part of the chain at its peak, branches did seem to stretch across the country, keeping up with the business’s advertising that called itself “A National Institution.” dannwoellertthefoodetymologist, 

Cincinnati B/G from dannwoellertthefoodetymologist blog

A little sleuthing uncovered other memorabilia from B/G Sandwich Shops. compact mirrors for the ladies, and matchbooks for the men. The distinctive orange and green logo was also festooned on egg cups. We had many mugs from the San Francisco Jail,  I wonder if some of the white ones were also from B/G. When we cleaned out my grandmother's house, the mugs went to the dump. But the sole remaining plate is now back in the house under my teapot to catch the drips.

More sleuthing uncovered another tangental story. Our family had a motivational saying when things get tough, they yelled: Come on Seabiscuit! Now Seabiscuit, a racehorse sired by Hard Tack, was a rebellious underdog who won races by great lengths—but only when he put his mind to it.

Seabiscuit working out —Wiki

(Seabiscuit, though only 15 hands tall, was thoroughly a thoroughbred, his lineage was stellar. His grandsire was the famous Man o’ War, his sire, Hard Tack Tack, his dam, Swing On, she was out of Balance, her damsire was Whisk Broom II—all were thoroughbreds with impeccable pedigrees—but he was a small horse, only 15.2 hands high. In temperament, Seabiscuit took after his bad-tempered pop, Hard Tack, who was stubborn as a mule, refusing to run if he didn’t fancy it. BTW, Seabiscuit’s rival in the 1938 Match Race of the Century, War Admiral, who also stood at 15.2 hands—was his uncle.) But back to my story....

Ralph Moody, the bookeeper and manager of that B/G Sandwich Shop on the 1000 block of Market Street, corner of Golden Gate, and 6th Street, was another scrapper, half-orphaned at 11, after working the family ranch in Colorado, running a bakery, and scrapes with the law back east, he came out west due to his poor health.

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B/G Sandwich Shop, 1022 Market St., corner of 6th Street, SF, 1949

After a series of odd-jobs in the Southwest, a farmhand, and stint as a movie stuntman who took fall from running horses, his health issues disappeared. Moody landed a job at Procter & Gamble. But in 1925, Ralph Moody was restless, he become partners with a former client, B/G Foods, Inc., and eventually moved his family to Burlingame, California, just down the road from Tanforan Racetrack, and Bay Meadows, to manage the B/G Sandwich Shop in the city.

Ralph, who could spin a yarn at the diner, was encourage to take a night class in creative writing (at City College?) and became a writer. Ralph, who had no formal education, published an astonishing 17 books on horses, and heroic figures of the Old West. Little Britches, or Father and I Were Ranchers, published in 1950, chronicles the adventures of his family. His straight-shooting prose captures the vernacular of an era.

Ralph became manager of all the west coast B/G stores. After Ralph's wife died in the early 1970s, he packed up and moved back east to care for his mother. By then, he had a string of mostly autobiographical books under his belt. His final book, Horse of a Different Color  was published in 1968. He also penned the book, Come on Seabiscuit! in 1963. Small world. 

If only he had also immortalized Silky Sullivan, as well—another long-shot family favorite, and my family name. Silky Sullivan who was once 41 lengths behind, won by three lengths, was dubbed the California Comet. Silky had a career after he retired, and was trotted out and feted at St. Patrick’s Day parades, he was a celebrity in his own right, who achieved victory despite all odds, and is buried in Golden Gate Fields. The Silky Sullivan Handicap is named after him.

Ralph died on June 20, 1982, never knowing that Seabiscuit would become a major motion picture. Laura Hillenbrand, who wrote Seabiscuit: An American Legend (2001, owes something to Ralph Moody, as he was the first author to write about the horse in 1963 (it was reissued in 2003). I read Laura's book but I don't remember her mentioning Ralph. Guess I'll have to reread it. Moody's papers are in the Bancroft Library.

All this story arose from a logo on an old plate from a San Francisco sandwich shop. Who knew?

1022 & 1020 Market St.  ca 2009, is now Showdog, a cafe.

Google street view

The first two images are borrowed from Dann Woellert, Food Etymologist's blog. The B&W is a Getty image, and the other image seems like it's from the Cincinnati Museum of food; the ones in the middle are mine; the last two are pure Google. I did search Getty Images for the B&W photo, no luck. Here's hoping Dann won't mind my lifting his images. I did drop him a note. The eBay listings are volatile, once they've sold, it's hard to get back to the listing, let alone, the photo.

SOURCES:

A curious copyright for a jingle suggests Chicago was the hometown of B/G.

Stagecoach West - Page viii
Ralph Moody - 1998 - ‎Preview - ‎More editions... a bookkeeper, accountant, and credit manager. In 1925 he invested in a business started by one of Procter & Gamble's customers. The business was a small restaurant chain called B/G Sandwich Shops, Inc. Moody became the company's accountant and, in 1926, secretary-controller. B/G Sandwich Shops grew into a national chain, and after stays in Illinois, California, and New Jersey, Moody finally took up residence in Burlingame, California, in 1945 as B/G's West Coast manager.

Hotel Monthly - Volume 40 - Page 56
John Willy - 1931 - ‎Snippet view - ‎More editionsThe result of the several conferences was the establishment by B/G Sandwich Shops, Inc., of "The B/G Eating Inn" in the immediate vicinity of the Standard Oil Company of Indiana's service station at 5034 Lake Park avenue, in the Hyde Park district of Chicago. This restaurant is unique and typical of the proposed system of B/G Eating Inns. The exterior has the appearance of a regulation railway dining car. Inside, one end is devoted to the kitchen; the other end (street end) is a service ...

Capital Adjustments: Reorganizations, Stock Rights - Volume 1 - Page 3
https://books.google.com/books?id=amUUAQAAMAAJ
1962 -  B/O FOODS, INC. Old Btook* New Stock* 12-26-25 Incorporated In Del. as B/G Sandwich Shops, Jnc. 2-11-35 Name changed to B/G Foods, Inc.

from Selling Public Hospitality: A Handbook of Advertising and Publicity Four letters that brought business for the B/G Sandwich Shops: Dear Friend: "Tutte le strade conducono a Roma" runs the Italian proverb, which in its latest interpretation means "All campus trails lead to the B/G Sandwich Shops. ... Sincerely, B/G Sandwich Shops, Inc. Dear Friend : The familiar B/G trade-mark shines a great big welcome to all our friends in the theatrical profession, and we would merely remind you that the orange-and-black doors always swing inward for you.

Chain Store Age - Volume 17 - Page 135
https://books.google.com/books?id=TBQTAQAAMAAJ
1941 - ‎ The story of the famous B/G restaurants is inspiring proof of the force of a BIG idea. The business was...

This  is the 20th anniversary store in Chicago.

At least ten stores in Chicago. Was B/G founded there?

Since this is the last day of poetry month, I wrestled this piece into a poem tentatively titled, END OF AN ERA, it still needs work. A placeholder.

White Castle is deemed to be the first fast food chain restaurant in the United States

Other horsey bits
Kiger mustangs carry rare Iberian Sorraia mtDNA
The jockey's baton
B/G Sandwich Shops plate, or the tale of Ralph Moody
Sitting Deep
The Little Shits
Helgar the Horrible
FIRST SWIM
Eating the Wind
Horse Chestnuts
There is so Much We Save from Childhood

AFTER THE SOLSTICE, MACHU PICCHU

WILD HORSES IN THE RAIN 

LATE HOUSEWARMING POEM TO WM.T.WILEY 

HORSES RUNNING THROUGH THE STREETS OF ZENIA AT NIGHT