GLENSHAW GLASS COMPANY ~ PENNSYLVANIA ~ BOTTLE DATE CODES ~ BRIEF HISTORY ~ ETC.

[SODAPOPBOB]

MCglass That's a good question and something I was wondering about myself. In fact, this could require a new thread to figure out. As you indicated, the Joe Louis Punch acl is painted over a Kayo label. As you know, Kayo was that tough kid, hence the tie-in to KO (Knock Out). But what's weird is, the bottle I posted is not the only one like it I've seen. Notice below there's even a wooden crate with Kayo on the outside and Joe Louis Punch on the inside. So it's not merely an accidental thing, some bottler did it intentionally. But why, I can't say. Another thing is, the acl bottles I've seen have two bands formed around the bottle and a small Kayo acl on the shoulder, whereas the paint-over's don't have the bands and instead of a small Kayo on the shoulder, have a large Kayo acl on the shoulder. I can't find a smooth-sided Kayo bottle other than the one's that have been painted over. So your guess is as good as mine why any of this was done. The only connection I'm aware of is the "boxing" theme. ??? [ Attachments ] 1. Standard Kayo acl bottle with bands/rings and small Kayo on shoulder 2. Wooden Box3. Paint-over bottle for comparison

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

And here's the backside of the Kayo/Joe Louis paint-over

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Kayo paint-over with typical Joe Louis Punch bottle for comparison ...

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

The more I look into the Kayo/Joe Louis Punch mystery the more confusing it gets ... This is the other bottle I mentioned. But this time the Joe Louis Punch label is on the back of the Kayo bottle, whereas the first bottle I posted it was on the front. Plus, this bottle is marked "Chocolate Bev. Products Chicago, Illinois," whereas the first bottle was from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This bottle is obviously the same style/shape as the other bottle, but the seller of this bottle did not mention anything about a [G] 1937 on the base, which I'm sure he would have if it was marked as such. 1. Front2. Front Close Up3. Back

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

More confusion ...

Here's the side of the wood crate, which is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. So now we have three different locations - Pittsburgh, Pa., Chicago, Ill., Philadelphia, Pa.

Maybe at some point the Joe Louis Punch Company bought the Kayo Company and reused their stuff. Or perhaps it was vice versa. ???

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S. Earlier I said, "So it's not merely an accidental thing, some bottler did it intentionally." But what I meant to say was, that some bottler "had it done." I'm pretty sure the acl paint-over was done at a glass factory and not by the bottler. It appears, at least with the Pittsburgh bottle, the paint-over was done by the Glenshaw Glass Company. But why would the Glenshaw Glass Company do that if not requested by the bottler? And why would a bottler request such a thing?

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Etc. ... Just for the record, Joe Louis Punch originated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1946 (More about this later)

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Long story short ...

The Kayo brand name was registered in 1926 and remained in operation for many years until the Sara Lee Corporation bought the rights around 2007. Joe Louis Punch originated in 1946 and was considered a financial disaster causing a cease in production in 1950. So it seems apparent that neither company bought out the other one. Because the Joe Louis Punch label is on top of the Kayo label, it appears obvious it was the Joe Louis brand that initiated the paint-over and not Kayo. Which kind of makes sense when you take into account the Joe Louis brand struggled to stay in operation right from the get-go. In fact, Joe Louis Punch was first marketed in Mexico in 1946 and not distributed in the United States until 1947. As to why the Joe Louis Punch brand put their label on Kayo bottles, I can only think of one possible reason that might explain it, namely ...

Joe Louis Punch was struggling and hard up for cheap bottles. I'm thinking the Kayo bottles they used were discontinued and the tie-in to "KO / Kayo / Knock Out" was a logical choice. Joe Louis was, at one time, considered the "Knockout King."

However, none of this explains the existence of a Kayo soda bottle made by the Glenshaw Glass Company, at least not the one with the Joe Louis Punch paint-over. I've looked everywhere and can not find one like it that does not have the paint-over. As I said earlier, the Kayo acl bottles I've seen all have the two rings around the bottle. Plus, I can't find a Kayo bottle that has the word Kayo on the shoulder that's positioned in the wide acl strip. Maybe those particular Kayo bottles were made but for some reason were never distributed, hence the reason why Joe Louis Punch was allowed to use them. ???

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Okay, this is getting weird ... [&:] 1. Front2. Back3. Base with [G] 1937

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

~ Two Theories ~


Theory #1. The Joe Louis Punch / Kayo paint-over bottles were night shift creations by someone at the Glenshaw Glass Company who thought it would be cool to connect the word "Kayo" to Joe Louis who was considered the "King of Knockouts." If this was the case, then I suspect very few of the paint-over bottles were produced and possibly were never distributed. The examples I found pictures of might be those that were set aside over the years. However, the main flaw in this theory is that the first bottle I posted a picture of was capped and still contained some of the Kayo chocolate drink, which suggest it was shipped from the Glenshaw factory to the bottler where it was filled. Of course its also possible that adding the chocolate drink and recapping was done in later years by a collector.

Theory #2. The attached snippet is from a 2007 book about the history of Pepsi Cola. At one time the Joe Louis Punch people attempted to strike a deal with Pepsi Cola to see if they were interested in buying into and bottling Joe Louis Punch, which never took place because Pepsi Cola was not interested. The snippet is the latter portion of a half-page from the book that was devoted to the discussion between Joe Louis Punch and Pepsi Cola. The snippet contains a quote by William Graham, who was the president of "The All American Drinks Corporation," which was the parent company for Joe Louis Punch. Notice where it says Joe Louis was so popular at one point that fans kept the bottles as souvenirs, which in turn created a shortage of bottles to be refilled. Even though this might explain the paint-overs, I seriously doubt The All American Drinks Corporation would go to such lengths just to save a few bucks. But then again, who knows, maybe this does explain the paint-overs. Of course this still doesn't explain why a Kayo chocolate drink (if original to the bottle and not added later) was put in a bottle possibly intended for Joe Louis Punch which only made fruit flavors and not chocolate.

Footnote: I currently favor Theory #1 []

(To be continued)

Attachment from ...

"The Pepsi Challenge" book ~ 2007