The tradition of including baseball cards in cereal boxes began in the late 19th century as a marketing ploy to help boost cereal sales. One of the earliest and most popular cereals to include cards was Kellogg’s Corn Flakes.
In the late 1880s, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg was running the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan. He developed corn flakes as part of his vision for healthy living and started producing the cereal commercially in 1906 under the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company, which later became the Kellogg Company. In an effort to increase sales, Kellogg decided to include premiums, or free gifts, inside cereal boxes. Some of the earliest premiums included simple toys, coloring books, and puzzles.
In 1909, the American Tobacco Company began including cards featuring famous baseball players in packs of cigarettes. This proved wildly popular and helped boost tobacco sales. Inspired by this success, Kellogg’s decided to try including baseball cards in Corn Flakes boxes in 1910 as one of their first premium offerings. At the time, baseball was America’s pastime and interest in the sport was growing rapidly. Including cards featuring star players from the major leagues was a genius marketing move that resonated with both children and adults.
The earliest Kellogg’s Corn Flakes baseball cards from 1910-1911 featured individual players on small cardboard stock. The fronts displayed a black and white image of a player in his uniform along with his name, position, and the team he played for. The backs were left blank. Some of the notable players featured on these early cards included Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and Christy Mathewson. While the images and production quality were basic, collectors at the time treasured these cards as they helped promote their favorite teams and players.
During the 1910s and 1920s, Kellogg’s continued including baseball cards in Corn Flakes at a rate of around 10 cards per box. The cards grew slightly in size and featured color tints being added to the images. More statistics about the players also began to appear on the backs of the cards. Kellogg’s commissioned a photographer named Charles M. “Doc” Dauvray to take portrait-style photos of the players that were used on the fronts of the cards. Dauvray’s crisp, high-quality images helped elevate the baseball card hobby.
In the 1930s, the Great Depression caused Kellogg’s to scale back on including premiums to cut costs. They continued packing a few baseball cards per box to entice customers. The cards grew in size to around 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches and featured colorful team logo designs on the fronts. Information boxes with stats also appeared on the fronts. On the backs, ads promoting Kellogg’s cereals were printed instead of leaving them blank. These 1930s Corn Flakes cards are highly collectible today.
After World War 2, the baseball card hobby exploded in popularity again thanks to increased production by Kellogg’s and other cereal makers. In the late 1940s and 1950s, Kellogg’s included over 20 cards per box of Corn Flakes, ensuring nearly complete sets could be collected. The cards grew to the modern size of 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches. Full color photos replaced black and white images on the fronts. Bios of the players and season stats began appearing in depth on the backs. Kellogg’s commissioned the photography company Topps to take high quality action shots of the players for these sets.
Some of the most iconic baseball card sets ever produced were the 1951, 1952, and 1953 Kellogg’s Corn Flakes issues. These feature legendary players like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, and Jackie Robinson in their prime playing years. The colorful designs and sharp photos made collecting these cards extremely popular among both children and adults. They remain some of the most sought after vintage baseball cards today when in top condition.
During the late 1950s through the 1960s, competition from other cereal brands like Wheaties increased. This caused Kellogg’s to include fewer baseball cards per box of Corn Flakes. By the 1970s, the inclusion of sports cards in cereal had begun to decline across the board. Rising costs, smaller box sizes, and the advent of mass-produced packs all contributed to the end of the cereal box baseball card era. However, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes helped kick off and popularize the entire baseball card collecting hobby for decades. Their early issues from the 1910s-1950s remain some of the most historic in the world of sports memorabilia.
