In 1956, Kellogg’s started including packets of baseball cards inside their boxes of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes cereal as a promotional tool to boost sales. At the time, baseball was extremely popular in America and inserting baseball cards in the cereal boxes was a genius marketing tactic that resonated with kids and parents alike. The inclusion of baseball cards would kick off a trend of inserting collectible cards in cereal boxes that continues to this day with brands like General Mills and Nabisco regularly including sports cards, character cards, and trading cards in their products.
The very first year Kellogg’s inserted baseball cards into Corn Flakes boxes, 1956, the cards featured players from the American League. A full set included 81 cards showing photos of individual players on the front with career stats and highlights on the back. Some of the notable stars featured on the ’56 Kellogg’s cards included Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and many others. While the design and production quality of those early Kellogg’s cards was quite basic compared to modern cards, for kids in the 1950s it was enormously exciting to rip open a box of cereal hoping to find your favorite ballplayer featured on a card.
In 1957 Kellogg’s cards switched to featuring players from the National League. Again there were 81 total cards in the set with a new cereal-munching child’s quest being to collect them all. Icons of the day like Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Stan Musial and more graced the 1957 Kellogg’s Corn Flakes cards. The design was updated slightly from the year before but production was still fairly primitive by today’s collector card standards. What made the cards so desirable for kids though was that they were free and offered inside a box of their favorite breakfast cereal.
For 1958 Kellogg’s increased the number of cards in the set to 106, reflecting expansion of both leagues that season as well as the additional talent spread across more ball clubs. The cards once again showcased individual photos on the front with stats on the reverse. Top players in the sport like Ernie Banks, Warren Spahn, Eddie Mathews and many Hall of Famers had their mugs shine on the ’58 Kellogg’s issue. Card design saw subtle enhancements but distribution method stayed the same – stuffed randomly into Kellogg’s Corn Flakes boxes on grocery store shelves.
In 1959 Kellogg’s made their most significant update to the Corn Flakes baseball card promotion by switching to a vertical card format for the first time. Previously cards had been standard horizontal face layouts but moving to a tall and thin vertical style gave more room for larger photos and more stats/career data on the backs. This change is seen as a major milestone in the evolution of modern baseball cards. The ’59 Kellogg’s issue featured 144 total cards, again showing one player per card with stats on the flipside. Having cards in a vertical/portrait mode opened the door for creative card designs that are common today.
The 1960s saw Kellogg’s Corn Flakes baseball cards continue to refine and improve the sets they put in boxes each year. In 1960 there were again 144 cards distributed as promotion for the cereal. 1961 upped the count to 160 different players featured between the American and National Leagues. By 1962 Kellogg’s was including a whopping 200 total cards in wax paper packs inside Corn Flakes boxes. This exponential growth over a short period of time is a testament to how immensely popular the cereal/card combo had become with both kids and adults alike interested in collecting.
Some key developments in Kellogg’s Corn Flakes cards during the early 1960s included the inclusion of rookie cards for rising young stars, more comprehensive career stats and achievements listed on the backs of cards, experimentation with color photo prints and thinner/flexible card stock. Sets from ’63 and ’64 further tweaked these card qualities while distributing 180 and 200 cards respectively. Stars of the era like Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron and Johnny Unitas all had cards produced during this time for kids to aim to uncover in their morning bowls.
Through the rest of the 1960s and into the 1970s, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes cards kept pace with broader market trends by incorporating multi-colored team logo designs, bigger clear action photos and trading/collector card features like glossy surfaces, player autograph facsimiles and gum/coin inserts. The removal of cereal pieces like toy favors from boxes in later years allowed Kellogg’s to include even more cards too – 1975 saw an unprecedented run of 340 total cards packed alongside each box’s crispy flakes.
While other cereal brands and companies started putting sports cards in breakfast foods through the 1980s-90s, Kellogg’s commitment endured. Their Corn Flakes baseball cards continued to reach new generations eager to build collections alongside their morning meal. Today, complete original sets ranging from the 1950s up through the late 20th century can sell for thousands online, a reminder of how much discovery and enjoyment those free cards provided kids for generations. Kellogg’s bold insertion of America’s pastime into every box sparked a surge in trading card popularity still going strong today.
