Kellogg’s has included baseball cards in their cereal boxes since the 1930s as a fun incentive to drive cereal sales. Over the decades, Kellogg’s has featured cards from virtually every major league team as they pursued partnerships with MLB clubs to promote their brands together. While collectors in the past primarily sought these cards to complete sets or acquire photos of their favorite players, in recent years their resale value has skyrocketed as interest in vintage sports memorabilia has surged.
One of the earliest and most famous Kellogg’s baseball card inserts was the 1938 Warman’s Bread series. Rather than deal directly with Kellogg’s, the cards were part of a short-lived promotional deal between the Chicago-based bread maker and American league teams. Cards featured the 1937 team photos of every AL club and are highly desirable today, with conditioned examples of stars like Lou Gehrig or Jimmie Foxx potentially selling for thousands of dollars.
In the early 1950s, Kellogg’s began directly producing the cards themselves with uniform red backgrounds. Highlights of these sets include the 1952 Topps-inspired Kellogg’s cards that featured color photos for the first time. Rookies like Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle attracted renewed collector interest in the 2000s when the vintage card market boomed. Mint condition copies of their cards today can fetch over $10,000, though most average examples sell in the $100-500 range.
The late 1950s saw Kellogg’s transition to their familiar design with team logos at top and player stats below vibrant color photos. The 1958 and 1960 issues are particularly valuable as they encompass the careers of all-time greats like Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente during their early MVP seasons. Thanks to Aaron’s record-breaking home run feats, his cards routinely sell for over $1000 while a pristine Clemente can go for $2000-3000 or more. Even commons from these years hold value ranging from around $50 up to $500 depending on the player featured.
Fans of vintage cards should note some other checkmarks in Kellogg’s history that may add value to specific issues. The 1967 subset honoring the first 50 years anniversary of the AL and NL are highly collectible, especially stars and older veterans made iconographic by their retirement after that season. Early 1970s issues spotlighting the emergence of talent like Reggie Jackson and Tom Seaver also attract attention, as do the colorful 1976 bicentennial cards and 1978 cards honoring Jackie Robinson’s 1931st anniversary.
While production of Kellogg’s cards slowed in the 1980s as the company focused on new licensed products, they have released sporadic new sets honoring major milestones. The 1987 cards celebrating the 75th season are popular, as are the 1992 Winter Olympic-themed insert cards. However, Kellogg’s really revved up promotions again starting in the late 90s through today by including premium rookie and parallel “red border” subsets in cereal boxes that parallel the exploding rise in popularity of modern inserts from brands like Upper Deck and Topps.
Today, valuable rookies and stars from even the late 90s Kellogg’s runs command solid values compared to their original pack odds. For example, a 1998 Kellogg’s Derek Jeter rookie in Near Mint condition recently sold for over $3000, while Chase Utley and David Wright rookies trade hands for $100-200 depending on their condition from 1999-2000 issues. Conversely, commons have maintained or appreciated on their own merits as well – 1991 Kirby Puckett and 1996 Mark McGwire cards are worth $50-100 based solely on the players’ prolific careers.
In conlusion, Kellogg’s long history producing baseball cards as cereal incentives makes virtually any issue from the 1930s on worth investigating for today’s collectors. Condition is still king when determining values, which can range from $50-plus for commons up to potentially thousands for true Near Mint vintage stars and key rookies that stand the test of time. With online selling and auctions fueling new demand every year, Kellogg’s collections offer affordable avenues to collect legacy players at reasonable prices compared to higher end professional releases from the same eras. Their accessibilty and fun, nostalgia-evoking designs ensure Kellogg’s cards stay in demand among sports memorabilia enthusiasts for decades to come.
