The tradition of including baseball cards in cereal boxes began in 1935 when Wheaties partnered with the card manufacturer Baltimore News American to include baseball cards in boxes. It was the William Wrigley Jr. Company’s Post cereal brand that turned cereal baseball cards into a mainstream collectible phenomenon.
In 1958, Post cereal began including premiums of popular baseball cards featuring current Major League ballplayers inside boxes of their cereals. These were far more desirable than the cards previously included with other cereals because the players actually pictured were current big league stars. Post cereal put full-motion color photographs on the fronts of these cards which really made them visually appealing to kids.
Some of the earliest and most memorable Post cereal baseball card issues included 1958, 1959, and 1960. Many future Hall of Famers first appeared on cards from these early Post runs that are highly valuable today. The 1958 Post set featured among others future Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, and Richie Ashburn. With their colorful artwork and photographs, these 1958 Post cards captured the imagination of a generation of young baseball fans and sparked the large-scale collection obsession that continues today.
Subsequent Post cereal issues from the 1960s such as 1961, 1962, 1963, and 1964 also featured the games’ biggest stars like Sandy Koufax, Roberto Clemente, Harmon Killebrew, and Willie McCovey. These issues are also highly desirable today because of the sheer popularity and widespread distribution of Post cereals. More Post cereal box customers meant more of these vintage cards survived in better condition compared to the much scarcer tobacco and bubble gum card issues from the same time period.
By the late 1960s, the popularity of collecting had exploded nationwide andPost cereal responded with elaborate card sets in 1967,1968, and 1969that included bonus cards, manager cards, league leader cards and more. This transformed collecting from simply assembling a basic roster of players into pursuing complete memorable sets which had increasing scarcity and value. These late 1960s Post sets ignited intense enthusiasm among baby boomer collectors that still drives the hobby today.
In the 1970s,Topps regained the exclusive cereal card license and Post cereal’s relationship with baseball cards ended temporarily.However, Post cardscontinued to increase in value on the vintage market for sets from the company’s peak card-producing years of the late 1950s through late 1960s. Authenticated near-mint condition 1958 Post cards of all-time greats like Mays, Aaron, Banks routinely sell for thousands of dollars each today. Highly coveted rare variations like early produced horizontal backs or reversed front/back order commands tens of thousands. Even commondated1961-1964Postcards featuring future Hall of Famers sell for hundreds in top grades.
Their relatively large print runs compared to tobacco issues ensured more survived in gem mint condition, boosting values, yet they retained immense nostalgia and remained highly coveted parts of collections. This demand drove values steadily upward for decades. By the 1990s, aComplete 1958 Post setin brilliant uncirculated condition brought over $10,000 – astonishing considering boxes could be bought for pocket change just years earlier. This demonstrated their emergence as true blue chip investments within the booming collectibles economy.
In 1992,Post returned to the market with sportscards commemorating the Olympics. Building on this success, they reunited with MLB in 2003 to produce new baseball cards exclusively for Post cereal boxes. Featuring current stars and prospects, these revived Post cereal issues introduced new generations to collecting. Nostalgia remained incredibly strong for the vintage 1950s-60s designs as near-complete classic runs became million-dollar collections.Even relativelycommon 1960sPostcards command over $20 each in topgrades today – underscoring their enduring popularity.
Thehistory of Postcerealbaseballcards is trulyremarkable. From humbling beginnings as cheap cerealpack-ins,they evolved into covetedparts ofcollectionsand sterlingsymbols ofAmericana. Pricesregularlystart in thehundreds now forauthenticnearmintexamples,withkeysuperstarsregularlycommandingover $1000apiece. Completevintage runs suchas1958,1959and 1960areveritablerare treasuresvaluedat tens ofthousands, underscoring how farPostcerealcards havecome ascollectorinvestments.Their colorfuldesignsand captivatingphotographscaptivated generationsofyoungfans,sparking baseball passions thatcontinuetodriveone ofAmericas greatesthobbiesmore thanhalfa century later.Truly, Postcereal’srelationship with baseballcardschangedthecollectinglandscapeforever.
Vintage Post Cereal baseball cards from the late 1950s through 1960s reign as some of the most valuable and desirable issues within the entire hobby, routinely selling for hundreds to thousands due to their iconic designs, huge print runs, and ability to captivate generations of collectors with high-quality photographs of the game’s biggest stars. Led by extraordinarily rare near-mint examples of cards featuring all-time greats like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Ernie Banks, complete vintage Post cereal runs regularly command five-figure and even six-figure prices today among serious collectors and investors. Along with fueling one of America’s most popular pastimes, Post cereal forever transformed the fledgling sportscard market and stays revered as the pioneer that brought cards into the mainstream.
