• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Get Sports Collectors Daily via EMail
    • Advertise with SC Daily
    • Write for Sports Collectors Daily
    • Write About Your Sports Collection
    • Where Can I Sell My Baseball Cards?
  • Hot on eBay
    • Most Watched Graded Rookies
    • Most Watched PSA 10 Cards
    • Most Watched BGS, BVG Cards
    • Most Watched SGC Cards
    • Most Watched CSG,CGC Cards
    • Most Watched Baseball Cards
      • Most Watched 2023 Baseball Cards
      • Most Watched 2022 Baseball Rookie Cards
      • Bowman Chrome Cards
      • Ronald Acuna Jr. Cards
      • Shohei Ohtani Cards
      • Mike Trout Cards
      • Fernando Tatis Jr. Cards
      • Babe Ruth Cards
      • Hank Aaron Cards
      • Jackie Robinson Cards:
      • Mickey Mantle Cards
      • Willie Mays Cards
      • Vintage Baseball Card Sets
      • T206 Cards
    • Most Watched Basketball
      • Top 100 Most Watched Basketball Rookie Cards
      • 100 Hottest 2022-23 NBA Rookie Cards
      • 100 Hottest 2021-22 NBA Rookie Cards
      • 100 Hottest 2020-21 NBA Rookie Cards
      • 100 Hottest 2019-20 NBA Rookie Cards
        • Zion Williamson Rookie Cards
        • Ja Morant Rookie Cards
      • Michael Jordan Cards
      • Kobe Bryant Cards
      • LeBron James Rookie Cards
      • Nikola Jokic Rookie Cards
      • Giannis Antetokounmpo Cards
      • Luka Doncic Rookie Cards
      • Prizm Basketball Cards
      • Panini National Treasures
    • Most Watched Football Cards
      • Most Watched NFL Rookie Cards
      • 2022 NFL Rookie Cards
        • Brock Purdy Rookie Cards
      • 2021 NFL Rookie Cards
      • 2020 NFL Rookie Cards
        • Joe Burrow Rookie Cards
        • Justin Herbert Rookie Cards
        • Jalen Hurts Rookie Cards
      • Josh Allen Rookie Cards
      • Patrick Mahomes Rookie Cards
      • Tom Brady Cards
    • Most Watched Hockey Cards
      • Top 100 Most Watched Hockey Rookie Cards
      • Most Watched 2021-22 NHL Rookie Cards
      • Most Watched 2020-21 Rookie Cards
      • Most Watched 2019-20 Rookie Cards
      • Connor McDavid Cards
      • Wayne Gretzky Cards
      • Bobby Orr Cards
    • Most Watched Soccer Cards
    • Most Watched UFC Cards
    • Most Watched Golf Cards
    • Most Watched 1 of 1 Cards
    • Most Watched Racing Cards
    • Top Sports Card Dealers on eBay
    • Most Watched Memorabilia
      • Vintage Sports Memorabilia
    • Vintage Sports Tickets, Stubs
    • Most Watched Autographs
  • Ending Soon on Ebay
    • Baseball Cards
    • Basketball Cards
    • Football Cards
    • Hockey Cards
    • Soccer Cards
    • Golf Cards
    • UFC Cards
  • Top - Ad

Sports Collectors Daily

Sports Collectors Daily

Sports collecting news - Sports cards and sports memorabilia industry news.

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network. 

  • Sports Memorabilia News
  • Sports Card News
    • Modern Sports Card News
      • New Sports Card Release Calendar
      • Shop Talk
    • Vintage Sports Card News
      • Affordable Vintage Cards, Collectibles
      • Old Baseball Card Sets
      • Old Basketball Card Sets
      • Old Football Card Sets
      • Old Hockey Card Sets
      • Vintage Pack Facts
  • Business/Industry News
    • Sports Memorabilia Business News
    • Sports Memorabilia Industry News
  • Around The Hobby
    • Editor’s Blog
    • David Cycleback’s Identification and Authentication Advice
  • Popular Stories
  • Sell Your Cards
You are here: Home / Sports Card News / Wheaties’ Pre-War Sports Collectibles Extended Beyond Cereal Boxes

Wheaties’ Pre-War Sports Collectibles Extended Beyond Cereal Boxes

September 20, 2018 By Anson Whaley

These days, most sports collectors know Wheaties for their popular cereal boxes that have often featured famous athletes. These boxes are collectible and Wheaties has been producing them for decades.

But what many don’t know is that the company produced several other types of sports collectibles in the pre-war era, too.

Introduced in 1924, Wheaties doesn’t have a ton of pre-war collectibles. But it didn’t take the company long to break into the sports market and there are several things of interest that they produced.

Babe Ruth Flip Books

One of Wheaties’ earlier and more valuable collectibles was printed in 1932.

That year, the company produced a special flip book featuring Hall of Famer Babe Ruth. While Ruth’s career was winding down by that point, he was still immensely popular. The year before, the Babe had led the league in home runs (46) for the sixth straight year. In 1932, he led the league in walks and on base percentage.

The book showed an animated version of Ruth’s home run swing over several pages using real black and white pictures. The back contained an ad for Wheaties and the cover is even in their familiar orange and blue theme. Here is the movie in motion when the pages are flipped.

This one in a 2017 REA auction sold for $240.

1933 Wheaties Skippy Series

While the Babe was the most popular baseball player at the time, some of Wheaties’ first baseball cards were actually for a fictional character.

In 1933, Wheaties produced a set of cards around the cartoon character Skippy. Even though he isn’t well-known today, Skippy was extremely popular in the 1930s. He was the subject of a 15-minute radio show and Wheaties ran some tie-in promotions with him. Specifically, they used the Skippy character to create a Secret Society club for kids that ate Wheaties. The promotion was a wild success as the club is said to have included more than 500,000 children.

Wheaties produced a series of 12 cards featuring Skippy. While many are of the non-sports variety, a handful featured baseball and boxing cards. The baseball cards pictured Skippy as both a hitter and batter and the cards are still collected today, selling for around $10 each in decent condition.

Minor League Postcards

Wheaties’ biggest impact, however, came on the minor league circuit. The company invested heavily into advertising in minor league baseball markets and created many collectibles, including postcards and photos.

Two Wheaties postcard sets were produced in 1933 for the Seattle Indians and Minneapolis Millers. Both are somewhat rare but the Seattle Indians photos are downright scarce.

The Indians set is so rare that finding a complete checklist is difficult. Only a handful of subjects are known.

The Millers set, however, is easier to find. Featured there is Hall of Famer Dave Bancroft, who was the team’s manager. His postcard is shown here.

These postcards usually start in the $25-$50 range.  Some can usually be found on eBay.

Team Photos

Also notable was the company’s production of minor league team photos. These photos were a result of Wheaties’ partnership with local radio stations to promote local Radio Day/Radio Night games at stadiums.

These photos are somewhat rare today and several included hidden gems. In addition to the team, they usually included a picture of the team’s radio announcer.

In 1937, a photo of the Columbus Redbirds featured Hall of Famer Enos Slaughter. 1939 team photos included Cooperstown inductees Pee Wee Reese and Phil Rizzuto.

But it’s a 1938 photo that is usually the most sought after. A 1938 Minneapolis Millers picture (shown here) features the legendary Ted Williams in a fantastic pre-rookie issue.

The Millers photo doesn’t come cheap but isn’t overly expensive, either. One sold in an auction for nearly $250.  

You can search for some of those late 30s Team Photos here.

Not Wheaties

A final note should be mentioned here about the 1930s Worch Cigar photos.

For many years, these photos were incorrectly attributed to Wheaties. However, that changed with the discovery of several of them inside of envelopes for Worch Cigar.

The photos, produced in the early 1930s, are popular with collectors and feature major league players, including Babe Ruth and many more.

Since then, these have been correctly identified as Worch Cigar photos.

 

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • Facebook Messenger

Related Stories:

Babe Ruth 1932 Bulgaria Sport1932 Bulgaria Sport Set Includes Babe Ruth and Other Sporting Greats Pre-War Baseball Card Holiday Gift Ideas for Any Budget Kings Among Kings: The Top 10 Cards From the 1933 Goudey Sport Kings Set Rare 1939 African Tobacco World of Sport Set Features Babe Ruth 1914 Babe Ruth rookie card Baltimore SunThe Wayback Collector: Pre-War Collectibles a Sizable Chunk of Sports Memorabilia Market 1935 Schutter-Johnson Cards Featured Unique Artwork Luke Appling 1935 GoudeyThere’s More to the 1935 Goudey Set than Babe Ruth Radio Appreciation Day/Night Minor League Photos Include Hidden Gems

About Anson Whaley

Anson Whaley is a contributor to Sports Collectors Daily and has been an avid pre-war and vintage card collector for more than 20 years. He manages a pre-war sports card blog and database at www.prewarcards.com . You can email him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter @PreWarCards.

Filed Under: Sports Card News, Vintage Sports Card News Tagged With: 1930s baseball cards, babe ruth, minor league baseball, Ted Williams, Wheaties

Primary Sidebar

Our articles may contain affiliate links. When you click on links to merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network. 

Shop Sports Cards on Ebay
  • Football
  • Basketball
  • Baseball
  • Hockey

High End Cards and Memorabilia

  • BBCE Authenticated Boxes, Packs opens in a new window
  • Graded pre-War Card eBay Auctions
  • PWCC Premier Auction
  • PWCC Fixed Price Marketplace
  • Graded Rookie Cards on eBay opens in a new window
  • Authenticated Photos on eBay opens in a new window
  • Graded Tickets & Stubs opens in a new window

Bargain Corner

  • Michael Jordan cards $5 and less opens in a new window
  • Kobe Bryant cards $5 and less opens in a new window
  • Mickey Mantle Cards Under $150 opens in a new window
  • Graded T206 Cards Under $150 opens in a new window
  • Pre-War Cards Under $100 opens in a new window
  • Pre-1980 Graded Baseball Cards $10 and Less opens in a new window
  • Pre-1980 Graded Football Cards $10 and Less opens in a new window
  • Vintage Graded Basketball Cards $25 and less opens in a new window
  • Vintage Graded Hockey Cards $10 and Less opens in a new window
  • Complete Sets $20 and Less opens in a new window
  • Baseball Hall of Famers for $5 or Less opens in a new window
  • Football Hall of Famers for $5 or Less opens in a new window
  • Hobby Boxes Under $30 opens in a new window
  • Pre-1986 Rookie Cards Under $1 opens in a new window
  • Buy Boxes Directly from Topps opens in a new window

RSS Auction Report

  • Watch The Iconic Auctions LiveStream Preview Show – October 4, 2023 at 8 PM CST
  • Grey Flannel Auctions Accepting Consignments & Buying
  • Huggins and Scott Accepting Consignments For 2023 Auctions

Footer

Categories

  • Around the Hobby
  • Business/Industry News
    • Sports Memorabilia Business News
    • Sports Memorabilia Industry News
  • David Cycleback's Identification and Authentication Advice
  • Editor's Blog
  • Featured Articles
  • Hobby Shop Talk
  • National Sports Collectors Convention
  • Popular Stories
  • Rich Klein's Ramblings
  • Sports Card News
    • Modern Sports Card News
      • New Sports Card Release Calendar
    • Vintage Sports Card News
      • Old Baseball Card Sets
      • Old Basketball Card Sets
      • Old Football Card Sets
      • Old Hockey Card Sets
      • Vintage Pack Facts
  • Sports Memorabilia News
  • Uncategorized

Sponsor Links

  • Sports Card Forumopens in a new window
  • Buying Vintage Sports Cardsopens in a new window
  • Game Used Jerseysopens in a new window
  • Championship Rings For Saleopens in a new window
  • Vintage Basketball Cardsopens in a new window
  • NBA Signed Itemsopens in a new window
  • Autographed Baseballsopens in a new window
  • NASCAR Autographsopens in a new window
  • Vintage Graded Baseball Cardsopens in a new window
  • Player Picturesopens in a new window
  • Vintage Football Cardsopens in a new window
  • Sports Collectors Storeopens in a new window

Pages

Ending on eBay Soon
  • Baseball Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Basketball Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Football Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Hockey Card Auctions Ending Soon on eBay
  • Vintage Sports Memorabilia on eBay Ending Soon
Top 100 on Ebay
  • Top 100 Most Watched Baseball Rookie Cards on eBay
  • Top 100 Most Watched Basketball Rookie Cards for Sale on eBay
  • Top 100 Most Watched Hockey Rookie Card Auctions
  • Top Authenticated Vintage Unopened Sports Card Boxes, Packs on eBay
Most Watched on eBay
  • 100 Most Watched Graded Rookie Cards for Sale on eBay
  • 100 Most Watched Tom Brady Card Auctions on eBay
  • 50 Hottest Hobby Boxes at Auction on eBay
  • 50 Most Watched Golf Trading Cards on eBay
  • 50 Most Watched Wrestling Trading Cards on eBay
  • 75 Most Watched Bowman Chrome Cards
  • Most Popular Bobbleheads on eBay
  • Most Watched 1/1 Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Basketball Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Complete Baseball Card Sets at Auction on eBay
  • Most Watched Football Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Football Rookie Card Auctions
  • Most Watched Goudey Baseball Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Hockey Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Racing Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Soccer Cards for Sale on eBay
  • Most Watched Sports Autographs on eBay
  • Most Watched Sports Jerseys on eBay
  • Most Watched Unopened Sports Card Boxes, Packs on eBay
  • Most Watched Vintage Sports Memorabilia on eBay
  • Hottest Panini National Treasures Cards on eBay
  • Hottest PSA 10 Cards for Sale on eBay
  • What’s Hot on eBay
Sports Memorabilia
  • Sports Card Bargain Bin
  • Sports Memorabilia Auctions Ending Soon on eBay
About Sports Collectors Daily
  • Advertise with SC Daily
  • Contact Us
  • Get Sports Collectors Daily via EMail
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
Sell Your Cards
  • What’s It Worth
  • Where Can I Sell My Baseball Cards?

Copyright © 2023 SportsCollectorsDaily.com | Web Design by Wickam Groupopens in a new window