In our opinion, baseball bats don’t typically receive the credit they deserve. But one company in particular has, perhaps unintentionally, featured the-bats-that-made-the-hitters. Quite prominently, in fact, in their marketing initiatives. Through a blog post from the Cereal Price Guide blog, the team here at BaseballBats.net has discovered nearly 80 Wheaties cereal boxes that give the baseball bat its proper due!
And come to find out, successful users of baseball bats (AKA “Awesome Hitters”) have been a huge part of the Wheaties “Breakfast of Champions” story since the beginning of the campaign. According to General Mills, the manufacturers and marketers of Wheaties, 46 of the 51 major leaguers selected for the 1939 Major League All-Star Game endorsed Wheaties.
And since then, Wheaties has continued giving hitters and their bats prominent footing in the photographs on the front of their boxes. And for that, we thank them. And of course, we thank the bats.
So take a historical stroll through the history of baseball bats on Wheaties boxes, starting in 1934, and what their estimated value is today …
1934
1935
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| 1935 Wheaties Cereal box Arky Vaughan = $200.00 |
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| 1935 Wheaties BB1 Vintage Cereal Box Chuck Klein = $200.00 |
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| 1935 Wheaties Cereal Box Jack Armstrong = $200.00 |
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| 1935 Wheaties Cereal Box Joe Medwick = $200.00 |
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| 1935 Wheaties Cereal Box Mel Ott = $200.00 |
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| 1935 Wheaties Cereal Box Jo Jo White = $200.00 |
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| 1935 Wheaties Cereal Box Lou Gehrig = $200.00 |
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| 1935 Wheaties Cereal Box Leon Goose Goslin = $200.00 |
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| 1935 Wheaties Johnnie Pepper Martin Cereal Box = $200.00 |
1936
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| 1936 Wheaties Cereal Box Mel Ott = $200.00 |
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| 1936 Wheaties Cereal Box Curt Davis = $200.00 |
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| 1936 Wheaties Cereal Box Mel Ott = $200.00 |
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| 1936 Wheaties Billy Herman Cereal Box = $200.00 |
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| 1936 Wheaties Joe Medwick Cereal Box= $200.00 |
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| 1936 Joe Vosmik Wheaties Cereal Box= $200.00 |
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| 1936 Wheaties Charley Gehringer Cereal Box = $200.00 |
1937
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| 1937 Wheaties Cereal Box Joe DiMaggio = $300.00 |
1938
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| 1938 Wheaties Cereal Box = $200.00 |
1939
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| 1939 Wheaties Abraham Lincoln 100 Years of Baseball = $100 to $200.00 |
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| 1939 Wheaties cereal Box Hank Greenberg Detroit Tigers = $100 to $200.00 |
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| 1939 Wheaties Box Joe Medwick = $200.00 |
1940
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| 1940 Wheaties Cereal Box Champs Of The USA #2 = $100.00 |
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| 1940 Wheaties Cereal Box Champs Of The USA #3 = $100.00 |
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| 1940 Wheaties Cereal Box Champs Of The USA #5 = $100.00 |
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| 1940 Wheaties Cereal Box Champs Of The USA #6 = $100.00 |
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| 1940 Wheaties Cereal Box Champs Of The USA #10 = $100.00 |
1941
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| 1941 Wheaties Cereal Box Champs USA #17 = $125.00 |
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| 1941 Wheaties Cereal Box Champs USA #21 = $125.00 |
1944: None
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| 1945 Wheaties Cereal Box Ty Gleason & Arnie Simso = $125.00 |
1946 – 1951: None
1952
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| 1952 Wheaties Cereal Box = $200.00 |
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| 1952 Wheaties Cereal Box = $200.00 |
1953
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| 1953 Wheaties Cereal Box = $50.00 |
1954 – 1955
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| 1955 Wheaties Cereal Box = $80.00 to $200.00 |
1956 – 1958: None
1959
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| 1959 Wheaties Cereal Box = $80 to $200.00 |
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| 1959 Wheaties Cereal Box = $80 to $200.00 |
1960
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| 1960 Wheaties Cereal Box = $80 to $200.00 this image might be wrong |
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| 1960 Wheaties Cereal Box = $50 to $200.00 this image might be wrong |
1961 – 1975: None
1976
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| 1976 Wheaties Cereal Box = $100 To $200.00 |
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| 1976 Wheaties Cereal Box = $100 To $200.00 |
1977 – 1984: None
1985
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| 1985 Pete Rose Cereal Box = $10 to $15.00 |
1987
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1987 World Champ Minnesota Twins Cereal Box unused factory Flat = $5 to $10.00 |
1988: None
1989
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| 1989 Johnny Bench Wheaties Cereal Box = $10.00 |
1990
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| 1990 Wheaties Cereal Box = $5 to $10.00 |
1991
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1991 Minnesota Twins Champ series 44 Cereal box = $10 to $15.00 |
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1991 Rod Carew Cereal box = $10 to $15.00 |
1992
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| 1992 Wheaties Babe Ruth Baseball Cereal Box = $5 to $10.00 |
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| 1992 Wheaties Lou Gehrig Baseball Cereal Box = $5 to $10.00 |
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| 1992 Wheaties Willie Mays Baseball Cereal Box = $5 to $10.00 |
1993 – 1994: None
1995
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| 1995 Cal Ripken Jr Wheaties Cereal Box unused factory Flat $8.00 |
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| 1995 Cleveland Indians Champions Wheaties Cereal Box unused factory Flat $10.00 |
1996
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| 1996 Negro League Wheaties Cereal Box unused factory Flat $10.00 |
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1996 Ken Griffey Jr MLB Cereal Box = $5 to $10.00 |
1996 Jackie Robinson Honey Frosted Wheaties Cereal Box = $5 to $10.00
1997
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| 1997 All Star Outfielders S96c Wheaties Cereal Box unused factory Flat $10.00 |
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| 1997 All Star Infielders Wheaties Cereal Box $10.00 |
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| 1997 Jackie Robinson s88 Wheaties Cereal Box Flat = $5 to $10.00 |
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| 1997 All Star Players MLB Crispy Wheaties ‘n Raisins Cereal Box $5 to $10.00 |
1998
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| 1997 Seattle Mariners Wheaties Cereal Box = $5 to $10.00 |
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1998 Yankees Champs s47a Wheaties Cereal Box unused factory Flat = $5 to $10.00 |
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| 1998 Mark McGuire S46 Wheaties MLB Baseball Cereal Box unused factory Flat = $5 to $10.00 |
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| 1998 All Stars Series 28 Wheaties Cereal box = $5 to $10.00 |
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| 1998 Power Hitters Wheaties Cereal Box = $5 to $10.00 |
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1999 Babe Ruth MLB s49b Wheaties Cereal Box unused factory Flat = $5 to $10.00 |
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| 1998 Wheaties Cereal Box = $5 to $10.00 |
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| 1998 A Rod Greg Maddux Nomar Garciaparra Wheaties Cereal Box = $5 to $10.00 |
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1998 Ken Griffey Jr MLB Wheaties Cereal Box = $5 to $10.00 |
1999
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1999 Lou Gehrig MLB s49c Wheaties Cereal Box unused factory Flat = $5 to $10.00 |
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1999 Ken Griffey Jr MLB Wheaties Cereal Box unused factory Flat = $5 to $10.00 |
2000: None
2001
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| 2001 Cal Ripken Jr MLB Wheaties Cereal Box unused factory Flat = $5 to $10.00 |
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| 2001 Kirby Puckett n Dave Winfield MLB Wheaties Cereal Box unused factory Flat = $5 to $10.00 |
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| 2001 Hammerin Hank Aaron Wheaties Cereal Box unused factory Flat = $5 to $10.00 |
2002 – 2004: None
2005
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| 2005 Roberto Clemente Wheaties Cereal Box = $5 to $10.00 |
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| 2005 Albert Pujols Wheaties Cereal Box = $5 to $10.00 |
2006: None
2007
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| 2006 Alex Rodriguez Wheaties Cereal Box = $5 to $10.00 |
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| 2007 Tony Gwynn Wheaties cereal box = $5 to $10.00 |
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