Flipping through REA’s July 2000 catalog always teaches me something new. This time, I learned about the Huskies Club—a cereal brand Lou Gehrig endorsed after walking away from Wheaties.
Here’s how REA described the “Circa 1935 Lou Gehrig Huskies Advertising Brochure”:
Huskies Cereal fold over advertising brochure (3 1/2″ x 6 1/4″) features a large photo of Gehrig (president of the Huskies Club) on the cover and a smaller photo of him on the reverse. The pamphlet unfolds to reveal a large center display illustrating the various free prizes available to club members with the redemption of Huskies Cereal box tops. An interior section also features photos of various sports stars who are members of the Huskies Club. Near Mint condition
Now, for a bit of history, REA included some more information when auctioning off a few other Gehrig-branded Huskies Club advertisements,
It is interesting to note that Gehrig was one of the first athletes recruited by General Mills to promote its Wheaties cereal, famously known as the “Breakfast of Champions.” (Gehrig was the first athlete to appear on a Wheaties box, in 1934.) Shortly afterwards either because of taste or more money (we’re guessing the latter), Gehrig switched his breakfast cereals allegiance and became the new spokesperson for Huskies. Gehrig appeared in numerous print advertisements for the breakfast cereal, where he is often identified as president of the Huskies Club (members of the club enjoyed free gifts).
Now, back to the original piece. Lucky for us, Hake’s Auctions sold a copy of it in November 2012 for $287.50, and their description included additional details and more photos:
Expiration date of Dec. 31, 1937. 4×6.75” mailer has General Foods return address. Lt. aging and dust soil. Fine. Front cover has nice photo of Gehrig batting w/text “Look Inside For Your 40 Free Gifts”. Back cover has photo of “The Iron Man Of Sport And President Of The Huskies Club” eating cereal . Opens to 10.5×12.5” printed on two sides. Athletes photos include: Yankees Tony Lazzeri and Jake Powell, Cardinals manager Frank Frisch, Giants Bill Terry, Cubs manager Charlie Grimm, football player Jay Berwanger, swimmer Helene Madison, golfer Jimmy Thomson. Premiums include: Huskies club ring and pin, baseball uniform and equipment, Daisy water pistol, G-Men fingerprint set, Boy Scout ax. Lt. aging, otherwise Exc. Rare. First we’ve offered in our 46 years.
If you’re interested in Gehrig and the brand, there are a ton of other items to uncover, like the following ads, some die-cut displays, and all the free gifts.
Happy collecting, and if you have a copy of this catalog for sale, let me know!
Be First to Comment