Kellogg's Baseball School

White button with illustrations of red stitches like a baseball with red text on top and green text in the middle and an illustration of a box of cereal

In the 1930s, in order to compete with General Mills’ Wheaties endorsement of major league players, Kellogg’s had begun to offer baseball tips on their Corn Flakes cereal. The tips offered advice on techniques and positions written by former Major League player and manager Lew Fonseca. In 1937 Kellogg’s copyrighted the term Kellogg’s Baseball School, and Fonseca was listed as the director of the school program. Kellogg’s provided, "bats, balls, and catcher’s equipment, but all candidates for other positions [were] urged to bring their own gloves."

In 1937, Kellogg’s ran their first trial of the school in Chicago, and over 40,000 children participating over a ten-week period across various playgrounds in the city. 20,000 people attended the championship game. In 1938, the schools expanded to include other cities, and the instructor roster also expanded to include the likes of former managers and players such as Connie Mack, Jack Coombs, John Barker, and Ira Thomas. Although the schools only ran between 1937 and 1938, the promotional stunt proved to be very successful, as evident in its popularity and attendance.