Who was the first athlete to appear on a Wheaties box?

Last updated: August 28, 2024

Who was the first athlete to appear on a Wheaties box?

There are moments in history that are so uncanny it’s hard not to wonder whether destiny truly exists. 

In 1921, an employee working at the Washburn Crosby Company — which would later become General Mills — accidentally spilled a wheat bran mixture on a hot stove. Originally called Washburn's Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flakes, the name was changed to the much shorter and easier-to-remember Wheaties following an employee contest, where names like Nutties and Gold Medal Wheat Flakes were considered. All of that, my friends, sure feels like destiny.

By today’s standards, it’s a pretty basic cereal that’s still just mostly made of wheat and bran. But it was the brilliant stroke of including images of athletes on the boxes that turned Wheaties into a cultural institution that is now the Breakfast of Champions. Who was the very first athlete to grace a box of Wheaties?

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