I was leaning toward it being a fake too but now I am not so sure.
I agree with you Tom. The box top I have looks vintage as well. The box is definitely period and the label looks old with the yellowing of glue you stated. It is missing "The Champion Nine" line at the bottom of the box which is odd too. It is very possible that the full color boxes were too expensive and the company cut costs and these box tops were the result.
Here is the actual Ruth box top I bought on eBay last week. The other photo I posted was my file photo. On this photo you can see the yellowing of the glue too. Like you said, if they are not real, they are a really good fake.
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