Hi all,
Extremely excited to share my latest pickup in what is card #22 of the 1960 Clevedon Confectionery “International Sporting Stars” set. The card features track legend, Olympian and activist, Wilma Rudolph who won bronze at the 1956 Melbourne Games and took home three gold medals at the 1960 Rome Games. Her story is extremely fascinating and one that I can’t share in full here, nor give her the full and proper respect or attention she deserves, so I’ve pasted a link to let the United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum help me out
https://usopm.org/wilma-rudolph/
The set was issued in 1960 by the company Clevedon Confectionery and consisted of 50 cards depicting Olympians and athletes of the day. 1961 would see a similar issue released focusing on “International Sports Memories” and athletes of the past, including Ben Hogan, Joe Louis and Jesse Owens. As far as Wilma’s 1960 rookie cards, the pickings are slim… very slim. She only has six cards, two of which are of the hand cut variety and three of which are multi athlete cards. All are in Swedish except for the Clevedon which is in English and is also the only color image along with the Hemmets Journal cut card. From my research all, examples are fairly scarce and in my opinion undervalued considering Wilma’s place in history and her impact but the Clevedon Confectionery card is by far the rarest example I could find and my personal favorite of all her rookie cards. Yes, it is a bit cartoonish with the “big head” image and a bit unflattering in the way that Clevedon decided to color her skin, especially when you look at the varied tones on the cards of her white counterparts. However, it is a manufacturered card that could be found within purchased Clevedon products and candy (see the below example for Royal Sweet Cigarettes and Liquorice) and it appears that the cards could be placed within specially provided albums. Regardless it is a wonderful card of an amazing athlete and human being. Hope you enjoy the card learning about Wilma Rudolph if you did not already know of her and if so, hopefully you will remember her.
