“Fastest Woman In The World” Wilma Rudolph 1960 Clevedon Confectionery #22

[AstroJake09]

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.

[AstroJake09]

Here is another reading that speaks to Wilma’s activism during the Civil Rights Movement. She also was a champion for Women’s Rights and the youth, becoming a teacher and a coach later in life.

https://theclio.com/entry/8860

[Peter_Spaeth]

My Wilma, also from a 1960 issue, this one Swedish.

[AstroJake09]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

My Wilma, also from a 1960 issue, this one Swedish.

That’s another one of my favorites, thanks for posting it! Great image for sure! My only gripe I guess, was that there isn’t any info, vitals or stats on the reverse as one would expect from a card. I also couldn’t find a ton of info on that issue other than that PSA labels the set as being 1950 rather than its proper issued year of 1960.

Do you know how those Svart-Vita OS cards were issued or found their way into the hands of consumers/collectors? Was it packs, gum, or something else?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by AstroJake09

That’s another one of my favorites, thanks for posting it! Great image for sure! My only gripe I guess, was that there isn’t any info, vitals or stats on the reverse as one would expect from a card. I also couldn’t find a ton of info on that issue other than that PSA labels the set as being 1950 rather than its proper issued year of 1960.

Do you know how those Svart-Vita OS cards were issued or found their way into the hands of consumers/collectors? Was it packs, gum, or something else?

PSA is so bad at nonmainstream issues lol. I'm not sure, but these cards are fairly common I believe, I also have this Bikila.

[AstroJake09]

Here’s another addition in Wilma’s card #8 from the 1962 Cadet Sweets set from the UK. The image and art perfectly captures Wilma’s grace, beauty and athleticism in many ways that her 1960 rookie card sadly does not. Wilma would retire following the USA-USSR track meet at Stanford on July 22nd of the same year this set was issued, in what some have deemed to be the greatest meet of all time.