Ohhh I have such a crush on Matt Kemp and I will be sure to pick up a package of this as soon as it comes out! I remember getting this as a kid! Matt Kemp will become the first active athlete on the cover of Big League Chew Bubble Gum (they usually have cartoon characters).
Details and photo of the gum package with Kemp after the jump…
*PHOTO AND TWEET ABOVE IN GALLERY*
Via at Darren Rovell at ESPN:
Shredded gum brand Big League Chew will debut national packaging that will feature an active athlete — Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp — instead of the cartoon characters that have existed on more than 500 million pouches since Big League Chew first hit shelves 33 years ago. In June, a picture of Kemp will adorn the front of the gum package.
The brand, through a partnership with PLB Sports, a maker of athlete-endorsed food products, also has signed Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels.
“This was uncharted territory for us,” said Rob Nelson, who invented the product as a chewing-tobacco alternative along with Jim Bouton when the two were teammates on an independent baseball team in 1977.
“But these guys epitomize what is good about the game of baseball and the time is right.”
PLB Sports, which has been the pre-eminent name in partnering athletes with food products, secured the players’ deals and, like most of the products it sells, linked up a charity component.
Some proceeds from Kemp’s cut of the deal, for example, will go to Kemp’s Kids, which provides inner-city youth a chance to get into baseball and stay off the streets.
When the player pouches go on sale this summer, they will be sold at the usual retail price, which ranges from $1 to $1.99, depending on the outlet.
(STORY CONTINUES…)
