Big League Chew was thought of in a Bull Pen
With over 800 million pouches sold, Big League Chew continues to make an impact on and off the field.
Pro tip – chew gum 3-4 minutes to dissolve some of the sugars before attempting your big league bubble! Blow your biggest bubble and tag #candyfunhouse to show us!
A New Sweet Tradition in Baseball
With baseball season in full swing, we decided to take a dive into the origins of one of our favorite chewing gums to blow big league bubbles with, from the little leagues, all the way to the pros! The year was 1977 and knowledge of the negative effects of chewing tobacco wasn’t as present as it is today. Baseball is a sport filled with traditions and unwritten rules, many of them still carrying over from the 20th century, so its no surprise that some of them needed updating, namely, chewing tobacco.
The idea for the shredded gum in a pouch came from a pitcher by the name of Rob Nelson, who, at the time, was playing for the Portland Mavericks, an independent baseball team. He and his teammate Jim Bouton didn’t take to the idea of chewing tobacco, frankly they found it disgusting, and thus the idea was born.
“You have a lot of free time out in the bullpen, just shooting the breeze and enjoying the evening with your teammates, and an idea came to me after I observed teammates who were spitting and chewing 'the other stuff,' we call it.” Nelson said.
He continues, “I was never a big fan of chewing tobacco. And I turned to teammate Jim Bouton and asked him if he ever chewed it, and he and I had the same experience: we tried it once and thought it was kind of disgusting and really didn't make much sense. And an inning or so later, I said for some time I've had a great idea to shred bubble gum so we could blow great bubbles and not make ourselves ill, but we'd still look cool."
With the shredded gum imitating chewing tobacco’s similar form, it served as a familiar but improved upon alternative to the traditional chewing tobacco, making it easier for players to make the switch to the healthier option, as well as having some fun along the way.
But Big League Chew didn’t just help major league pros. It has helped countless kids and young baseball players stay away from the detrimental health affects that chewing tobacco has proven to cause, steering them towards a better, sweeter path, which to us is a grand slam!
Big League Chew has also made its way into the mouths of athletes of various sports not just the pros of the MLB. Micheal Jordan was famous for ditching the mouth guard for a wad of gum, so they gave him his own line!
They even made a Shaq-size pouch for the hall of famer center.
Big League Chew has made a sweet impact!
There’s no doubt Big League Chew has made an everlasting impact on children and the game forever. They’ve helped turn an outdated dangerous tradition into a new sweet treat-dition, setting themselves to truly be in a league of their own!
Find your favourite Big League Chew flavour here and start chewing like a pro!
Citations
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2015/05/28/big-league-chew-baseball