The Philadelphia Chewing Gum Corporation was a Pennsylvania corporation formed on August 12, 1947, to manufacture
candy
Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a Confectionery, confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum ...
,
chewing gum
Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its tex ...
, and specialty
confectionery
Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two bro ...
products. The company was also notable for its
American Football Card
An American football card is a type of collectible trading card typically printed on paper stock or card stock that features one or more American football players or other related sports figures. These cards are most often found in the United S ...
s when in 1964 the company signed a deal with the
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
The company was established by Edward P. Fenimore, Sr., a former professor of engineering at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
and vice president of Bowman Gum Company. The company built its plant in 1948 in
Havertown, Pennsylvania
Havertown is a residential suburban unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located approximately 9 miles west of the Center City, Philadelphia, center of Philadelphia. Havertown's ...
. The initial product was the twist-wrapped "Swell" brand pink bubble gum, sold for a penny. The Company then came out with the brown colored "El Bubble" candy cigar that sold for a nickel.
In 1954 the Magic Color chewing gum cigarettes that sold for a dime. During election seasons, the Company sold specialty boxes of chewing gum cigars with the candidates’ names. Other products manufactured by the Company included Cry Baby extra-sour gum, Gold Rocks Nugget Bubble Gum and various other novelty items.
From 1964 to 1967, the company had a license from the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
to produce
trading cards
A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other t ...
of leading football players, while
Topps
The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures trading cards and other collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of Baseball card, baseball and other sports and Non-sports tradi ...
produced cards for the rival
American Football League
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...
(AFL). The company also produced a set of 55 self-adhesive stickers of
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
superheroes, as well as trading cards based upon "
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
," "Men of the
Green Berets
The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service Berets of the United States Army, headgear, is a branch of the United States Army United States Army Special Operations Comm ...
," "The Story of Robert F. Kennedy,"
Daktari
''Daktari'' ( Swahili for "doctor") is an American family drama series that aired on CBS between 1966 and 1969. The series is an Ivan Tors Films Production in association with MGM Television starring Marshall Thompson as Marsh Tracy, a veter ...
, and many others. It briefly produced novelty baseball items, including
baseball cards
A baseball card is a type of trading card relating to baseball, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic. In the 1950s, they came with a stick of gum and a limited number of cards. These cards feature one or more baseball players, teams, s ...
.
Fenimore's son Edward L. Fenimore, Jr., served as president of the Company and for a period, as the Chairman of the National Association of Chewing Gum Manufacturers. His sons, Edward P. II & Richard L., later joined him on the management team, making the company a third generation family owned and operated business.
In July 2003, Concord Confections acquired the Philadelphia Chewing Gum Corporation and its brand names and shortly after closed the Havertown plant. Concord was then acquired by
Tootsie Roll Industries
Tootsie Roll Industries () is an American manufacturer of confectionery based in Chicago, Illinois. Its best-known products include the namesake Tootsie Rolls and Tootsie Pops. Tootsie Roll Industries currently markets its brands internationall ...
in 2004. Recent products include bubble gum cigars aimed at the 2008 presidential election.
All Philadelphia Chewing Gum Corporation products were manufactured in a factory in
Havertown
Havertown is a residential suburban unincorporated community in Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located approximately 9 miles west of the center of Philadelphia. Havertown's ZIP Code is 19083 and "Havertown" is a postal ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, a western suburb of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. After the sale of the Company, the Fenimore family retained ownership of the 6.2 acre former plant property, and began negotiating to develop it, proposing to the Township to donate a portion to them for use as a
public library
A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...
site or for other public use; with the remaining part re-zoned for a commercial use.
On March 31, 2009,
Haverford Township
Haverford Township is a home rule municipality township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States.