Texas Man Enters Gum Company's Contest 60 Years Late, Wins Prize

While cleaning his house, a 70-year-old Texas man discovered a full set of vintage Topps baseball cards from 1957 to 1958, according to The Dallas Morning News. As a joke, Darwin Day, who lives in Grand Prairie, entered a competition advertised on the back of the cards. Much to his surprise, he ended up winning a prize: a brand-new Louisville slugger glove.

The baseball cards were originally part of a Bazooka bubble gum purchase. The company had promised the buyer the chance to win an assortment of prizes if they correctly answered sports trivia questions and sent them in along with a card and five gum wrappers. Day noted that the contest didn’t have an official cutoff date, and decided to submit his own materials for consideration nearly 60 years late.

"I was struck by the fact it didn't have a year listed on the card," Day told The Dallas Morning News. "It was a simpler time. You didn't need a team of lawyers to do everything back then."

Officials at Bazooka Candy Brands—which is part of The Topps Company, Inc., an American sports company—soon received Day’s submission. After noting he’d answered the trivia questions correctly, the corporation decided to make good on their promise: The baseball fan soon received a phone call informing him he’d won the competition. Along with the baseball glove, Day also received t-shirts, a Bazooka Joe-themed pillow, and—you guessed it—plenty of bubble gum.

Day recently lost his brother to cancer (in fact, cleaning out his late sibling’s house had inspired him to organize his own abode). Winning Bazooka’s contest provided him with some happiness during a period of grief.

"I literally fell out of bed because I couldn't believe it and was laughing so hard," Day told The Dallas Morning News.

Know of something you think we should cover? Email us at tips@mentalfloss.com.