8 Discontinued Chewing Gums Boomers Remember Buying for a Nickel
There was a time when a nickel could buy you a pack of gum at the corner store, the drugstore counter or the gas station. Kids saved their pennies and walked to the candy rack, where rows of colorful packs waited. Choosing which one to buy was a serious decision.
Many of those gums have since disappeared, and others have changed so much that they are hardly the same product. Some vanished quietly, while others left fans writing letters to the company begging for them back. If you grew up in the 1950s, 1960s or 1970s, these discontinued chewing gums may bring back memories of the candy counter.
1. Beemans
Beemans gum dates back to the late 1800s, when a doctor named Edward Beeman created a pepsin gum meant to aid digestion. It had a distinctive, slightly sweet flavor that’s hard to describe and that its fans never forgot.
Beemans became famous as a favorite of pilots, including test pilot Chuck Yeager, who was shown asking for a stick in the movie The Right Stuff. Over the decades, the gum became harder and harder to find. It has turned up only in occasional nostalgia runs and at specialty candy shops.
2. Black Jack
Black Jack, a licorice-flavored gum, was one of the oldest flavored gums in America, going back to the 1880s. Its dark color and anise flavor made it stand out from all the mint and fruit gums on the rack.
You either loved Black Jack or you couldn’t stand it. Fans remember the dark wrappers and the way it turned your tongue a little gray. Like Beemans, it eventually faded from store shelves and now appears only in limited runs, often sold as part of “nostalgia” candy collections.
3. Clove Gum
Clove gum had a warm, spicy flavor that reminded many people of holiday baking or old-fashioned drugstores. It was introduced in the early 1900s and was popular for decades. Some people chewed it to cover up the smell of tobacco or alcohol.
The flavor was unusual for younger palates, which may be one reason it faded. Clove gum was dropped from regular production and, like the other heritage gums, is now hard to find outside of specialty shops and occasional limited releases.
4. Teaberry
Teaberry gum had a pink color and a minty, wintergreen-like flavor that came from the teaberry plant. It became especially famous in the 1960s thanks to a TV commercial featuring the “Teaberry Shuffle,” a catchy tune that people still remember.
Teaberry was a big seller for years, but its popularity faded. Today, it’s rare to see on store shelves, though it still has fans. Teaberry ice cream, a regional favorite in Pennsylvania, keeps the flavor alive for some.
5. Fruit Stripe
Fruit Stripe gum, with its zebra mascot and brightly striped sticks, was a favorite of kids for decades. Each piece had colorful stripes, and the wrappers often came with temporary tattoos. The flavor was intense for the first few seconds and then disappeared almost immediately, which became a running joke.
In 2024, the company that made Fruit Stripe confirmed it had discontinued the gum. Fans were heartbroken, and many shared memories of the zebra and the tattoos online. For a lot of people, Fruit Stripe was their first gum.
6. Chiclets
Chiclets were small, candy-coated pieces of gum that came in a little box that rattled when you shook it. They came in mint and colorful fruit flavors and were a fixture at checkout counters and in vending machines.
Chiclets were discontinued in the United States in the 2010s, though the brand continued in some other countries. Many Americans who grew up with them were surprised to learn they had quietly disappeared from U.S. shelves.
7. Baseball Card Gum
For decades, a pack of baseball cards came with a flat, pink slab of bubble gum. It was often stale, brittle and powdery, and it sometimes stained the card underneath. But for kids, opening a pack and finding that gum was part of the ritual. In the 1950s and 1960s, a pack could cost as little as a nickel.
Topps, the best-known card maker, stopped putting gum in its baseball card packs in the early 1990s. Collectors had long complained that the gum damaged cards, and the hobby had become more about value than fun. Many boomers still remember the smell of that gum when they opened a new pack.
8. Bazooka Joe Comics
Bazooka bubble gum is still sold, but something big is missing. For decades, each piece came wrapped in a tiny comic strip starring Bazooka Joe, a kid with an eye patch, along with his gang. Kids read the jokes, traded comics and saved them to send away for prizes.
In 2012, the company replaced the classic comics with puzzles and activities, and later brought the comics back only in occasional nostalgic editions. For many boomers, the comic was the best part of the gum, and the jokes were famously corny.
The Candy Counter Ritual
For kids growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, buying gum was an event. A trip to the five-and-dime or the corner drugstore meant standing in front of a rack crowded with packs of every color. Some stores sold single pieces of bubble gum for a penny, and a handful of change could buy enough to share with friends.
Gum also played a part in growing up. Kids blew bubbles in contests to see whose would get biggest before it popped all over their faces. They stuck used gum under school desks, a crime that got many of them sent to the principal’s office. Teachers kept a trash can by the door just for gum, and some made offenders wear their gum on their nose.
Gum wrappers had a second life too. Girls folded them into long chains, sometimes trying to make one as tall as a boyfriend, and saved foil wrappers in shoeboxes. Collecting the comics, tattoos and trading cards that came with gum kept kids coming back. For many boomers, those small packs hold a surprising amount of childhood.
Why Gums Disappear
Gum makers drop products for many reasons. Tastes change, sales slow down and companies decide to focus on their best-selling brands. Sugar-free gums and mints have also taken over much of the market, while overall gum sales have dropped as fewer people pick up a pack at the checkout.
The big candy companies have also merged and bought each other over the years, and older brands sometimes get lost in the shuffle. When a gum is retired, it often lives on only in memories and online fan groups. Did you chew any of these gums growing up, and which one would you buy today if it came back?
