Belle's Cereal Hits Market

April 26, 1999 / 8:30 PM EDT / AP

Get ready for Albert Belle Slugger Cereal.

The Baltimore Orioles star's brand an 18-ounce box of corn flakes is headed to area supermarkets in the first week of May.

Belle's cereal is coming out less than a month after Orioles third baseman Cal Ripken Jr.'s face began showing up on boxes of Cal's Classic Os.

Belle promoter Grant Dinner, president of Global Sports & Promotion, insisted that Belle and Ripken aren't competing. He said Belle's cereal already was being taste-tested when Famous Fixins introduced the Ripken cereal.

"Albert knows Cal is the hometown guy," Dinner said. "Anyone who would try to compete with Cal would have his hands full."

The idea for Belle's cereal came from the success of Buffalo Bills quarterback Doug Flutie's Flutie Flakes, the promoter said.

Like Ripken's breakfast food, Belle's cereal will be found exclusively on the shelves of supermarkets in the Baltimore-Washington region. It's possible some boxes will also be shipped to Shreveport, La., Belle's home when not in Baltimore. The corn flakes are made by Grist Mill of Minnesota.

No frills or extras in Belle's cereal for a reason.

"Albert likes to keep himself in top condition. He wanted a healthy product like dry corn flakes nothing frosted," Dinner said.

A dollar from the sale of each package of Belle's cereal will go to the Shirley Howard Children's Cancer Foundation, headquartered in Baltimore, officials with the charity said.