If you browse on e-bay from time to time you will find some old 'Whipper's Beverages' bottles, caps , and occasionally other merchandise from the short lived foray by Whipper Watson into the beverage business.
The bottles are highly collectable and can go for hundreds of dollars. They featured a pose of Whipper with his British Empire Title from the mid 1940's on the front while the back of the neck had 'The Champion of Drinks.' The reverse of the bottle featured a wrestling hold illustrated and the name of the hold below it.
I'm not sure how many different versions there were but have noted about 10 different holds pictured on the bottles I've seen.
Whipper got in to the beverage business in early 1948. It was set up through Dominion Beverages and he went in with his brother George who worked for the RCMP at the time and for many years after. They were evidently very busy as of July 1948 as Whipper was out looking for new digs as they had too much inventory for their current location.
An item at the time also mentioned another venture with George, a cabinet making operation said to be worth 20k, while the Beverages company with 3 trucks said to be worth 40k.
They were, in the meantime, keeping their overflow at a farm, likely Whipper's spread up in Kewsick, Whipper was talking with area storekeepers who were eager for him to make personal appearances to promote the drinks.
They didn't list ingredients back then but it's likely there was a ton of sugar in these, kind of against the healthy living that Whipper promoted throughout his life. They had Cream Soda, Root Beer, Orange, Lime, and others.
The marketing involved Whipper's Safety Club which you could join by sending in some bottlecaps from the drinks. They claimed up to 150,000 members across Canada and into the U.S.
Whipper was very busy on all fronts as he was making real money by this time headlining the weekly cards in Toronto. He also buys into a Kitchen run by his (other) brother Larry which ran out of a plant where they prepared the orders. Whipper also enlisted some friends as Distributors, fellow wrestler Billy Stack handled his home area of Bowmanville in 1950.
By 1951 it was done
Notice to creditors
Trustee under the Bulk Sales Act to receive purchase monies from the sale of the plant and equipment of Whippers Beverages Ltd 435 Dawes Rd Toronto which have been sold to Seven-Up Ontario and Dominion Dry Ginger Ale Company for distribution among the creditors of Whippers Beverages Limited.
Whipper was very busy on all fronts as he was making real money by this time headlining the weekly cards in Toronto. He also buys into a Kitchen run by his (other) brother Larry which ran out of a plant where they prepared the orders. Whipper also enlisted some friends as Distributors, fellow wrestler Billy Stack handled his home area of Bowmanville in 1950.
By 1951 it was done
Notice to creditors
Trustee under the Bulk Sales Act to receive purchase monies from the sale of the plant and equipment of Whippers Beverages Ltd 435 Dawes Rd Toronto which have been sold to Seven-Up Ontario and Dominion Dry Ginger Ale Company for distribution among the creditors of Whippers Beverages Limited.
-AC
Photos nostalgia mapleleafwrestling.com collection