PHOTOS Bruce Jenner reminded he was awesomest dude on the planet at retro Wheaties box unveiling

Long before Bruce Jenner was a stretch-faced reality show prop begging for money to buy remote control helicopters and getting his colon scoped on national television, he was a bigger-than-life hero to just about every little boy in America. When he won the gold medal in the Cold War era decathlon during the 1976 Olympic games in Montreal and then graced the cover of Wheaties, he cemented himself as a living legend and All-American hero on par with Neil Armstrong. As a matter of fact, it may have been Bruce Jenner who, for better or worse, shifted the tide of boyhood idolatry from astronauts to sports figures for good.

Wheaties recently announced they will be honoring Bruce (along with gymnast Mary Lou Retton and boxer Mohammad Ali) with a series of three retro boxes unveiled at a ceremony held at the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles, California earlier today. Bruce Jenner and Mary Lou Retton were in attendance at the event, which featured over-sized replicas of the boxes.

Now before you scroll down to the comments section to express your outrage over the fact that I seem to be giving Bruce Jenner more credit than either Mary Lou Retton or Mohammad Ali, let me say that this article is more about what Bruce Jenner has become in the public’s eye as opposed to what he was.

Click to enlarge:

Mary Lou Retton is still the diminutive giant who revealed to the world that heroism and heart know no gender or height restrictions. And Mohammad Ali’s unrivaled fighting prowess as well as his larger-than-life personality still make him one of the most influential and most memorable athletes the world has ever known.

But, neither Mohammad Ali nor Mary Lou Retton have since married into a reality show where their greatness has all but been forgotten by a new generation. That being said, I rejoice in Wheaties decision to celebrate three of America’s greatest champions – especially Bruce. When I saw the photo above the little boy in me proclaimed loudly “Hell yes! THAT is f***ing Bruce Jenner!”

It also made me want to take a trip down memory lane, so I went to Google and Photoshop and put together some classic images of Bruce Jenner on the front of Wheaties boxes from 1976-1978, including the one that started it all:

And here’s Bruce Jenner pole vaulting on the cover of Wheaties:

And Bruce Jenner throwing a javelin:

Perhaps even better than the front of the boxes are the backs and sides! Forget the silly “Kardashian Kollection,” check out this rad ensemble of Wheaties running shorts and t-shirt available for only $2.75 each!

And here’s Bruce Jenner enjoying a nice bowl of Wheaties without a cacophony of drama and television cameras:

For those of you looking for the Bruce Jenner Wheaties box Full Monty, here is a photo of the entire box featuring his pole vaulting photo on the front – just click to enlarge:

Top two photos: Suntzulynn for LE / Splash News