The 1928 Zeenut baseball card set is one of the most unique and obscure issues from the early 20th century. Produced by the Zeenut Candy Company of Cleveland, Ohio as a promotion, the cards measured approximately 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches and each depicted a single baseball player from the American or National Leagues in 1928. While production numbers are unknown, collectors estimate only a few hundred complete sets were produced in 1928, making individual cards extremely rare finds nearly a century later.
Zeenut was a small, regional candy maker best known for their peanut brittle snacks. In 1928, they embarked on one of the more peculiar sports marketing promotions of the time by designing and printing a 72-card baseball card set—one card for each team in the majors at the time—and including them inside Zeenut peanut brittle boxes. Their aim was to attract new, younger customers to their brand by capitalizing on the rising popularity of both baseball and baseball cards during the late 1920s.
Each 1928 Zeenut card featured a black-and-white portrait photo of the player on the front with their name, team, and position printed below. On the back was printed brief biographical information for each player such as stats from 1927, career highlights to that point, and occasionally fun facts unrelated to baseball. Card stock was a thinner, lower quality than contemporary tobacco cards of the time. The photographs and production quality was quite good considering it was a minor candy promotion rather than a major national release from cigarette or gum companies.
Specific details on how the cards were distributed is unknown, but it’s believed the full 72-card set was included randomly in Zeenut brittle boxes sold at candy stores, corner markets, and general stores within about a 100-mile radius of Cleveland. With only a small initial run believed to be around 5,000 boxes that included the cards, finding a complete, intact 1928 Zeenut set in collectible grade today is exceedingly rare. Individual cards turn up for sale occasionally, but are highly sought by both vintage baseball card and Ohioana memorabilia collectors.
Some of the notable stars featured on 1928 Zeenut cards include Hall of Famers Ted Lyons of the Chicago White Sox,Mel Ott of the New York Giants,and Lefty Grove of the Philadelphia Athletics.Rookies like Jimmie Foxx of the Philadelphia Athletics and Earl Averill of the Cleveland Indians also earned cards in their debut seasons.Lesser known but important regional players like Zeenut’s hometown Cleveland Indians pair Ray Chaplin and Lee Fohl also received inclusion.
In the ensuing decades after their 1928 distribution, Zeenut cards became rapidly obsolete as the players retired and the company faded.Most ended up in attics,basement Cardboard box lots purchased by collectors in the 1950s and 60s would occasionally turn up a stray Zeenut amidst stacks of more prominently produced cards. The early vintage community began to catch wind of their existence but finding singles,much less a full set remained elusive.
It wasn’t until the spike of interest in regional and oddball issues in the late 20th century that Zeenuts started coming out of the woodwork with greater regularity. A 1983 Sloan auction sold one of the first confirmed complete sets to emerge in decades for over $10,000,catching the attention of serious vintage enthusiasts.Demand and prices escalated from there as awareness of the ultra-rare 1928 Ohio candy promotion grew.Today,a complete set in good centered,original condition would Command well into 6 figures at auction among bidders worldwide. Even common players like backup catchers can sell for thousands in high grades.
While still one of the great undiscovered grails for many collectors,the 1928 Zeenut baseball card set endures as a distinctive snapshot of the national pastime’s growth at a key moment before the Depression.Issued without fanfare by a small regional candymaker,they have nonetheless achieved great renown among those who appreciate the quirks and surprises that still emerge from early 20th century sports ephemera over 90 years later.For both Ohio collectors and serious students of pre-war baseball cards,Zeenuts represent the holy grail that many are still searching for piece by tiny piece.
