Cracker Jack has a long history of including small toys and prizes in its caramel-coated popcorn. One of the most popular inserts over the years have been baseball cards. Starting in 1912, Cracker Jack began including cardboard trading cards featuring photos of major league baseball players in its boxes and bags. These early Cracker Jack cards helped popularize the hobby of collecting baseball cards and introduced the sport to many young fans.
Some of the most iconic and valuable early Cracker Jack cards featured legendary players like Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Honus Wagner. While the photos and production quality of these early cards left something to be desired compared to modern issues, they captured the nostalgia of the time and helped cement baseball as America’s pastime. Throughout the 1910s and 1920s, Cracker Jack released new sets of players each year, with the cards measuring about 2×3 inches. They were a major driver of the growing baseball card collecting craze during the early 20th century.
In the 1930s and 1940s, Cracker Jack continued issuing new baseball cards but also began including other sports like football, basketball, and hockey. World War 2 paper shortages led to Cracker Jack discontinuing cards for several years. But they returned in 1949 with a new design and size, now measuring about 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches. Iconic players of the era like Ted Williams, Stan Musial, and Jackie Robinson had their earliest card issues in Cracker Jack packs. Through the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s, Cracker Jack maintained its place as one of the top producers of baseball cards found in stores nationwide.
One of the most famous Cracker Jack cards ever featured “The Big Hurt” Frank Thomas of the Chicago White Sox. In 1992, the rising 24-year old star had one of the best seasons in baseball history, batting .317 with 41 home runs and 128 RBIs en route to being named American League MVP. That same year, Thomas was honored with his own individual Cracker Jack trading card, only the second player ever to receive such recognition from the brand after Cal Ripken Jr. in 1991.
Thomas’ Cracker Jack card featured a smiling headshot of the muscular slugger in his White Sox uniform, with stats from the 1991 season listed on the back. Its rarity and significance to Thomas’ career made it one of the most sought-after Cracker Jack inserts ever issued. In near-mint condition, mint condition examples of Frank Thomas’ 1992 Cracker Jack card can sell for over $100 today. While individual player cards in Cracker Jack were unusual, Thomas’ MVP campaign and popularity made him a perfect choice to honor with this special limited-edition card found in Cracker Jack boxes.
The 1990s saw Cracker Jack continue to release new baseball cards but also expand inserts to include football, basketball and other sports. Rising card production costs and competition from larger dedicated card companies like Topps, Fleer and Upper Deck led Cracker Jack to cease including sportscards after the 1995 season. The brand still included other novelties and toys in its packages for several more years but baseball cards were now primarily found through series specifically produced by the major card manufacturers.
Despite no longer distributing cards, Cracker Jack still holds a special place in the history of the hobby. The brand helped spark nationwide interest in collecting players and was responsible for the first mass-produced cardboard issues featuring famous athletes. Even today, over 100 years since those original 1912 cards, a mint condition Honus Wagner or Ty Cobb from a Cracker Jack pack can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Frank Thomas’ individual 1992 card also remains a prized piece of memorabilia for any White Sox or baseball card enthusiast. While the inserts changed over the decades, Cracker Jack was there at the beginning and helped fuel America’s enduring passion for the national pastime.
