Cracker Jack has long been associated with baseball, but many fans may not know that the popular snack once included collectible baseball cards in its packaging. From 1909 to 2016, Cracker Jack offered consumers the chance to find baseball cards among the caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts. These early Cracker Jack cards helped popularize the sport and sparked the collecting craze that still exists today.
The Cracker Jack company began including prizes or novelties in their boxes and bags in 1912 as a marketing gimmick. At first, these prizes were small toys or trinkets, but in 1909 the company decided to experiment with including baseball cards featuring current major league players. This was a savvy business move, as baseball was growing rapidly in popularity in the early 20th century. By including photos and stats of stars like Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson and Honus Wagner, Cracker Jack helped introduce the sport to a wider audience.
The original Cracker Jack baseball cards from 1909-1911 were issued without gum, as gum was not included in the product yet. These early cards measured approximately 1 5/8 inches by 2 5/8 inches and were printed using a lithographic process on thin cardstock. The fronts featured a black-and-white photo of the player along with their name and team. The backs were blank. Production was limited during these early years, making high-grade specimens quite rare and valuable to collectors today.
In 1912, Cracker Jack began including small pieces of Dubble Bubble gum as their prize. This set the precedent for including collectibles or novelties and gum that other brands like Topps, Bowman and Fleer would follow decades later. The baseball cards issued from 1912-1915 were slightly larger in size than the originals at approximately 2 1/8 inches by 2 7/8 inches. Photos were now printed in color and basic career stats were included on the backs. Production was still low and many of these cards have survived in only poor condition.
The practice of including baseball cards in Cracker Jack was suspended during World War I from 1915-1918. When the cards returned in 1919, the size was increased further to 2 1/4 inches by 3 1/8 inches, making them closer in dimension to modern trading cards. For the first time, the backs featured advertisements for Cracker Jack in addition to stats. These post-WWI issues through the 1930s are some of the most available to collectors today in reasonably well-preserved condition.
In 1933, Cracker Jack took advantage of the excitement around the first All-American Girls Professional Baseball League by issuing a special series of cards featuring players from that league. While short-lived, this helped bring even more attention to the connection between Cracker Jack and America’s pastime. Through the 1930s and 1940s, the quality and production of the cards remained consistent, with the addition of occasional subsets or variations like action photos.
Topps gained dominance of the modern baseball card market when it signed exclusive deals with the players association and teams beginning in 1953. This essentially ended Cracker Jack’s run of including sports cards for several decades. The brand still maintained its baseball identity through collector buttons, puzzles and other novelties included as prizes in the 1950s-1980s instead of cards.
In 2009, to mark the 100th anniversary of including baseball cards as prizes, Cracker Jack produced a special limited series of cards featuring iconic players from baseball history like Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente. These sold out quickly and proved there was still interest among collectors for vintage-style Cracker Jack issues.
In 2013, Cracker Jack reintroduced baseball cards as prizes on a regular basis once more. The modern Cracker Jack cards measured 2 5/8 inches by 3 5/8 inches and featured current MLB stars. A total of 324 cards were produced over 4 series from 2013-2016 before the promotion ended. By including baseball cards again, even if only briefly, Cracker Jack full circle connected with its roots of introducing the game to a new generation.
The collectible baseball cards found in Cracker Jack from 1909 through the 1950s helped spread interest in the national pastime while delighting young fans with a fun surprise in their snack. While the brand no longer includes cards, Cracker Jack remains forever entwined with baseball history and nostalgia for its pioneering role in the early development of sports card collecting. Any remnants of the original lithographic issues or the early 20th century color photo cards remain highly prized pieces of memorabilia today.
