1915 Cracker Jack Baseball Cards

As originally published on sportscollectorsdaily.com

Cracker Jack and baseball first started going steady over 100 years ago. Collectors have learned that one of the two card sets produced just before World War I is much less taxing to tackle.

They tempt you with history..tantalize you with scarcity and have a 'coolness factor' that's off the charts. The 1914 and 1915 Cracker Jack baseball sets are among the most popular of all time. They're also among the most expensive. But if you're going to collect one of the two, the latter version might be the way to go.

The two sets are nearly identical, sharing the same basic style, size (2 1/4" x 3") and many of the same subjects. There are 176 cards in the 1915 set; up from 144 the year before. The 1914 Cracker Jack cards are tougher to locate, especially in high grade. Putting together even half a set can take years unless you're wealthy enough to find a dealer with a huge stock and buy a large lot at once. Because of the scarcity, many collectors prefer the 1915 Cracker Jacks. Known as E145, the 1915 set can be distinguished from the '14 issue by references on the back to the number of cards in the set. Also, the backs of the 1915 issue are printed in the opposite direction of the picture on the front. The card stock on which the cards were printed is heavier in 1915, making the cards less prone to creasing and wear.

There are several variations among the players who appear in both sets. One popular difference are the cards featuring Christy Mathewson. The 1914 version shows him pitching while the 1915 Matty is a portrait shot.Cards from both sets are pricey, but 1915 Cracker Jack common cards can be found in respectable VG condition for well under $100. Some Hall of Famers in the same grade will run $200-300. Among the most expensive are the Joe Jackson, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Ty Cobb which will often cost $2,000-5000 even in lower grade; Grover Cleveland Alexander, which is rarely found for less than $1000, plus the Tris Speaker and Nap Lajoie. The last 31 cards in the 1915 set are a little more expensive than the first 144. Clark Griffith and Edd Roush (spelled Rousch in the set) highlight the high number run. The 1915 Cracker Jack cards are more plentiful thanks in large part to a company offer that allowed youngsters to send in for a complete set and collector's album. Such an offer wasn't available in 1914.

There was also a significant find of the '15 cards several years ago, which has also kept supply at strong enough levels to keep prices from skyrocketing.Dripping with Hall of Famers and history, the 1915 Cracker Jack set is a worthwhile investment, even if you can only own a small number of the cards that helped America embrace baseball.

1914 & 1915 Cracker Jack Baseball Cards

In 1914 the Cracker Jack Company of Brooklyn and Chicago began inserting baseball cards into its boxes of popcorn and peanut candy. This set (and the one that followed, in 1915) have become one of the iconic sets of the pre WW1 era, and one of the most popular baseball card sets of all time.

The 1914 set was issued as baseball was experiencing a semblance of stability, but that would be short lived. President Taft had thrown out the first pitch a few years earlier (in 1910), giving the sport even more recognition as the National Game, and stars such as Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Shoeless Joe Jackson were either in their primes or near to it. Connie Mack’s Athletics and John McGraw’s Giants were the dominating teams of the era, and the dead ball era was in its golden age.

However, in 1914 a new league began raiding players from the established 2 leagues. While the Federal League would only last 2 seasons, those seasons corresponded exactly with Cracker Jacks offerings, and would be the only cards ever issued picturing Federal League players in uniform. In all, 50 Federal League players are pictured.Comparisons between the 2 sets are natural, since in many ways they are exactly the same. Both feature a player image on a red background, with “Cracker Jack Ball Players” across the top (occasionally bleeding over into the white border) and the player’s name and team affiliation at the bottom.

The ’14 set, however, contain 144 subjects, while the ’15 set adds another 32 players for a total of 176.‘14’s are printed on somewhat thinner paper stock, but both sets are on lighter weight paper (rather than cardboard) than most other issues. If you flip the card over the reverse of the ‘14’s are printed right side up, while the ‘15’s are flipped. The reason for this is that an album was offered with the ‘15’s, and the thinking was that if the cards were pasted in the album the backs should be upside down, so that the card need only be lifted up at the bottom to read the bio on the back.

Cracker Jacks have no white ink in the printing process, so that any areas in the image that are white should match the tone of the borders. This is a critical step in identifying forgeries. As there are few, if any, reprints of ‘14’s, the border matching and the upside down backs (reprints are not printed upside down) are the keys to avoid getting a fake.The ’14 set has an ad on the bottom reverse, stating that it is a series of 144 and either 10 million (cards 1-87) or 15 million (88-144) were issued. The ’15 set has an offer whereby a full set can be obtained via mail in for 100 coupons or 1 coupon and 25 cents. This accounts for a great number of pristine ‘15’s, while ‘14’s are often found stained and in much lower condition.

As stated above, the ’15 set took the first 144 cards of the ’14 and added another 32 cards. However, there are a few exceptions to this. Some players were changed, a few poses were altered, and some players changed teams. Taking this into account, a “master” set of all variations would total 199 different cards, not counting the ad on the back.

The key variations:#48 Harry Lord was replaced by Steve O’Neil in ’15#60 Rollie Zeider had 2 cards in ’14, 60 and 116, with different pictures. #60 was replaced with Oscar Dugey in ’15#62 Jay Cashion in ’14, Willie Mitchell in ’15#88 The big one. 2 players remained in both sets, but with pose changes. The most significant is Christy Mathewson. The ’14 is a pitching pose, the ’15 is a portrait. The ’14 is extremely desirable and is quickly becoming one of the most expensive cards of the era.#93 Derrill Pratt. Pose change, once again throwing to portrait.#99 Another highly desirable player change.

In addition, the following players cards reflected different team affiliations in ’15- 6,7,19,29,38,40,43,47,55,66,92,108,118,121,125,134 Lastly, the ‘14 Bresnahan (#17) comes with and without the number printed on the back.Horizontal cards are the same in both sets (with the exception of Matty) and command a premium over the standard vertical cards. They are:38 (Gandil), 40 (Austin), 43 (Marquard), 44 (Tesreau), 91 (Peckinpaugh),92 (Demaree), 95 (Keating), and 96 (Becker).

The album for the ’15 set consists of little more than an embossed tan cover over black pages. As it is not very desirable they don’t go for a premium- about $400. They were originally offered for 50 coupons or 1 coupon and 10 cents.Care must be taken when acquiring Cracker Jacks, as they are easily doctored. As staining is common they are prime candidates for bleaching, and this has often gone undetected by the major grading companies. Trimming is also common in raw cards.

SMR lists #32 in the ’15 set (Three Finger Brown) as being a very difficult card, which has no evidence to back up that claim. If any card can be considered tougher than others it would probably be Alexander. Jack Barry is also very tough to find well centered, and Frank Owen can be tricky as well.