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MEMORIES:
stevelb58 remembers...OMG .. I agree with UHOHCHONGO. I tell my kids about the neat prizes we used to find in Cracker ... More »
Posted on 10/21/08
PHOTOS:
External Links:
“Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don't care if I never get back!” – “Take Me Out To the Ball Game” – Jack Norworth
So loved and so unique is Cracker Jack that it became a big part of the ‘unofficial’ anthem for one of America’s most beloved pastimes: baseball. The sweet blend of popcorn and peanuts got its name from a salesman who exclaimed “That’s crackerjack!” So how did the treat become such a lasting favorite? Could it be the happy smile of Sailor Jack and his dog Bingo? Was it the prize inside? Cracker Jack is so integrated into the fabric of pop culture that it’s instantly recognizable to the masses, in movies, music and television. In fact, it is so popular that when the New York Yankees switched out Cracker Jack for Crunch N’ Munch, the action was met with a swift, zealous public outcry, forcing Yankee Stadium to switch back.
The introduction Cracker Jack came in 1893 when F.W. Rueckheim and his brother Louis sold a unique peanut, popcorn and molasses mix at Chicago’s first World Fair. One of the best things about Cracker Jack might be that though it is sweet and the pieces stick together, it doesn’t stick to your fingers (usually). It was the Rueckheim brothers’ original recipe that gave the confection its clean-finger distinction making it easy to eat just about anywhere as well as one of the most popular snacks in modern history.
Since 1912, kids and adults alike have popped open boxes looking for the tiny prize inside, ranging from rings to temporary tattoos, bird whistles and trading cards. In the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s Holly Golightly receives a Tiffany-engraved Cracker Jack ring from Paul (something the jewelers will do to this day), and in the movie Spaceballs the great Yoghurt claims that he found Lone Starr’s Schwartz Ring inside a Cracker Jack Box. The toy has been so popular that, heck, some kids just dumped the box to get to the toy faster! So next time you’re reaching down to the bottom of a Cracker Jack box, keep in mind that you’re digging through an all-American tradition.
