“Take me out to the ball game, take me out with the crowd; buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack. . .”
We all know the iconic Cracker Jack brand, though it’s disputed who first created the idea of mixing molasses and popcorn. What is agreed is that the selling of the candy like corn began in Chicago following the Great Chicago Fire. The treat was sold in support of members of the fire relief effort in the 1870s.
To keep the sticky corn from clumping together, barrels used to make the snack were rotated and the product sealed in wax bag packaging. The wax paper bagging kept the product fresh, allowing for broader marketing.
With popularity, caramel corn became an American institution. The demand growing so much that in the early 20th century, a quarter of the world’s total popcorn supply went toward caramel corn.
The company making Cracker Jack’s trademarked “The More You Eat, the More You Want.”
Cracker Jack’s original mascot/logo showed a package featuring a young boy, Sailor Jack, in a sailor suit holding a box with his loyal dog Bingo at his side. Some say the name “Cracker Jack” came into use when an enthusiastic buyer using slang of the time exclaimed, “That’s a crackerjack!”
The company’s publicity boon came in 1908 with the smash hit song, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” a Tin Pan Alley song which became the unofficial anthem of baseball.
“Take Me Out to the Ball Game” is one of the three-most recognizable songs along with “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “Happy Birthday” and forged a permanent connection between Cracker Jack and baseball.
When a prize was added to each box of Cracker Jack sales soared. The prizes represented the 20th century. Paper prizes were inserted during World War II to conserve metal.
After the war, prizes took on a jet and space age theme. By the 21st century, the prizes inside each box were phasing out and eliminated altogether in 2016.
To caramel corn fans, Cracker Jack remains a reminder of our youth and ballparks.
