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Candy Baseball Cards
During the tobacco baseball
card era, a large number of American kids were showing an interest in obtaining
cigarette cards from their fathers, uncles, and older brothers who smoked; this
fact was quickly noted by candy companies eager for some extra business, and the
ACC’s “E” series (E stands for early candy issues) was born. While
some candy issues predate the "T" card era -- the E107 Breisch Williams
set came out in 1903 -- and some sets are concurrent (like the E90-1 set), confectioners
did not really dominate the baseball card market until after the tobacco companies
left the business. Unlike the T cards there really wasn't a lot of innovation
in baseball card design. Many early E cards share the same design as the T206,
and that similarity has caused some confusion among collectors with little experience.
1914 Cracker Jack Frank Baker
Cracker Jack issued candy baseball card
sets in 1914 and 1915, which are significant because they are the only major sets
to feature players from the short-lived "third league," the Federal
League. After the United States' entry into World War One stopped new candy baseball
card production from 1917-1918 and caused stars like Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson
and Walter Johnson to leave their teams for military service, caramel companies
(most notably the American Caramel Co.) and, to a lesser extent, ice cream makers,
became the dominant issuers of candy baseball cards during the 1920s. The colorful,
ornate issues of the T series gave way to the black-and-white pictures on thinner
paper stock of the E series, the result of a shortage of paper and printing products
from the war effort.
1932 U.S. Caramel Babe Ruth - Candy Baseball Card
Due
to a lack of well-recognized sets and card quality, this era in baseball history
usually gets overlooked by collectors. This is unfortunate, because the 1920s
were one of baseball's classic periods. The new development of broadcast radio
brought baseball games right into the homes of fans and gave the sport a considerable
boost. The decade also saw the emergence of the biggest superstar the sport would
ever know when a Red Sox pitcher was traded to the Yankees and began a transition
to the outfield.
Babe Ruth helped the Yankees to their first World Series in 1921, was a member of the famed "Murderer's Row" that kept the Yankees going back to the Series year after year, and hit more home runs than anybody believed possible. Ruth was great for baseball, especially for fans of the Yankees. His cards were featured in strip card sets, caramel company sets, and even in the 1928 Fro-Joy set, which featured Ruth on every card. However, few collectors have seen any Babe Ruth baseball cards of the 1920s; his most widely recognized cards are 1930s gum cards.
