BBB Etymology - Cracker Jack
The Bogus-Boggess Blog (BBB) features a word or phrase etymology each Tuesday. Baseball games and Cracker Jack have been a part of history since Take Me Out to the Ball Game was written in 1908. The phrase cracker jack is derived from "crack" meaning of superior excellence of ability as in "he's a crack shot". "Jack" being like "Joe", a common man. "Cracker Jack" thus means a superb man.
Frederick William Rueckheim, a German immigrant, invented Cracker Jack. Rueckheim came to Chicago in 1872 to help clean up after the famous Chicago fire. He also worked selling popcorn from a cart. Together with brother Louis, Rueckheim experimented and came up with a delightful popcorn candy, which the brothers decided to mass market. Cracker Jack was first mass-produced and sold at the first Chicago World's Fair in 1893. (The Ferris Wheel, Aunt Jemima pancakes, and the ice cream cone also were introduced at the event.)
The treat was a mixture of popcorn, molasses, and peanuts and the initial name was "Candied Popcorn and Peanuts." By 1896, the company devised a way to keep the popcorn kernels separate, the mixture had been difficult to handle because it tended to stick together in chunks. The wax-sealed, moisture-proof box was introduced in 1899. Cracker Jack added surprises in each package in 1912. The Sailor Jack character and his dog Bingo were introduced as registered trademarks in 1919 and were in use as early as 1918. They were modeled on F. W. Rueckheim's grandson, Robert, and his dog.
Frederick William Rueckheim, a German immigrant, invented Cracker Jack. Rueckheim came to Chicago in 1872 to help clean up after the famous Chicago fire. He also worked selling popcorn from a cart. Together with brother Louis, Rueckheim experimented and came up with a delightful popcorn candy, which the brothers decided to mass market. Cracker Jack was first mass-produced and sold at the first Chicago World's Fair in 1893. (The Ferris Wheel, Aunt Jemima pancakes, and the ice cream cone also were introduced at the event.)
The treat was a mixture of popcorn, molasses, and peanuts and the initial name was "Candied Popcorn and Peanuts." By 1896, the company devised a way to keep the popcorn kernels separate, the mixture had been difficult to handle because it tended to stick together in chunks. The wax-sealed, moisture-proof box was introduced in 1899. Cracker Jack added surprises in each package in 1912. The Sailor Jack character and his dog Bingo were introduced as registered trademarks in 1919 and were in use as early as 1918. They were modeled on F. W. Rueckheim's grandson, Robert, and his dog.
