The Cracker Jack® Collection
Baseball's Prized Players

By Tom Zappala and Ellen Zappala

Celebrates the 100th anniversary of one of the greatest baseball card collections in the world.

The players included in this superb set range from some of the best in the game, like Eddie Collins, part of the famous $100,000 infield of the Philadelphia Athletics, to lesser-known players like Cuban-born Armando Marsans, a talented player who also made fine cigars! The game of baseball was still evolving during this period and issues like player salaries, rule changes and the birth of the renegade Federal League all contributed to shaping our National Pastime.

A bit of baseball history can be found in the story of every Cracker Jack player.

• This Johns Hopkins graduate was a much better doctor than he was a ballplayer.
• If it were not for his "emery pitch" this pitcher might never have had a career.
• This player went from the baseball diamond to the Senate.
• What player was referred to as the "$22,500 lemon?"
• This guy had a .000 batting average over the years the Cracker Jack cards were issued. Why was he included in the Collection?
• This pitcher threw a six-inning no-hitter. The game ended because the opposing team had to catch a train.
• This self-promoter was referred to as the "Ty Cobb of the Federal League."

About the Authors

Tom Zappala is a businessman in the Greater Boston area who is passionate about maintaining the traditions and historical significance of our National Pastime. He is co-author of the award-winning book, The T206 Collection: The Players & Their Stories, and co-hosts a popular talk radio show broadcast in northern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.

Ellen Zappala is president of ATS Communications, a multimedia marketing and consulting company. Co-author of the award-winning book The T206 Collection: The Players & Their Stories and Nardo: Memoirs of a Boxing Champion, Zappala is former publisher of several Massachusetts and New Hampshire newspapers, and former president of the New England Press Association. She especially enjoys bringing the stories of the Deadball Era players to life.

Ordering Information

ISBN13: 978-1-931807-24-1; $30.00, full color, 9.25 x 11.5" clothbound, 190 pages, images, illustrations, index

Visit the Website: Cracker Jack Players