Ordering Information

$30.00, 9.25 x 11.5, hardcover, 190 pages, full color throughout, index
ISBN: 978-1-931807-24-1
To order copies visit Tom Zappala Media

Ben Franklin Award Winner, Silver Medal, 2014

The Cracker Jack® Collection
Baseball’s Prized Players

by Tom Zappala and Ellen Zappala, with John Molori & Jim Davis
Foreword and contributions by Joe Orlando;

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, a businessman in the greater Boston area, is passionate about maintaining the traditions and historical signifcance of our National Pastime. He co-authored The T206 Collection: The Players & Their Stories, The Cracker Jack Collection: Baseball’s Prized Players, The 100 Greatest Baseball Autographs, Legendary Lumber: The Top 100 Player Bats in Baseball History, and An All-Star’s Cardboard Memories. In addition to his popular Boston area radio talk show, Zappala co-hosts  The Great American Collectibles Show with Red Sox Hall of Famer Rico Petrocelli, which airs nationally every week. He enjoys collecting vintage memorabilia for the love of the sport. Visit the author website, Tom Zappala Media.

Ellen Zappala is president of ATS Communications, a multimedia marketing and consulting company. Co-author of  The T206 Collection:  The Players &  Their Stories,  The Cracker Jack Collection: Baseball’s Prized Players,  The 100 Greatest Baseball Autographs, Legendary Lumber:  The Top 100 Player Bats in Baseball History, An All-Star’s Cardboard Memories, and Nardo: Memoirs of a Boxing Champion, Zappala is a former newspaper publisher and a former president of the New England Press Association. She enjoys bringing the stories of Deadball Era and Golden Age players to life.