Kingston, NY (Feb 26, 2020) – Love of the Game Auctions is honored to announce the pending sale of one of the hobby’s most popular and enduring baseball card sets: the 1914 Cracker Jack issue. Cumulatively, the set ranks #5 on PSA’s Current Finest Set Registry.
Each card from the set, almost entirely graded by PSA, will be offered individually, in the company’s Spring Premier Catalog Auction.
“The 1914 Cracker Jack set is considered one of the most beautiful and desirable of all the prewar card issues,” remarked Al Crisafulli, auction director at Love of the Game. “We’re thrilled to have been chosen to handle such an important set. This will be the third time we have handled a significant collection of 1914 Cracker Jacks, but this is the most complete collection we’ll have sold.”
The set not only includes the complete 1914 set, but it includes the 32 additions that Cracker Jack made to the checklist in 1915, along with all seven changes to poses or player images that the company made in its second year.
One of the most attractive baseball sets ever produced, the 1914 and 1915 Cracker Jack sets feature a color portrait or “action” pose set against a deep, red background. Printed on flimsy paper, the 1914 set is plagued by condition issues and caramel staining due to the cards being inserted directly into Cracker Jack boxes. Loaded with Hall of Famers and deadball era stars, this is among the most popular prewar baseball sets ever produced.
“We’ve had great results with Cracker Jack cards in Love of the Game Auctions,” continued Crisafulli. “In our Fall auction, a Joe Jackson graded PSA 2 sold for $60,000, just one of several record-breaking sale prices we’ve achieved with Cracker Jack cards. We love them; they’re beautiful and historically significant, and among the most treasured cards in the hobby.”
The collection is entirely graded by PSA, except for one card – that of Ty Cobb. “We have a ‘no cannibalism’ policy at Love of the Game,” explained Crisafulli. “Unlike a lot of auctions, if we receive one scarce and desirable item on consignment, we will not offer another example of that item in the same auction if we feel that it will hurt our consignors. We already had received a beautiful Cobb for this auction, so we could not take the Cobb from this set – instead, we helped the consignor sell it privately.”
The Spring Premier auction is slated to launch in late March, with a tentative close date of April 11. Other highlights include:
- A 1909-11 T206 Ty Cobb with rare Ty Cobb back
- The finest game-worn jersey from Hall of Famer Raymond Berry, graded A10 by MEARS
- More than 30 game-used bats from the Ted Patterson collection, including clubs wielded by Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson, Cal Ripken, Dave Winfield, Robin Yount, Carl Yastrzemski and more
- A Carlton Fisk game-worn jersey from the Red Sox’ heartbreaking 1975 season
- An extraordinary 1933 Washington Senators panoramic photo signed by all 28 players (including Hall of Famer Goose Goslin twice)
- A large collection of autographs, tickets, and programs related to the 1919 “Black Sox.”
Interested collectors can register to bid on the company’s website
