May 10 2004
It should come as no surprise (no pun intended) that the first installment of Topps Cracker Jack baseball would be a smashing success.
Who can argue when the first thing that pops out at you upon opening a brand new hobby box is a package of Cracker Jacks?
MMMMMM…
And yes, it does get better from there.
Riding on the heels of another vintage reissue, Topps Heritage, Cracker Jack also brings back the funk with the inclusion of an individually wrapped “surprise” consisting of a miniature parallel and either a checklist, a game-used relic or an autograph – in every pack!
Plus, the base card design is patterned after the old Cracker Jack set originally issued in 1915.
What more can any collector ask for, right?
Well, in addition to all that I mentioned above, there are also a plethora of parallels and short-prints, including a rare one-of-one parallel that features every card with a white background, and a more common, yet ultimately short-printed parallel that features every card with a blue background. The blue backgrounds are way more plentiful, yet still tough to find at 1-2 per hobby box.
We were fortunate enough to score an unopened hobby box of 2004 Topps Cracker Jack baseball and pulled a game-used bat relic of Albert Pujols and an autographed surprise of Brandon Webb.
Below is what you might find in a randomly selected hobby box of 2004 Topps Cracker Jack baseball:
Inserts
Short Print 1:3
Short Print Red 1:20
Blue Parallel 1:10
Short Print Blue 1:60
White Parallel 1:6189
Team Topps Legends Autographs 1:7,550
Secret Surprise Signature
Group A 1:1448
Group B 1:451
Group C 1:323
Group D 1:372
Cracker Jack Autographs 1:258
1,2,3 Strikes You’re Out Relic:
Group A 1:5045
Group B 1:103
Group C 1:177
Group D 1:157
Take Me Out To The Ballgame Relic:
Group A 1:654
Group B 1:645
Group C 1:152
Group D 1:131
Group E 1:99
Group F 1:201
Group G 1:211
Group H 1:190
Group I 1:126
Group J 1:149
Group K 1:89
Vintage Repurchased 1:2598
