1914 Cracker Jack #80 Rollie Zeider PSA VG 3

1914 Cracker Jack #80 Rollie Zeider PSA 3 - The Man They Called “Bunions”

The 1914 Cracker Jack #80 Rollie Zeider features one of the more colorful characters of the Deadball Era. A versatile infielder capable of playing throughout the diamond, Zeider spent time with the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, and Chicago’s Federal League clubs during a career that stretched across most of the 1910s. His wonderfully straightforward portrait against Cracker Jack’s blazing red background gives the card all the visual charm that has made this set a pre-war favorite.

Graded PSA VG 3, this example offers appealing preservation from the notoriously difficult 1914 issue. These cards were originally placed directly inside packages of Cracker Jack, where caramel, handling, creasing, and surface wear presented immediate obstacles to survival. Reaching the VG level more than 110 years later makes this a solid example for collectors assembling the challenging 144-card set.

Zeider also carried one of early baseball’s more unusual nicknames: “Bunions.” The name reportedly followed an infamous encounter with Ty Cobb in which Cobb spiked Zeider’s foot, aggravating an existing bunion and inspiring teammates to make sure he never forgot it. Beyond the nickname, Zeider was a useful Major League regular who stole 49 bases as a rookie in 1910.