Checkers
What Is It?
Candy-coated popcorn and peanuts packed in a distinctive red-and-white checkered box, with a small novelty prize hidden inside.
History
Checkers was Shotwell's flagship product and the company's reason for existing. Alfred Shotwell modeled it directly on Cracker Jack — candy-coated popcorn and peanuts in a box — but differentiated it with bold checkered packaging and, starting in 1909, a secret prize buried inside each box. Shotwell claimed this was the first time any boxed candy had hidden a toy prize within the package itself, predating Cracker Jack's own prize addition. The brand was marketed as 'The Children's Choice' and ran ads in Candy and Ice Cream Magazine throughout the 1910s. A sister product called Cornpops ran alongside it. When Cracker Jack's parent company sued Shotwell repeatedly over the concept, Shotwell renamed the prize version 'Souvenir Checkers' and then 'Prize Checkers.' In 1926, facing mounting legal pressure and financial strain, Shotwell sold the entire Checkers popcorn division to the Cracker Jack Company — putting its own rival out of the competition for good.
Other Products from Shotwell Manufacturing Company
- Red Grange Bar
A chocolate-enrobed candy bar with a caramel-nougat center and peanuts, similar in format to Baby Ruth — and packed with collectible football cards featuring Red Grange.