How Peanuts Became One Of The Most Iconic Baseball Foods

It's an undeniable fact that some foods just taste better at the ballpark. Hot dogs and hamburgers hit differently when you're watching a baseball game. There are some snacks you might never buy outside of a stadium at all. For many, one of those snacks is shell-on peanuts. This salty, nutty treat has been a staple at ballgames for over 100 years, making it one of the most iconic snacks sold at stadiums.

Peanuts were first sold at baseball games way back in 1895 thanks to a man by the name of Harry Stevens. Even then, they were a massive hit with attendees. In the present day, Stevens' grandson explains they remain popular because: "In baseball, the tension builds slowly. Eating peanuts is part of a nervous habit — it gives you something to do with your hands." So, although peanuts may be failing in ballparks outside the United States, they are likely to remain a staple of the great American pastime for years to come. Here in the United States, peanuts began their journey to baseball fans decades before Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer ever wrote the first note of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."

To put it bluntly, peanuts have a turbulent history in the United States. While they are indigenous to South America, peanuts were originally brought to the States with slaves during the early 1700s. This legume wasn't widely grown as a commercial crop at first, instead being used as animal feed and as a desperate source of nutrition for impoverished people. However, when the nation plunged into turmoil a century later, all that changed.

During the American Civil War, soldiers needed an easy, cheap source of energy-giving protein. Peanuts came in their own packaging, were lightweight, and satisfied cravings for something salty to chew on. It's no wonder both sides participating in the conflict regularly carried peanuts onto the battlefield. Vendors at the time would shout out from street corners that they had peanuts to sell, a tradition that eventually wormed its way into ballparks later on.

When the war ended in 1866, soldiers still had a fondness for the boiled, roasted, or salted nut and it continued to gain in popularity for the next few decades. This coincided with the formative days of baseball itself (the first professional major league wasn't founded until 1976). With interest in both peanuts and baseball on the rise, companies that sold the nuts eventually turned to advertising within ballparks. This is where Harry Stevens comes in.

In 1895, London immigrant Harry Stevens sold advertising space on baseball scorecards to a peanut company. While nowadays he would certainly be paid with money, at the time, he was paid in actual peanuts; far more than he could consume himself. Stevens opted to sell these peanuts at the ballparks he had a concession contract with. This turned out to be a match made in heaven from the start. In 1908, the song "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" first debuted, famously mentioning peanuts in the third line. The lyrics cemented in history that peanuts are a vital part of baseball culture as the song is still sung at games today.

Over the following century, peanuts have continued to be beloved by baseball fans all over the league. "Peanut Man" vendors with their memorable barks would circulate ballparks calling out the same "Peanuts, here!" that corner salesman yelled during the time of the Civil War. Even now, peanut sales account for a massive portion of ballpark snack purchases, with most teams selling more than 70,000 bags per season. So, while baseball players still prefer to chew sunflower seeds, those of us in the stands are likely to stick with our peanuts and Cracker Jack.