Reggie! Candy they named after him
Reggie Jackson once predicted a candy bar would be named after him — fitting for a man nicknamed “Mr. October.”
In 1976, Jackson, then a member of the Oakland Athletics, joked that if he ever played in New York, a candy bar would be named after him. But after Jackson signed with the Yankees following that season and hit three home runs on three consecutive pitches in the 1977 World Series, his offhand comment became reality.
“I was just jiving when I said if I played in New York, they’d name a candy bar after me,” Jackson told the Daily News. “I didn’t really think they would.”
But Curtiss Candy Co. did. The company already owned the Baby Ruth chocolate bar, a sweet treat commonly believed to be named after Babe Ruth, though it was officially named after President Grover Cleveland’s daughter, Ruth. With that confusion in mind, creating the Reggie Bar just made sense.
The candy featured peanuts dipped in caramel and coated in chocolate, and it cost 25 cents. The candy bar was a hit. According to Jackson, it generated more than $11 million in revenue from the New York area alone in its first year.
On Opening Day of 1978, the Yankees gave away Reggie Bars as a promotional item. When Jackson hit a home run in his first at-bat, fans celebrated by throwing thousands of Reggie Bars onto the field when he returned to his position in right field, which briefly halted the game.
The Reggie Bar lasted just three years before Jackson left for the California Angels, and Curtiss’ parent company, Standard Brands, merged with Nabisco. In 1993, the year Jackson was inducted into the Hall of Fame, the candy bar returned under the D.L. Clark Co., which obtained the licensing rights. But like its first run, the revival was short-lived after the Pittsburgh Food & Beverage Co. went bankrupt.
Jackson’s sharp wit and swagger helped inspire the candy bar, and he made several other confident remarks throughout his career.
He famously called himself “the straw that stirs the drink,” and declared, “I didn’t come to New York to become a star; I brought my star with me.”
As Jackson’s charismatic demeanor infiltrated the clubhouse, teammates often joked about the product. Just like its namesake, the Reggie Bar didn’t lack confidence.
“When you unwrap a Reggie Bar,” Yankees teammate Catfish Hunter said, “it tells you how good it is.”
Noah Douglas is the 2025 communications intern in the Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Leadership Development
