BB Bats (History, FAQ, Flavors & Pictures)

BB Bats are a rectangle-shaped piece of taffy on a stick, a taffy lollipop, or ”sucker”. This large taffy lollipop comes in several flavors, such as Banana and Strawberry, and is rather large-sized for a lollipop, much more so than the small lollipops you can get for free at the bank. BB Bats were first made around the year 1924, and its trademark was filed in the year 1926. BB Bats look much like Kits Taffy on a stick, although BB Bats are larger.

The company that invented BB Bats is Fair Play Caramels, Inc, which started making the BB Bats and its close counterpart Kits taffy in Johnson City, NY. The long shape of the candy often means that people compare the candy to mini-baseball bats, and judging from the packaging art maybe that was the idea, as BB Bats are depicted with baseball players on them.

BB Bats may no longer be as well known as they used to be, you will rarely find them in stores, but they are a loved candy product and do still possess a fond fan following of loyal consumers.

History

BB Bats are “suckers” aka lollipops that are made from taffy and were first invented in the year 1924 and patented by Fair Play Caramels, Inc. The Fair Play Caramels company began to produce BB Bats in Johnson City, NY, alongside a related product, Kits Taffy. BB Bats look like larger versions of Kits impaled on a stick to form a sucker or lollipop. BB Bats are sweet, chewy, and have been made in 4 flavors, each flavor being shown by the color of its packaging. The taffy part of the product itself has colored the same color as its packagings, such as pink for Strawberry flavor or yellow for Banana flavor.

BB Bats used a newly patented technique of packing impaled pieces of confectionery, which consists in packing said pieces in an upright position in a container with the impaling sticks projecting above such container and slipping a free cover over the container so that the cover is supported on the tops of said impaling sticks.

Also in the patent Fair Play Caramels, Inc. claimed as their own an article of manufacture comprising a container consisting of a body portion, impaled pieces of confection packed side by side in said portion with the impaling means extending above the body portion, and a free cover telescoped over the body and supported upon said impaling means. A picture of the method described in the patent show rows of BB Bats upside down with the sticks on top being impaled downwards into the confection.

BB Bats are associated with baseball, and a very long and shaped in a manner that, with some imagination, one can pretend the candy is a type of miniature baseball bat of sorts. The company that manufactured BB Bats seems to feel there should be an association. There is little to show if BB Bats were actually sold at baseball games, other than a questionable forum post or 2, and the depictions of baseball players on the packaging art of BB Bats may just be for show and association due to the shape of the product.

Each piece of BB candy is about 2.5 by 7/8 of an inch. The long piece of taffy is pierced by a long stick that the user can hold onto as they eat, unlike BB Bats counterpart product, Kits Taffy, that is simply eaten with you holding onto the piece of taffy. This simple addition of a stick took a new manufacturing process to make the product correctly and helps make BB Bats unique and desirable.

BB Bats passed from Fair Play Caramels, Inc to the Gilliam Candy company, which bought the brand in 1990 and produced them in Paducah, KY. Gilliam licensed the production of BB Bats to Sophie Mae, which made the product in Atlanta, GA. Sophie Mae was eventually sold to Georgia Nut which made BB Bats under their “Family Brands” label in Skokie, IL.

Some BB Bats were also sold under the “Georgia’s Confections” name. When Georgia Nut stopped producing BB Bats, the brand was licensed to Warrell in 2009 and they made the candy at their Warrell Classic plant in York, PA until the fall of 2010. Runk Candy acquired the equipment and BB Bat brand in the summer of 2011 and re-commenced manufacturing in the spring of 2012 in Cincinnati, OH.

We did not find any commercial advertisements for BB Bats, and it seems the BB Bats candy brand has not done much in the way of advertising to the public. The company that makes BB Bats, Runk Candy, has stated on their website that there are relatively small amounts of corn starch used to keep the taffy from sticking to the packaging equipment.

The Year BB Bats Was Invented

BB Bats was invented in the year 1924, and its trademark was filed in the year 1926. A patent for creating BB Bats packing method was filed on July 2, 1929, by Fair Play Caramels, Inc. The origins of bb bats can be traced back all the way to the 1840s where it seems events may have influenced their development in the years to come. 

The Company that Invented BB Bats

BB Bats was invented by the company Fair Play Caramels, Inc. Eventually Fair Play Caramels sold BB Bats to the Gilliam Candy company. The Ideal Candy Company was founded in 1914 and was sold in the 1920s and renamed Fair Play Caramels.

The Company That Makes BB Bats

The company that makes BB Bats as of 2019 is Runk Candy. Runk Candy states its copyright is from 2000-2015. Runk Candy acquired the BB Bat brand and its equipment in the summer of 2011 and began manufacturing in the spring of 2012 in Cincinnati, OH.

Are BB bats Still made?

Are you curious if BB Bats are still being produced?  Well, the good news is yes BB bats are still made at the time this was written in 2014.  We will try to keep you updated about them if anything changes in the production status. At this time you can be happy that they are still produced and available to buy, if you wish to buy BB bats you can check out the links we posted for you above, it’s fast and easy!

Tips On Buying

BB Bats candy is still made and sold as of 2019, although they can be a bit hard to find in stores. Unlike some of the more modernly popular candies, BB Bats is not as well known nowadays and can be hard to find in stores. One store that may still sell BB Bats is Walmart, another is the Wayside Country Store. You can take a look below for a list of stores that we found may sell BB Bats.

Stores That Sell BB Bats Candy

Here is a list of stores that sell or have sold BB Bats candy

• Walmart
• The Vermont Country Store
• Wayside Country Store

Can you Buy Wholesale?

Most people seem to have the best luck buying BB-Bats in bulk online, as it’s the easiest way to get good deals in bulk. Check the offers from the online retailers added to the page, as they often have great deals on wholesale BB Bats there from time to time. 

Flavors

Here is a list of the flavors of BB Bats:

• Chocolate
• Vanilla
• Strawberry
• Banana

A Recollection Story

When I was a kid my dad used to bring me to baseballs games. He would buy me BB-bats so I could have a snack as I watched. It was one of my favorite things to do as a kid. Watching baseball outside on a sunny day and eating that taffy sucker pop is one of my best memories as a kid.

Logo

Ingredients (Banana)

Please note this information may not be accurate

• Corn Syrup
• Sugar
• Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil
• Salt
• Soy Lecithin
• Artificial Flavors
• Yellow No. 5.
• Contains Soy

Nutrition

Here is the nutritional info for 1 serving of BB Bats ( Banana flavor- 50 g’s serving size) – Check the product labeling as we cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

Serving Size:	1 serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories	230
Total Fat	3.0g
Saturated Fat	1g
Sodium	150.0 mg
Dietary Fiber	1.0g
Total Carbohydrate	47.0g
Sugars	23.0g
Protein	3.0g

Packaging

BB packaging color depends on its flavor, such as pink for strawberry, brown for chocolate, and white for vanilla. With “BB Bats” written on the packaging, as well as the flavor the BB Bat is. A picture of a baseball player is shown on the packaging, and words such as “Chocolate flavored taffy” or “Vanilla flavored taffy” are on the packaging under the name “BB Bats”.

Different packaging versions have slight differences but are lighter in the coloration of the packaging, and look almost translucent in appearance. Some versions of BB Bat’s packaging have a striped coloration, such as the Strawberry flavored BB Bats that have Blue pink, white, and yellow stripes on them, with the main color for the packaging being pink.

BB Bats

FAQ:

Check Out More Snacks, Drinks, And Candy!

Double Dip

Bit O Honey

Coca-Cola