The Crackerjacks were the brainchild of early Acrobat fame Lulu Coates in 1914 who was part of the Watermelon Trust Acrobats which consisted of Sherman Coates , Lulu and Grundy and his Wife. When Coates and Grundy's act split up in 1914, Lulu decided to form the Crackerjacks which originally consisted of Archie Ware, Wilfred Banks and Harry Irons. This grouping would lead to a very famous Acrobatic dance act over time.

    Archie Ware was the Hot Shot and leader of the group who already had an extensive background in performing in Vaudeville and the Circus. Archie was not very tall, standing only at 4' 10 1/2 inches tall which was a great size for his craft. He started performing in Vaudeville for three seasons with Cozy Smith and her Pickaninnies in George Webster's Circuit in the Dakotas along with Willie Covan and his cousin Maxie McCree at the age of fourteen. In 1913 Ware left Cozy Smith group and joined various troupes such as Mayme Remington and later Belle Davis and later around 1914 worked with a comedian named Andrew Tribble and was introduced to Mrs. Coates who was forming her Crackerjacks in New York. He would stay with Mrs Coates for 8 years until she retired in 1922 and gave the act over to Ware.

   As soon as Ware took the reins he hired Morris Greenwald who was a great manager for them who stayed with them their entire career. The the Four Crackerjacks were formed consisting of Raymond Thomas, Clifford Carter, Harry Irons and Archie Ware and over the years consisted of four to six members at a time with occasional changes in it's members. Of all the members who worked with the Crackerjacks over time, there were only four who were not real Acrobatics but posessed special skills that were used in the acts. The Crackerjacks played in most of the Nightclubs of the day in and around New York as well as many stage productions like Hellzapoppin' and Harlem Cavalcade.

   What made the Crackerjacks so good was that they were not just Acrobats with lots of skill, they also Sang, Danced, did Acrobatics and Tumbling, did comedy and used fancy costumes that changed with each act and used music that swung.

   Their act consisted of 5 numbers that lasted about ten minutes from start to finish. The first being a Flash Tap routine, then a solo, usually by Goins, doing a contortionist - acrobatic chair dance. The third was the trademark act called "the Old Man" number complete with Civil War costumes, long grey beards and walking canes. They would hobble on Stage, looking and moving like old men, then burst into their Acrobatic act. The fourth was like the second but varied by dancer. The last act was a replay of the Old Man except that they put in everything they knew into the finale that just exploded on Stage all done to a jazz rhythm. They remained together, performing up until 1952.

NOTE: Archie Ware's Great Great Niece is searching for more info on her GG Uncle, email her here!