The Old Cardboard
Deep in the Heart of .....		..... Hold'em   Tournaments
2008 Series

The 113-year history of
Lyman's Famous Home Made Chili

"Lyman's Famous Home Made Chili" is the original name given to chili that was first perfected and sold in Corsicana, Texas in 1895.*  Since that time, the chili has survived several changes in both brand name and ownership--but the original recipe remains unchanged. It has now survived for well over a century and today under the Wolf Brand Chili label, it remains the most popular chili sold in Texas. The following is a brief history of how it got from there to here. In 1895, Lyman T. Davis of Corsicana created his chili based on a recipe he had acquired from an old ranch cook. He sold his mix for five cents a bowl from the back of a wagon parked in front of the Blue Front Saloon in downtown Corsicana. Sometime in the early decades of the nineteenth century, Davis opened a meat market and grocery in Corsicana where he continued to sell his chili under the brand name of Lyman's Famous Home Made Chili. An early 1920s "business card" promoting his meat market and grocery (and his then already famous chili), is shown here. In 1921, using the simplest machinery, he began canning his chili and marketing it in the immediate area. By 1923, with improved equipment, Davis had increased production to 2,000 cans of chili per day. Because of the discovery of oil on his farm, he had neither the time nor the interest to devote to his chili business, and in 1924 he sold his operations to J. C. West and Fred Slauson, two Corsicana businessmen. It was also about that time that the name "Wolf Brand Chile" was adopted--in honor of Lyman Davis' pet wolf, Kaiser Bill.   Kaiser Bill, Lyman Davis' pet wolf and inspiration for the Wolf Brand Chili label The new owners modernized production and introduced new marketing techniques. Among the most successful innovations introduced by West and Slauson was a Model T Ford truck with its cab modified to the shape of a can of chili and painted to resemble the Wolf Brand label. Kaiser Bill was caged in the back of the truck, creating quite an attraction as the truck was used on sales calls to towns in north-central Texas. In 1954 the company expanded into interstate markets, having previously distributed its products only in Texas. The new markets included New Mexico, Louisiana, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. In 1957 Quaker Oats of Chicago purchased Wolf Brand from Doyle and James West, sons of J. C. West. Quaker Oats continued to operate the Corsicana plant as a separate division of the company, leaving Davis' original recipe unchanged. In 1977 Wolf Brand, along with other chili manufacturers and distributors, successfully lobbied the Texas legislature to have chili proclaimed as the official "state food" of Texas. The brand is now owned by Conagra Foods. If you can't wait until you win the Texas Hold'em tournament at the end of 2008 to sample a little Taste of Texas, then you can order your fix of Lyman's Famous Home Made Chili (aka Wolf Brand Chili) over the Internet today. *Note: 1895 was a watershed year not only in the world of Texas chili, but also in the world of baseball and baseball card production. It was the year of Babe Ruth's birth. It was also the year of issue for the N300 Mayo Cut Plug and the N566 Newsboy Cabinet baseball card sets.

Home     N-Cards    D-Cards    E-Cards    F-Cards    M-Cards    R-Cards    T-Cards    W-Cards    Postcards    Pins    Game Cards    Foreign    All Others

Copyright © 2003-2008.  Suggestions, corrections and assistance from all viewers are always welcome and appreciated.  Please address your comments to editor@oldcardboard.com .  Thank you for visiting.