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Has there ever been a better time to be a bobblehead?
The figurines with the big, nodding noggins have taken the form of not only the hottest sports heroes but also the chief justice of the Supreme Court and the son of God. Bobbleheads have made it into the kitschy world of cereal box prizes. They're fought over and trafficked by the thousands on Internet auction houses.
There seems to be a bit of head-scratching when it comes to the origin of today's bobbleheads. Some experts, if there is such a thing, trace the dolls back to 19th Century, European "nodders," which featured a head with a long, weighted neck on a pin that balanced on the doll's body and gently nodded up and down or back and forth. Made of ceramic, they often depicted fortunetellers or other Oriental figures, which were considered exotic; children; and animals, especially dogs.
Others believe they were invented in China in the 1600s, as amusements that commemorated imperial dynasties. Malcolm Alexander, president of Alexander Global Promotions, one of the country's largest sports goody-making companies, said he has read that this is the case, and also has seen reproductions of those early bobble- heads (figures of men and women dressed in period costumes) in Chinese cultural stores.
Still others say they likely are descended from papier- mache "bobbinhead" dolls first created in the 1960s as gimmicks for Halloween and Christmas. The first baseball- player bobbinheads were created in Japan in 1961 and 1962 for the Swiss company Lego, and sold at U.S. ballparks for a buck or two, Kovel said.
The four original baseball bobble-heads were of Roberto Clemente, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Willie Mays. It's believed these also are among the rarest and most prized by collectors, worth upward of several hundred dollars, depending on the doll and what a collector will pay.
By the mid-60s not only sports figures but also celebrities ranging from Elvis to JFK were made into bobble-heads. By the '70s, interest in the dolls had nodded off.
In 1999 the San Francisco Giants, which was going with a retro theme that season, approached Alexander Global Promotions about creating a bobblehead doll to give to the fans. The company made 35,000 Willie Mays dolls out of cold-cast ceramic for a giveaway day at a game against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Houston Rockets' Moochie Norris was the first bobblehead with hair, creator BD&A claims. Five-thousand dolls were created in 2002 for a giveaway at a game against the Phoenix Suns. Although the technology for putting hair on bobbleheads was around before then, Moochie Norris was the first player BD&A came across who was defined by not only his playing style but also his coif, said marketing vice president Steve Avanessian.
"And as the evolution of the bobble-head continues, we're continuing to look for new things to push the bobble-head envelope," he said.
Jesus Christ, which the on-line Bobble Head Store describes as a 7.5-inch-tall, "plastic bobbleheaded tribute to a remarkable man. ... Comes in a window box with fascinating Jesus quotes and history." The retail price is $19.95, but the on-line price is $9.95.
Bobble Head World, based in St. Paul, Minn., makes a life- size, 400-pound Jesus, "A great piece of art for your home, office, church or school," for the heaven-help-us price of $2,750.
Manager CJ Stolee said the first batch of five life-size Jesus bobble-heads already is sold out. Yours can be ready in about 60 days.
Southern
Illinoisan
August 10, 2003
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BOBBLEHEADS
HOMEPAGE
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