CLEVELAND, Ohio – Bobbleheads, the nodding figurines handed out by the thousands at stadium and arena turnstiles, might get a chance to earn their place in lasting memory. A hall of fame and museum is in the works to honor the goofy yet endearing mementos.
Phil Sklar, co-founder and CEO of the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in Milwaukee, is working with partner Brad Novak to create a place to remember the giveaways forever.
Sklar said he has accumulated about 3,000 – a collection that "is growing extremely rapidly." At their current pace, he said, he expects to have about 10,000 in the near future.
"Teams are really excited to have their teams showcased," he said.
It's difficult to quantify the total number of bobbleheads produced, since you are dealing with multiple entertainment outlets and numerous sports leagues and teams. But Sklar said it's "close to six figures in terms of unique bobbleheads."
Each year, he said, almost 3 million are given away via 250 individual giveaways at Major League games.
"Our goal will be to have a comprehensive list," he said. "Right now there is no one to go to to say 'Who are all the Cubs bobbleheads or all the Indians bobbleheads?"
Who is fair game for a bobblehead? Well, virtually anyone. Current players, former players. Mascots. Even members of the media and non-athletes (True or false: Beatnik writer Jack Kerouac has a bobblehead - true.) Makers give them creative spins. You don't just get Babe Ruth swinging a bat; you get the Yankee slugger pointing, a recreation of his reported called shot in the 1932 World Series. Albert Belle doesn't just scowl on his; he is pointing to his bicep, a reference to the Indians' hitter claiming brawn over corking.
In a way, it's amazing that bobbleheads are so popular now; they are not the most interactive toy in this video-game age. They are limited to one activity: The bob-bob-bobbing of their heads when tapped.
Birth of bobbleheads
The first bobbleheads produced were in the early 1900s, but most were hand-painted with no mass production. In the 1960s, Sklar said, others came along – but the faces were generic.
"You'd have the standard boy wearing an Indians jersey. The same one is wearing a Cubs or White Sox jersey. Players looked the same," he said.
And then came Willie Mays. In what is believed to be the first stadium bobblehead giveaway ever, in 1999 the San Francisco Giants gave away a Mays bobblehead.
"Once teams saw that that game sold out and created unbelievable interest, other teams came on," Sklar said. The economic factor helping drive things: Mass production. Today, "you can do everything, with lights behind it or players jumping over the fence."
About 80 percent of today's bobbleheads are sports-themed, said Sklar, who said about four primary companies customize sports bobbleheads. At any one time, "there's 50,000 bobbleheads on eBay."
"They are getting more and more popular," Sklar said. "It's fun to go to a game. You leave with the game experience and a bobblehead you can place on your desk. Some people collect certain ones, whether it's a player or team you like. For everybody it's a different meaning. They're so fun, and that's the whole goal of the hall of fame and museum – to have fun."
Sklar, 31, and Novak, 30, have known each other since middle school, Sklar said. The Rockford, Illinois, natives would circle bobblehead nights on schedules and go to games, and their collections began. About six months ago they hatched the idea for the hall and museum.
"Bobbleheads were piling up everywhere in our condo," Sklar said.
Like a first car, they remember their first bobblehead. Novak's was Rocko, the mascot for the Rockford Riverhawks, where he once worked, Sklar said.
Sklar's favorite bobblehead has a bit of history behind it. It's the Cubs' Rick Monday, who raced across Dodger Stadium in 1976 to pick up an American flag protesters were trying to burn. The bobblehead depicts Monday running with the flag.
"It symbolizes that bobbleheads are not just a figure that people put on their desks. Most have a history behind it, like LeBron winning an MVP award, or Monday and his patriotism."
Idea vs. reality
The biggest obstacle for the nascent museum is the same for many startups: Initial capital.
"We have several plans and contingency plans," said Sklar, whose background is in corporate finance while Novak's is in sales and retail.
"Kickstarter is sort of our test, to say 'Does the public want to see this and support it before it's built?' That's the nice thing about Kickstarter, to see how popular it will be."
If Kickstarter doesn't garner enough funds, Sklar said "we have several interested investors who like the concept." As of mid-December, the hall's Kickstarter page showed donations of $25,000 of a goal of $250,000 with one month remaining.
Part of the concept involves creating sports bobblehead bars and grills all over the country. What Sklar envisions is each place featuring bobbleheads of athletes from that city's teams.
Another concept the founders are planning has a personal touch. Walk in, have a picture taken, and "within an hour or two we can have their personalized bobblehead."