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BY JON WALDMAN FOR WORTHPOINT®

At left, Nick Fryman’s collection started when he attended a 2005 Cincinnati Reds SGA game
when he was 10 years old. It then became a ritual for him to attend every SGA game. Nick and
his twin, Zack, started a lawn mowing business when they were 13 to raise funds to track down
all of the Reds SGAs prior to 2005, and both successfully obtained every Reds SGA ever given
away. They have also both managed to collect every bobblehead the Reds Hall of Fame has ever
given away. From there, Nick also pursued bobbleheads given away by Reds minor league
affiliates, rare Cincinnati Reds or Big Red Machine bobbleheads, and any other bobblehead
that catches his eye. Between the two, they have over 350 bobbleheads and new additions are
consistently being welcomed! photo: Bobblehead Hall of Fame

hances are that if you have a sports Returning to the line-up
collection, you have at least one For most collectors, bobbleheads re-emerged in the early
Cbobblehead figure – if not a few. 2000s when companies sought a new hot collectible. The new
They’re easy to display and give a neat, kitsch edition of the craze started in 1999, as documented by the
tone to your otherwise serious-as-heck National Bobblehead Hall of Fame:
memorabilia zone. You can’t look at a bobble- Bobbleheads seemed to be 20th-century relics by the turn
head and not crack a smile. of the century until a promotion by the San Francisco Giants
brought the bobblehead back to the public eye. The Giants
Ancient History offered a Willie Mays bobblehead to the first 20,000 visitors
The bobblehead, believe it or not, dates on May 9th to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Candlestick
back to the 1700s. According to the National Park, which was the last year of the Giants playing at that
Bobblehead Hall of Fame, bobbleheads, or stadium. The promotion went very well, and more teams
“nodders” as they were known, were imported began to offer bobbleheads as a promotional item for
from China to England. These were more akin their fans.
to statues than the bobbles we know today; Large 19th Century Pagoda Nodder, Looking at that Mays figurine now, you can see there was
however, the heads had similar motions. 13” high, by Meissen. Selling on Etsy an obvious tribute to the original design. Decidedly chubby,
Jump ahead for two hundred or so years, for $30,000 Mays’ piece had an authentic
and you’ll see the first iterations of the bobbles look that resonated with
for North American sports. These were short, stumpy generic children and adults who had the original version
figurines outfitted with the uniform of a particular sports team of the “Say Hey Kid’s” bobble in the 1960s.
or paying tribute to superstars at the time. Nearly every figure Initially, new bobbleheads carried similarities
featured an elongated neck, allowing the head to move without to the originals. The majority had standard
damaging the body (in theory). Among the latter depictions poses, standing tall and proud, albeit with
were figurines of baseball legends like Roberto Clemente and slimmer bodies. These bobbles more closely
Mickey Mantle. As you can imagine, the toys were very resembled the bodies of their athletic counter-
commonly played with, and, as a result, finding figures in any parts rather than the chubby childlike
sort of good condition is rare. incarnations collectors knew well. The heads
What is interesting about this period was the variations in were also more detailed, following closer to the
size. While manufacturers built most at sizes allowing children player rather than being left to interpretation by
to easily play with and collect them, there were also extremely the collector.
limited fifteen-inch figures crafted for promotional purposes. While the Giants had ignited the stadium
Not surprisingly, these figures are among the most sought-after giveaway, bobbleheads quickly found them-
today and can quite easily command five figures at auction. selves on store shelves as mainstream products.
During the early 1960s, the market for generic “nodders” Kids clamored to get as many bobbleheads as
grew to include African American athletes, as well. These possible while investors wreaked havoc in aisles,
nonspecific bobbles continued into the 1970s, but their generic
form didn’t hold interest. Ultimately, the figures disappeared The Willie Mays commemorative bobblehead,
from store shelves. issued in 1999, kickstarted a rebirth
of collecting these fun nodders.
26 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles