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Say Hey Bobble!
Though bobblehead dolls have been around for decades, the resurgence of this collectible began just a few years ago with a simple phone call in 1998 from the San Francisco Giants to a small promotions company in Washington State.
Only three years into its business, Alexander Global Promotions roared unexpectedly into the world of bobblehead dolls when the Giants decided to give away a promotional doll of one of the team’s greatest players, Willie Mays, on “Turn Back the Clock Day” in the upcoming season. Uncertain how to produce such a doll but certain he could figure it out, founder and CEO Malcolm Alexander assured the team he could have their doll ready on time. He then spent the next seven months experimenting with sizes, shapes, sculpts, and paints to achieve the perfect look for the seven-inch figure.
Thus, the very first Bobble Dobbles bobblehead doll—#24, Willie Mays—was given out as a promotional piece by the San Francisco Giants on May 9, 1999, at a home game against the Milwaukee Brewers. The doll was an enormous hit—35,000 dolls went out on “Turn Back the Clock Day” during that last season for the Giants at 3Com Park. It was the first bobblehead doll to be manufactured on such a scale since the 1960s, and fans knew it was a prize to own.
“We’ve got a line outside the door like we haven’t seen in years!” a Giants executive called Alexander to say. In the end, the park was full an hour before the game as fans rushed to collect their first bobblehead doll.
Shortly thereafter, eight other teams put in requests for dolls, most notably the Minnesota Twins, who saw attendance surge when they added four Bobble Dobbles bobblehead giveaways to their 2000 season – 5,000 each of Harmon Killebrew and Kent Hrbek, 10,000 each of Tony Oliva and Kirby Puckett.
So, now the biggest question for collectors: How do I get one of the Willie Mays dolls for my collection? Well, sometimes they pop up for sale on auction sites on the Web, so keep your eyes open—if you wanted to collect Bobble Dobbles right from the beginning, this is the one to have!
