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Hank Aaron, Satchel Paige, Negro League stars featured in special bobblehead boxes from National Bobblehead Hall of Fame
Sports collectibles are all about history and nostalgia, and there’s nothing more memorable and nostalgic than the glorious history of baseball.
Major League Baseball will celebrate two of the most significant developments in its colorful history this season when it pays tribute to the Negro Leagues and historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala., the oldest professional ballpark in America and home of the Negro League’s Birmingham Black Barons.
Rickwood Field, named after industrialist A.H. “Rick” Woodward, who built the park with help from legendary manager Connie Mack, opened on Aug. 18, 1910. It became the home field of the Black Barons in 1921, hosting such legendary players as Satchel Paige and Willie Mays.
As part of a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the first Negro League World Series, MLB will hold a special Negro Leagues tribute game at Rickwood Field on June 20 between the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants.
The Baseball Hall of Fame also will pay tribute to the Negro Leagues All-Star Game in May and unveil a special exhibit—The Souls of the Game: Voices of Black Baseball.
In honor of the Negro League celebrations and Black History Month, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum has released special Negro Leagues Mystery Bobblehead Boxes, which give fans and collectors the opportunity to acquire random Negro Leagues Bobbleheads at a discounted price.
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum has worked with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum since 2019 to produce bobbleheads celebrating Negro League players and teams, with proceeds going to the NLBM as well as the player's families.
The mystery boxes, which are available in the museum’s online store, feature a mix of more than 100 different Negro Leagues Bobbleheads featuring dozens of different players and styles. They are available with one ($20), three ($50), or five ($75) bobbleheads per box. Fans who purchase multiple boxes will receive unique bobbleheads in each box with a maximum of 50 unique bobbleheads.
The bobbleheads were all produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in conjunction with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, with sales supporting the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in Milwaukee opened on Feb. 1, 2019. It has released more than 10 different series of bobbleheads, including: the Centennial Team Series featuring 32 of the top players; the Vintage Series featuring 18 teams; the Field of Legends Series; the Field of Legends Full Color Bobbleheads; Hank Aaron Indianapolis Clowns Bobbleheads; Satchel Paige Talking Baseball Series; Indianapolis Clowns Female Players; Josh Gibson Special Edition Series; Satchel Paige Special Edition Series; Trujillos Series; Hall of Fame Series; and other Special Edition Bobbleheads. Most of the bobbleheads are individually numbered.
"We’re excited to be releasing these special Negro Leagues Mystery Bobblehead Boxes in conjunction with Black History Month,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said. “These boxes will give people a mix of some of our most popular Negro Leagues Bobbleheads from the past five years featuring legends like Satchel Paige, Hank Aaron, Cool Papa Bell and many of the other legends that played in the Negro Leagues making this a perfect opportunity to start a new collection or grow an existing collection.”
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Jeff Owens is the editor of SCD.
