A look at the history of bobbleheads will show you that these collectibles date back at least a hundred and fifty years. A story by Nikolai Gogol called The Overcoat that was published in 1842, had the first reference to similar toys. There were characters described with collars that looked like cats with their necks in a cast and shaking their heads. Later, larger ceramic animal figurines with sizes of about six to eight inches were made in Germany. At the time, the toys were called bobbers or nodders because they were made with spring-connected heads.
The New York Knicks produced their doll-headed basketball player in 1920 and this resulted in a renewed fascination with these collectibles. But, this interest waned again in the 1930s and between then and the 1950s they were only made in limited numbers as novelty items.
During the 1960s, Major League Baseball created a series of papier-mâché dolls with bobbleheads for each team with the same angelic face. During the 1960 World Series, player-specific bobblehead dolls were produced and sold for Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Roberto Clemente, and Roger Maris. Even though the uniforms had been different, they all had the same type of face. However, because they were made of papier-mâché, only a few could survive damage, and they usually cracked or splintered.
Records of bobblehead history show that methods for creating new and improved designs changed in the 1970s with the use of ceramic materials. These became extremely popular for various other sports besides cartoon characters at the time. Outfits designed for the Beatles grew to become the rarest and most famous and remain a priceless collectible item today. But, by the mid-1970s, these figures lost some of their interest, and only a few new ones were produced. They did not return to the high level of popularity for almost two decades.
During the 1990s, new manufacturing techniques made the figures out of plastic instead of ceramic. This significantly reduces the cost of production and the difficulty in creating high-quality products. The San Francisco Giants gave out some free collectibles to 35,000 Willie Mays fans during one of the games in ’99, which became a huge hit with collectors and fans alike. This event, along with lower manufacturing costs, fostered a stronger and faster resurgence of these toys and the industry in general.
A few new variations were made after the year 2000, including bobble computer keepers; mini bobblehead; banks of bigheads and air fresheners. Custom ones could also be achieved and several companies began to provide this service. Most of the existing bobbleheads resemble real-life alternatives, such as matching tattoos, scars, headbands, and hairstyles.