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Henry’s Random Thoughts
Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame Bobbleheads
Over the last few years, the popular Reds Hall of Fame
located next to the stadium has caught on to the value of the bobblehead as a
promotional tool. As one might guess, these bobbleheads are of a nostalgic
bent. Please note that my list of these is not as complete as it is for the SGAs.
I haven’t tracked down every year of them.
They don’t make nearly as many of these as they do the
stadium giveaways. I’m pretty sure they are limited to 5,000. The distribution
of them is a little more controlled, too. Customers are limited to one per
visit per day. You can’t run in circles for quantities like you do at the
stadium. Basically, you can get one per paid admission, but they have also had
deals where you could get several different ones in exchange for buying a
membership. They may or may not run such a promotion in the future. Pictured
are the ones I have. I’m not sure if I have them all. I bought a collection
from a guy that included them. I will probably get future ones straight from
the source, assuming I keep collecting them. (A person has only so much space.)
Since getting them in bulk isn’t easy, expect to pay
more for these on Ebay than you would for SGA’s of
the same vintage.
2020
2020 was an interesting year to say the least. A
normal order of the planned bobbleheads was
presumable placed, but for part of the season, the Hall wasn’t even open. Even
when they were open, they couldn’t count on the normal foot traffic that game days
provide, since games were closed to fans all year. They offered to take orders
for them for mail order or pickup later. But there’s no doubt that they had
many left over at the end of the year. They put them up for sale in 2021, and
as of this writing, late in 2021, I would guess that the full set is still
available at the Hall.
2021
2021 saw things get back to normal for the most part.
Game day crowds were socially distanced to start the year, but they expanded
the limited crowds quickly and then got back to full crowds as soon as they
could. With the team in contention, foot traffic at the Hall was no doubt good
and plenty of bobbles were given out with paid admissions. This year’s crop
focused on some really old-time players, players that few current fans may have
heard of. Personally, these are some of my all-time favorites, but usually when
I like something, it isn’t quite as popular with the
general public. The public would eat up nothing but Johnny Bench bobbles from
here until the end of time, but I prefer some more obscure players.
