Vintage Baseball Bobble Heads

The first dolls, which were made by Lego in Japan, were hand-painted on papier-mâché. These first dolls were generic, depicting the same large-eyed boy in a different team uniform, his baseball-capped head bobbing about whenever the doll was moved. Some dolls featured team mascots—mascot dolls of the Indians, Braves, and Pirates are tough to find.

In general, the most collectible dolls are the ones from 1960-1962, with square or round orange or white bases. Dolls from 1962-1966 had green bases, while ones from 1967-1970 were painted gold.

The world of baseball nodders and bobbleheads in the 1960s was an almost exclusively Caucasian place, but in 1962, African American dolls were produced. Even then the manufacturer could not get the skin tones right—two versions of Willy Mays exist; the one with darker skin is valued more highly than the lighter-skinned version. African American dolls from the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, and Houston Colt .45s are especially collectible.

One of the problems with vintage nodders and bobbleheads is that they were quite fragile, which is a problem for an object that’s meant to be played with by children or mounted on the dashboard of a car. The dolls cracked and chipped easily. While repainting or repairing a doll is a relatively simple process, such changes tend to lower its value, so it’s better to find a piece “as is” than one that has been freshened up.

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