A new campaign is underway to create a series of Negro Leagues bobbleheads.
The project is part of a celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the Negro National League. Ten teams are represented in the proposed series. A portion of the proceeds are going to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Organizers say they needed to reach the campaign’s $7,500 goal to put the series into production but that amount was quickly raised over the weekend.
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum is utilizing the Kickstarter platform’s Make 100 initiative, where Kickstarter “asks the creator community to bring 100 of any work into the world and invites backers to support the one-of-a-kind—or at least one of 100—ideas”. The Campaign was designed to coincide with Black History Month and the start of baseball season, and it will conclude at 9 PM Central Time on Friday, February 29.
Only 100 sets of the bobbleheads are available through the Kickstarter campaign for a contribution of $250 plus shipping. Each bobblehead will be individually numbered to only 100 and come in a collector’s box. If the project is successful, plans are to produce a second series that will be accessible to more people.
The bobbleheads are officially licensed by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and are being produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in conjunction with Dreams Fulfilled and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum located in Kansas City.
This campaign follows the Negro Leagues Centennial Bobblehead Series Kickstarter Campaign that concluded in January 2019 with nearly 750 backers pledging over $75,000 to make that project a reality. All 38 bobbleheads that were part of the initial Kickstarter campaign were produced, with the final bobbleheads shipped to Kickstarter Backers ahead of the projected February 2020 timeline. The Centennial Series bobbleheads can be purchased at a discounted rate of $25 through the new Kickstarter Campaign.
The ten teams included in the series are the Baltimore Elite Giants, Birmingham Black Barons, Detroit Stars, Hilldale Club, Homestead Grays, Indianapolis Clowns, Kansas City Monarchs, Newark Eagles, Pittsburgh Crawfords and St. Louis Stars.
“Our goal is to produce bobbleheads that celebrate and commemorate the Negro Leagues while educating current and future generations about the League and its players, and we think bobbleheads are the perfect way to do that.” said Phil Sklar, Co-Founder and CEO of the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum. “Museum visitors love seeing the vintage bobbleheads and we thought it was time for the Negro Leagues teams to be honored with a series of its own.”
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