Henry Aaron Honored by National Bobblehead Hall of Fame

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Photo: Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum

Bobblehead Hall of Fame interior

The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum

“I’d like people not to think of the 755 home runs I hit, but of what I've accomplished off the field and some of the things I stood for”.

-Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron

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Photo: Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum

Hank Aaron Indianapolis Clowns bobblehead

Hank Aaron Indianapolis Clowns bobblehead

In 1957, the Milwaukee Braves upset the New York Yankees to win the World Series in seven games. One of the Braves’ secret weapons was a 23-year-old right fielder named Henry Aaron, a power hitter who slugged his way out of baseball’s Negro League and onto a major league team.

One of baseball’s most honored players, the Mobile, Alabama native endured racism and bigotry his entire career. Aaron was earning $3 a game playing for the Mobile Black Bears when a scout recruited the 18-year-old for the Indianapolis Clowns at $200 a month. After 87 games with the Clowns, Aaron signed a contract with the Boston Braves and was sent to Wisconsin to play for the Eau Claire Bears, the Braves’ Class C farm team. In 1953 he was promoted to the Class A affiliate Jacksonville Braves where he achieved a .362 batting average. Aaron recalled hotels refusing to accommodate him and restaurants breaking the plates after he ate from them. In 1954, the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee and Henry Aaron was on the team.

Black Americans have played professional baseball since the Civil War, but they were not allowed to join white-owned teams due to “unwritten rules” and “gentleman’s agreements”. Black players organized their own teams and barnstormed across the country, gaining both white and black fans in the process.

Now, 88 years after Aaron’s birth, he’s being honored with an officially licensed limited edition bobblehead figure developed by Milwaukee’s National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum. The Museum has bobbleheads of 32 influential players like legendary pitcher Satchel Paige and businessman Rube Foster, who is credited with forming the first official Negro League in 1920. Only in existence for three years, the museum already hosts 10,000 visitors annually from all 50 states and 25 foreign countries. In a recent interview with the Shepherd Express, co-founder Phil Sklar talked about the origins of the museum and his vision for future growth.

A museum dedicated to bobbleheads is certainly unique.

It is, and the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum is the only one of its kind in the world! We’re proud to be in Milwaukee, and we’re located between Walker’s Point and Downtown. We currently have nearly 10,000 different bobbleheads on display and the collection continues to grow. 2020 was the 100th anniversary of the Negro League and this was the reason for creating the Hark Aaron bubblehead. As you know, Hank played for the Mobile and Indianapolis teams before moving to the majors. The bobblehead is limited to 755 numbered figures, which signifies his career home run record.

Even while playing at the highest level of professional baseball, Aaron endured heckling and insults because of his skin color.

Unfortunately, he did. Ultimately his talent allowed many people to look beyond the fact that he was black. Jackie Robinson helped break the color barrier as well. But Hank Aaron received several death threats as he came close to breaking Babe Ruth’s homerun record. It got so bad that the FBI began analyzing each letter.

Besides the admission, what keeps your operation profitable?

We offer memberships, which certainly support us, and we have an extensive gift shop with all kinds of souvenirs. Our start-up costs were underwritten by a successful series of GoFundMe campaigns and initial sales of bobbleheads to collectors. We’ve also developed relationships with all the sports teams in town.

What do you have planned for the foreseeable future of the Museum?

In 2023 we’ll have an exhibit dedicated to the history of women in professional baseball.