According to the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, nodding-head figures trace to China in the mid-1700s. In an 1842 Russian short story by Nikolai Gogol called “The Overcoat,” there is a reference to main character Akaky having a neck like that “of plaster cats which wag their heads.” Antique ceramic bobbleheads of animals were produced in Germany in 1901. The first sports bobblehead has been reported as appearing in 1920 as that of the New York Knicks, although their is some confusion because the franchise was not established until 1946. In 1960, papier-mache bobbles of Roberto Clemente, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Willie Mays debuted.
Padres' Wil Myers gives nodding approval to bobbleheads
