***The following was written by Frank Parrella, a long-time friend and contributor to this Blog. For years Frank has collected vintage bobbing heads and banks with a particular eye on the oddball variations. He has also had  Joe Marasco , a restorer of paper mache bobbing heads, remodel dolls with interesting variations that were never originally issued. We think you'll find his take on these dolls and the state of the hobby a worthwhile read.Thanks Frank.

We would also like to encourage readers of this Blog to submit articles about their collecting experiences. We'd love to hear from you all.

Vintage Hockey Nodders: Big and Little Brothers

 

Introduction

 

I have been collecting vintage paper mache nodders since the early 2000s. I began exclusively with baseball nodders--particularly the various issues of New York Yankees—and have branched out to other sports and non-sports issues. Several years ago I was introduced to the Hockey Series of dolls through my good friend and hobby buddy Joe Marasco. Joe restores paper mache dolls and, incidentally, possesses the most extensive collection of vintage hockey nodders in existence. You can view this collection on his website at www.vintagehockeybobbingheads.com. One will find an abundance of history, information, pictures about the various series that comprise this fantastic collection and information regarding his restoration services. When you get the opportunity you should check out his website.

 

One of these hockey issues—the miniatures series—has peaked my interest over the years and started me on a quest to collect all the dolls that comprise the series. The task seemed easy since dolls were only produced for the original six National Hockey League teams (Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers) that were in existence at the dawn of the “Golden Era” of nodder production. This period includes the time from the early 1960s through the middle 1970s).  Well it happens that seven dolls were actually produced for the series because the Toronto Maple Leafs doll was produced with both correct and incorrect decaling.  The Toronto error doll, as it is referred to by the hobby, contains the Detroit Red Wings decal on its chest. While most of these dolls exist today and are relatively easy to find and collect  the New York Rangers doll was produced in very limited quantities and it is estimated by hobby experts that as few as fifty of these dolls remain in today’s collections. This doll, if you can find the real one, has sold in various auctions in the three to four thousand dollar range in the past several years.

 

This article presents both the results of my collecting the miniature hockey series dolls and an expansion of that collection to include various hybrid versions of these minis. I am using the term hybrid to denote a doll that did not exist when the regular version was issued and is not considered part of the miniature series of hockey nodders. It is basically a “one of a kind” creation that is team specific. My penchant for hybrids is just an extension of my interest in the nodder hobby and is designed to keep me active with the hobby during periods when I am patiently waiting for original dolls of interest to show up in the marketplace.

 

 

 

 

My Collection of Big and Little Brothers

 

What I have attempted to do in the following presentation is pair each mini in my collection with its original issue big brother as I term it. Included in these pairings, where applicable, are original dolls that I collected and hybrid miniature versions of dolls that I had created for several of the original six NHL teams, other Minor League teams and the Swedish National Team.  The hybrids were created as “one of a kind” dolls exclusively for my personal collection by Joe Marasco of J.M. Bobbing Head Restorations and not for resale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The National Hockey League

 

Detroit Red Wings

 

The Detroit Red Wings regular series mold doll is pictured with its original mini and a hybrid version with a white jersey. The hybrid source: J.M. Bobbing Head Restorations.

 

 

                                        

 

 

 

Chicago Black Hawks

 

The Chicago Black Hawks regular series mold doll is picture with its original mini.

 

 

                                          

Toronto Maple Leafs

 

The Toronto Maple Leafs regular series mold doll is pictured with its original correctly decaled mini, its original incorrectly decaled mini, and a hybrid version with a white jersey.  The hybrid source: J.M. Bobbing Head Restorations.

 

 

                                        

 

 

 

Boston Bruins

 

The Boston Bruins regular series mold doll is pictured with its original mini and a hybrid version with black hair, a white jersey and shoulder/arm stripes.  The hybrid source: J.M. Bobbing Head Restorations.

 

 

                                    

Montreal Canadiens

 

The Montreal Canadiens regular series mold doll is picture with its original mini.

 

 

                                            

 

New York Rangers

 

The New York Rangers regular series mold doll is pictured with a correctly colored and decaled lookalike mini, a correctly colored hybrid mini with white lettering and a differently colored hybrid with black hair. The correctly colored and decaled lookalike mini was created for my personal collection by J.M. Bobbing Head Restorations and is referred to as a “remake” of the original very hard to find mini. The correctly colored hybrid mini with the white “Rangers” painted across the chest was also created by J.M. Bobbing Head Restorations. The real hard to find mini is pictured below this photo along with my “remake” for comparison purposes. The differently colored hybrid with black hair was created by an artist from Indiana during the decade of the 1990s.  

 

 

                                  

My “remake” is the first picture, the “real” mini is pictured below it.

 

 

                                                                

 

 

 

Minor Leagues

 

Johnstown Jets

 

The Johnstown Jets regular series mold doll is pictured with a hybrid version that has light brown hair.

The hybrid source: J.M. Bobbing Head Restorations.

 

 

                                           

 

 

 

Saint Paul Rangers

 

The Saint Paul Rangers regular series mold doll is pictured with a hybrid version. 

The hybrid source: J.M. Bobbing Head Restorations.

 

 

                                         

 

 

Swedish National Team

 

Tre Kronor

 

The Tre Kronor doll (based on the High Skates Intermediate Mold) is pictured with a hybrid version.  

The hybrid source: J.M. Bobbing Head Restorations.

 

 

                                        

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledgements

 

My sincere thanks go out to Joe Marasco of J.M. Bobbing Head Restorations for his skill and ability in the design and creation of these “one of a kind” exclusives.  In creating some of these little brothers he has embellished the earlier design concepts of another artist as well as created new designs that are only his to claim. These little brothers would not be part of my collection without his tireless efforts.  

 

I would also like to thank Inside the Park Collectibles for the opportunity to write for their blog and contribute to the nodder segment of the collectibles hobby.

 

 My hope is that the reader has found this presentation interesting and informative. It was intended to highlight another facet of the nodder hobby that could appeal to both established and new collectors.