Kent Hrbek Carrier Outdoors ALS Bobblehead

I’ve been doing research on this bobblehead for quite some time.  The blogs and message boards I have read have had some information about it, but I always run into some type of roadblock.  People always talk about how cool the bobblehead is.  The lucky ones who own it post pictures, but the story behind the bobblehead has never been shared.  It’s more of a dead end than a roadblock!  And as you know, part of my passion is the story that accompanies the bobblehead.  I’ve had several great stories but this might be my best.  After exhausting all resources of research (at least the ones that I could come up with or google) I went looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack. 

Much to my surprise, I found the needle.  And honestly – growing up on a farm, I’ve played in plenty of haystacks and finding a baseball much less a needle is incredibly difficult.  So I’m chalking this one up to pure luck and maybe a bit of resilience on my part. 

I got in touch with a great person at Stay Comfy MN.  Click the link to be redirected to their website.  I was able to ask several questions and learn more about the history of this unique bobblehead.  Here’s the story!

Kent Hrbek has been the spokesman for Minnesota Air &Carrier since 1985.  Minnesota Air & Carrier was the guest of honor at the 2007 ALS Gala.  (Click the following link to learn about about the Minnesota Chapter of the ALS Association or here to learn more about ALS in general)  In preparation for the event, Minnesota Air & Carrier approached Hrbek about doing a cross promotional item (between them and Hrbek’s TV Show “Kent Hrbek Outdoors”).  Hrbek loved the idea of a bobblehead and with the cross promotion theme it was designed as such and shows the relationship between Hrbek, Minnesota Air, Carrier and the TV show.  The Minnesota Twins also lent a helping hand in the bobblehead process.  Obviously they had years of experience with bobbleheads and their help was greatly appreciated by Minnesota Air and Carrier as well as Kent Hrbek Outdoors.  The bobbleheads were displayed on the tables at the ALS Gala and not surprisingly with the exceptional design and cross promotional features, tons of people made positive remarks about them!  People can still enjoy these bobbleheads today as some Carrier Dealers have them displayed in their showrooms along with other Kent Hrbek memorabilia. 

This is easily one of the most unique bobbleheads in Minnesota.  I see other teams (San Francisco Giants) do pretty cool designs for their bobblehead giveaways, but this Hrbek Outdoors bobblehead is probably my all-time favorite.  Check it out for yourself!