Neal Broten Golden Gophers Bobblehead

 This had been towards the top of my want list for some time.  I always have said the hunt is whats addicting.  The more you hunt, the more you find (crazy, right)!  Having 2 little girls means I'm hunting less and less but try to find new avenues of how to hunt.  And then sometimes they just come to you.  I was able to buy this one from a fellow collector and a very reasonable price.  

As is typical, the more you hunt, the more you strike out too.  But at this point, striking out is irrelevent.  But completely worth it when you find something you've wanted for a while!  From pictures, I knew this one was pretty detailed, but seriously, the detail is amazing!!  

New Addition - Matt Dumba Red Deer Rebels Bobblehead

Another recent addition of mine, thanks to an awesome guy north of the border is this Matt Dumba SGA bobblehead!  It comes from the Red Deer Rebels (where Dumba played for a couple seasons) and was a giveaway in January.  Obviously since Matt plays for the Wild, this was a must have for my collection.  I'm so happy I was able to connect with a new Canadian friend.  

New Addition - Crash Bobblehead

Been a little busy lately (a 9 month old does that) so I haven't had a chance to share some of my recent additions.  Here's Crash, the mascot from the Iowa Wild.  I've been waiting for them to do one for a few seasons.  I had a tease about a year ago that it was most likely going to happen during the 2016-17 season.  It's a great looking bobble!

New Addition - Nick Leddy

The New York Islanders gave out 10,000 Nick Leddy bobbleheads back in February.  Being a local Minnesota kid as well as a former Gopher it was "easy" for me to add this one to my collection, even tho he's wearing an Islanders sweater.  I've contemplated getting another one and customizing it with Gopher colors, but we'll see.  I have a few other custom projects in the works right now.  

John Torchetti Bobblehead

 Below is the newest SGA Bobblehead from the Iowa Wild.  It's Coach John Torchetti, and even includes a "bobble-hand!"  It was limited to 1500 but since its a minor league giveaway it's not too desirable at this point.

Devan Dubnyk Bobblehead

I was torn on getting one of these Dubnyk bobbleheads.  They aren't from a MN affiliate and its from 2007 - well before anyone around here even knew of him.  I found one for a good price and figured, why not?  From what I can tell, this was a bit tougher to find as it was only given away to kids at a Stockton Thunder game back in 2007.

Gopher Hockey Bobbleheads - Memory Company Versions

I think this will be my last post for Gopher bobbleheads for a little bit.  I've added several others to my collection and want to get those posted soon!  These are 2 versions of Gopher hockey bobbleheads that the Memory Company did in the mid-2000s.  As you've seen the posts...Gopher hockey bobbleheads are pretty popular!

Goldy Bobbleheads - Gold Country Hockey Versions

These are 2 of my favorite Goldy bobbleheads.  You'll recognize one of them as being on the top of my want list for a long time.  The Goldy on the left is recognizing the 2002 National Champion hockey team while the one on the right is just like the previous Goldy, a Gold Country hockey version.  Both of these were produced and sold by Gold Country.  You'll see the National Champion version a bit more often, but the Gold Country hockey is extremely rare.

Goldy Bobbleheads - The Common 6

Here's a picture of the 6 most commonly seen Goldy bobbleheads. They were fairly easy to find a few years ago and still aren't uncommon, but more and more are damaged in one way or another.  There are 2 different baseball Goldy's.  The one in the white jersey was a giveaway at a baseball game with Hormel sponsoring it.  The other one, just like it's 4 counterparts are all part of the Rainbow Foods promotion.  You could find these on campus pretty easy when they were originally giveaways, and then later, you were able to buy them in Rainbow Foods stores.  I have seen both the wrestling Goldy as well as the basketball Goldy plaque-less.  I don't know the story behind those.  The hockey Goldy is the most valuable of the bunch and the wrestling Goldy is the one I see most commonly damaged. With his arms in front of him like they are, his fingers are often broken.

Check back soon for another variation of Goldy in bobblehead form!

Elk River Elks

Another high school mascot bobblehead!  This time, from the Elk River Elks hockey program. I believe this one is thru a booster club who supports the hockey team.  This is a pretty cool bobblehead, just like it's football counterpart.  They'll look good with my other small collection of high school bobbleheads.

What a journey...Goldy is mine!

Finally.  I've hit a few garage sales the past week.  Yesterday, was the best one ever.  Quality over quantity...its a great motto and for me, that's why I'm calling yesterday, the best garage sale find thus far.  This has been on my "Most Wanted List" for quite some time!  In that blog post I wrote that I didn't think it was super rare and not very expensive.  Since then I've seen 2 of these...both selling for north of $150.  I just couldn't bring myself to pay that.  If I didn't live in Minnesota, I might have pulled the proverbial trigger, but knowing that I basically live in Goldy's playground, I held out hope. That blog was 6 months ago and I had been looking for this specific Goldy for at least a year prior to that.  18 months is a long time to wait.  But wait no more.  As I strolled up to the sellers garage I immediately saw the bobbleheads displayed (about 15-20 of them).  Then, like a tractor beam my eyes focused on a yellow jersey Goldy hockey bobblehead.  Outside, it was no different than any other bobblehead.  However, inside, I was a giddy 3 year old sitting in front of cake, or better yet...my dog Murphy eyeing a piece of steak, drooling in anticipation for what's about to be his.

Finally, I can add this one to my collection.  University of Minnesota Golden Gophers Goldy Gold Country Hockey (Yellow Jersey) bobblehead.  Hell yes!

High School bobbles? Yes please!

I know there are a handful of Minnesota High School bobbleheads.  There has to be.  I haven't seen many, but since a couple schools have done them, I'm sure a few more have as well!  

I recently added a couple of these to my collection.  I don't know much about either.  The first is from Apple Valley.  I haven't really found any information on this one. The second is Elk River, I know it comes from their football booster club.  Their hockey program also did a bobblehead!  As always, if you know anything about either of these or know other High Schools who have made bobbleheads, please let me know!!  Much appreciated!

Former Gopher Bobblehead

I had heard of this bobblehead giveaway a couple months ago.  In that time I had to think about whether or not I was going to try to get one.  Kyle Okposo played for the Gophers and I figured, if I could find it for a decent price, I'd pick it up.  I searched for it a few different times on eBay and I never saw it for less than $50.  At that price and since he's wearing his Islanders jersey, I wasn't too interested.  I got lucky tho and emailed a New York seller to see if he was going to have any.  We made a deal and I had my bobblehead.

I believe this was a special giveaway.  First, season ticket holders had the chance to get them and then they sold special tickets (I'm guessing similar to that of the Sid Hartman bobbleheads that were given away last year a Twins game) that fans were able to purchase.

My most wanted bobblehead

I've been in the process of updating my want list, albeit very, very slowly.  I know the #1 position belongs to a Goldy Gopher hockey bobblehead.  Below is a picture.  I don't think its super rare and its not terribly expensive, but so far this one has completely avoided me.  It was a retail bobblehead sold at Gold Country (a store in Dinkytown) on the University of Minnesota campus.  If any of you happen to see this one, I'd be glad to trade for it or buy it outright.  I'll get a more in-depth want list on the blog sometime soon, but for now...I'd be super grateful if anyone contacted me about this one! Here's to hoping!

Perhaps another new section?

What do I do on a random Friday night while my wife is out of town enjoying a "girls weekend?"  Great question - I've been relaxing on the couch watching the Vikings game and playing catch with my dog, Murphy.  I've also been contemplating a new section on my blog and I'm not exactly sure how it'll work. So, before I get too far ahead of myself, I was hoping to get some input from YOU!

Would you, the reader, be interested in some sort of "want list" section.  This is where you'd send me pictures of the bobbleheads you are looking for, in hopes of making a trade with a fellow collector or a cash deal?  I'm not sure if I can have more than 1 slideshow, so it might just be a link on the sidebar.  Am thinking the name of the section might be something like "The Trading Block" I'd rather not go thru the trouble of setting this section up if there isn't much interest in it.

Since this is a "want list" post, I'll include a picture of one bobblehead I'm still looking for.  Let me know if you have one you'd trade/sell.

The Holy Grail of Gopher bobbleheads

I think my next several blog posts will consist of bobbleheads I don't know much about.  The story behind the bobblehead is just as intriguing to me as the bobblehead itself.  My first post in this series is what I consider to be the "Holy Grail" of Minnesota Golden Gopher bobbleheads.

The Neal Broten Gopher hockey bobblehead.  I've only seen it in pictures...and actually that shouldn't even be plural, I've only seen one picture of it, the one below.  If you happen to have any information on this bobblehead, please, please email me or leave a comment.  I'd love to learn more about it, when it was produced, if it was a giveaway or not and how many were produced.

Let's Play Hockey!

A couple of months ago I came across several bobbleheads I hadn't seen before.  After doing some research it appears, Let's Play Hockey produces a new bobblehead each year.  I believe the tradition started in 2006 so I have roughly half of the set.  Let's Play Hockey is a great source for hockey news, including high school, college and pro! I haven't been able to find much more information about these bobbleheads, but they are sturdy and have really nice detail.  If you know anything about these bobbleheads please let me know.