Promotions

andrewkay · 08-17-2004, 07:04 AM

Does anyone have any idea when Major League teams started running giveaway promotions on a regular basis? I am creating a historical league, and would like to start promotions in about the same era/decade that teams started them regularly.

I'm pretty sure the old time owners way waaay too penny pinching to actually give the fans something for nothing!!

Thks.

disposableheros · 08-17-2004, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrewkay

Does anyone have any idea when Major League teams started running giveaway promotions on a regular basis? I am creating a historical league, and would like to start promotions in about the same era/decade that teams started them regularly.

I'm pretty sure the old time owners way waaay too penny pinching to actually give the fans something for nothing!!

Thks.

i dont have the link avail here at work, but will get it when i get home, but promos started with the invention of baseball as an organized fee-charged attraction. there had to be some way to get people to pay to check out this new thing. they werent exactly like we would imagine them today "retro-game" day, "thunderstick giveaway" day, but have been around just as long as the game. things like "ladies free" day, free food/souveniers/trinkets, "meet the players before the game" events and such.

Twelvefield · 08-17-2004, 03:45 PM

I seem to recall that the bobble-head just had a major anniversary. I don't remember the exact circumstances, but I did clip this article (and edit it) from the 'Net:

"There seems to be a bit of head-scratching when it comes to the origin of today's bobbleheads. Some experts, if there is such a thing, trace the dolls back to 19th Century, European "nodders," which featured a head with a long, weighted neck on a pin that balanced on the doll's body and gently nodded up and down or back and forth.

Others believe they were invented in China in the 1600s, as amusements that commemorated imperial dynasties.

Still others say they likely are descended from papier- mache "bobbinhead" dolls first created in the 1960s as gimmicks for Halloween and Christmas. The first baseball- player bobbinheads were created in Japan in 1961 and 1962 for the Swiss company Lego, and sold at U.S. ballparks for a buck or two, Kovel said.

The four original baseball bobble-heads were of Roberto Clemente, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Willie Mays. It's believed these also are among the rarest and most prized by collectors, worth upward of several hundred dollars, depending on the doll and what a collector will pay.

In 1999 the San Francisco Giants, which was going with a retro theme that season, approached Alexander Global Promotions about creating a bobblehead doll to give to the fans. The company made 35,000 Willie Mays dolls out of cold-cast ceramic for a giveaway day at a game against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Houston Rockets' Moochie Norris was the first bobblehead with hair, creator BD&A claims. Five-thousand dolls were created in 2002 for a giveaway at a game against the Phoenix Suns.

"And as the evolution of the bobble-head continues, we're continuing to look for new things to push the bobble-head envelope," he said."

Dan Theman · 08-17-2004, 04:12 PM

Being a Clevelander, I had to add 10¢ Beer Night on every June 4th for my team. Now that's what promotions are all about

sunnydoo · 08-17-2004, 04:14 PM

I knew the who when you asked. I just needed the when.

Answer: Bill Veeck started the Promotional ideas. He began the first stunts in 1946 with the Indians in the Majors. He had origianally started giving away promo items in the AA in Milky during WWII. Some of these included live animals.

andrewkay · 08-18-2004, 07:18 AM

Thanks for the info. This board is educational as well as entertaining!

(Personally I prefer the 10cent beer night to animals!)

jnshmoo · 08-18-2004, 08:10 AM

I'm disappointed LGO hasn't chimed in yet. He's always a wonderful source of information of anything historic.

08-17-2004, 07:04 AM	#1
andrewkay Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 70	Promotions Does anyone have any idea when Major League teams started running giveaway promotions on a regular basis? I am creating a historical league, and would like to start promotions in about the same era/decade that teams started them regularly. I'm pretty sure the old time owners way waaay too penny pinching to actually give the fans something for nothing!! Thks.

08-17-2004, 04:14 PM	#5
sunnydoo Minors (Double A) Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Tennessee/Colorado Posts: 103	I knew the who when you asked. I just needed the when. Answer: Bill Veeck started the Promotional ideas. He began the first stunts in 1946 with the Indians in the Majors. He had origianally started giving away promo items in the AA in Milky during WWII. Some of these included live animals. __________________ "Genius attracts genius, just as stupidity attracts stupidity. Wisdom is knowing the difference." "I am so confused!"-Vinny Barbarino Minneapolis Millers, NML 1935 Great North Division/Western Conference Champs Santo Domingo Admirals, PABF 2016 PABF CHAMPS!!! 2017 SE Division Keg Creek Coyote Uglies,POTD 2009 Appy WC

08-18-2004, 08:10 AM	#7
jnshmoo All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Not Here Posts: 1,226	I'm disappointed LGO hasn't chimed in yet. He's always a wonderful source of information of anything historic. __________________ Beer Snob and Baseball Sim Geek

08-17-2004, 03:45 PM	#3
Twelvefield All Star Starter Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 1,188	I seem to recall that the bobble-head just had a major anniversary. I don't remember the exact circumstances, but I did clip this article (and edit it) from the 'Net: "There seems to be a bit of head-scratching when it comes to the origin of today's bobbleheads. Some experts, if there is such a thing, trace the dolls back to 19th Century, European "nodders," which featured a head with a long, weighted neck on a pin that balanced on the doll's body and gently nodded up and down or back and forth. Others believe they were invented in China in the 1600s, as amusements that commemorated imperial dynasties. Still others say they likely are descended from papier- mache "bobbinhead" dolls first created in the 1960s as gimmicks for Halloween and Christmas. The first baseball- player bobbinheads were created in Japan in 1961 and 1962 for the Swiss company Lego, and sold at U.S. ballparks for a buck or two, Kovel said. The four original baseball bobble-heads were of Roberto Clemente, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Willie Mays. It's believed these also are among the rarest and most prized by collectors, worth upward of several hundred dollars, depending on the doll and what a collector will pay. In 1999 the San Francisco Giants, which was going with a retro theme that season, approached Alexander Global Promotions about creating a bobblehead doll to give to the fans. The company made 35,000 Willie Mays dolls out of cold-cast ceramic for a giveaway day at a game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Houston Rockets' Moochie Norris was the first bobblehead with hair, creator BD&A claims. Five-thousand dolls were created in 2002 for a giveaway at a game against the Phoenix Suns. "And as the evolution of the bobble-head continues, we're continuing to look for new things to push the bobble-head envelope," he said."

08-18-2004, 07:18 AM	#6
andrewkay Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 70	Thanks for the info. This board is educational as well as entertaining! (Personally I prefer the 10cent beer night to animals!)