You might think that the bobblehead doll is a recent invention, but this favorite baseball stadium giveaway item actually dates back more than a century. In truth, no one really knows when the first bobblehead was created, but the history of this iconic toy goes back at least 150 years.

That is when Russian author Nikolai Gogal wrote a short story entitled “The Overcoat.” This classic work of Russian literature described a character with a wagging and flexible neck. This 1842 reference to what we now know as the bobblehead is a fascinating fact, but it would not be the last time these wonderful collectibles were celebrated in literature, stage and screen.

Germany was at the forefront of commercial bobbleheads. German toymakers created a number of cartoon animals with the familiar long flexible necks. These wonderful toys were an instant hit, and today they are favorites with collectors from around the world.

These classic German bobblehead toys featured heads that were connected by springs, and they were alternatively known as nodders and bobbers. It seems that the bobbers term ultimately won out, which is no doubt why we call the modern version by the bobblehead moniker.

The association of the bobblehead doll with professional sports is more recent but still very old. The first bobblehead sports figure is thought to date back to the 1920s, when a head-bobbing reproduction of a basketball player for the New York Knicks was produced and sold.

The popularity of the bobblehead as a sports collectible was revived in the 1960s, when a series of papier-mache bobblehead figurines were produced. While many of these early bobblehead dolls were cookie-cutter affairs, player-specific models were produced and sold to commemorate the 1960 World Series. Those iconic bobblehead dolls included baseball royalty like Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays. It goes without saying that these 1960 World Series bobblehead dolls are hot sellers on the sports collectibles market to this day.

By the 1970s, production had advanced enough that bobblehead dolls could be made with ceramic materials. Those advanced manufacturing techniques allowed bobbleheads to be produced for other sports, but it also made other types of bobblehead figurines popular.

Soon, bobbleheads were popping up everywhere and in a variety of different guises – from cartoon characters to funny animals. Many of these bobbleheads remain collectible today, but others were made in such quantities that there resale value is limited.

Those ceramic bobbleheads proved so popular that plastic versions followed in the 1990s and beyond. This reduced the cost of manufacture and made it possible for sports teams, civic organizations and others to give away bobbleheads to their fans and donors. To this day, the bobblehead remains one of the favorite giveaways at ballparks around the country, with many sports fans building sophisticated collections and even trading their favorites.