First Minnesota vs. Wisconsin Football Rivalry Bobblehead Unveiled Ahead of 135th Meeting

This morning, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled the first Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Wisconsin Badgers Football Rivalry Bobblehead ahead of the rivalry game on Saturday in Minneapolis. The limited edition bobblehead features Minnesota’s mascot Goldy Gopher and Wisconsin’s mascot Bucky Badger holding Paul Bunyan’s Axe and commemorates the longtime football rivalry, which is better known as the battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe.

The bobblehead is being released in celebration of the 135th meeting between the teams which is on Saturday, November 29th at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The Minnesota-Wisconsin football rivalry, which started in 1890, is the longest continuously played rivalry in Division I FBS, with an uninterrupted streak of 118 games through the 2024 season. Making the border battle even more interesting is that the all-time series is tied, 63-63-8. The bobblehead is available exclusively from the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, an official licensee of the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin.

• The bobbleheads are now available in the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s Online Store at this link.
• The bobbleheads, which are expected to ship in May, are $50 each plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order.
• Each bobblehead will be individually numbered to 2,025.
• The bobblehead is being released in conjunction with the 135th meeting between the teams on Saturday, November 29th at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
• Standing side-by-side on a football field base that reads “MINNESOTA VS WISCONSIN” across the front in maroon and red, Minnesota mascot Goldy Gopher and Wisconsin mascot Bucky Badger are wearing their respective school colors while giving the No. 1 signal and holding a replica of Paul Bunyan’s Axe.
• The Minnesota-Wisconsin football rivalry, which started in 1890, is the longest continuously played rivalry in Division I FBS, with an uninterrupted streak of 118 games through the 2024 season. The winner of the game receives Paul Bunyan’s Axe, a tradition that started in 1948 after the first trophy, the Slab of Bacon, disappeared after the 1943 game when the Badgers were supposed to turn it over to the Golden Gophers.
• Making the border battle even more interesting is that the all-time series is tied, 63-63-8. Minnesota won the 2024 matchup in Madison, 24-7, and has won three of the last four meetings. Wisconsin won 14 games in a row in the series from 2004 to 2017. From 1933 to 1982, it was traditionally the final game of the regular season for both schools. It has resumed being a season finale as of 2014, following the Big Ten’s new divisional alignment and schedule for the final weekend of conference play.
• “We’re excited to unveil this limited-edition Minnesota vs. Wisconsin Football Rivalry Bobblehead featuring Paul Bunyan’s Axe ahead of the 2025 matchup in Minneapolis,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said. “This bobblehead will be the perfect way for Minnesota and Wisconsin fans, alumni, students, faculty, and staff to show off their school and state pride!”
• The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, which is located at 170 S. 1st St. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, opened to the public on February 1st, 2019. The HOF and Museum also produces high quality, customized bobbleheads for retail sale as well as organizations, individuals, and teams across the country.