The Hank Aaron Fan’s Guide to Bobbleheads By jasoncards
The bulk of my Hank Aaron collecting is confined to items from Hank’s playing days. However, I’ve made an exception for bobbleheads. What follows is what I believe to be a complete collection of Hank Aaron bobbleheads.
As a NEW feature, I’ve added a rating for how easy or difficult it is to find each bobblehead. Figures in parentheses correspond to numbers available and sold (last 90 days) on eBay as of August 25, 2017.
2002 Milwaukee Brewers/Wisconsin Woodchucks
- Issue date: July 27, 2002 (Wisconsin Woodchucks), August 11, 2002 (Milwaukee Brewers)
- Production: 10,500 (500 with Woodchucks and 10,000 with Brewers)
- Sponsors: Pick ‘n Save, Pepsi
- Manufacturer: BDA
- Uniform: Milwaukee Brewers home #44
- Pose: Standing with bat on shoulder
- Markings: 755 on bat, name on front of base, sponsors on back of base, various markings and stickers on bottom
- Other notes: Also packaged with Ben Sheets and Richie Sexson as part of a mail-in offer by Pepsi.
- Availability: Widely available (8/4)
- Price estimate: $30-40 NIB
- See box
2003 Greenville Braves
- Issue date: July 5, 2003
- Production: unknown
- Sponsors: Advance Auto Parts
- Manufacturer: AGP
- Uniform: Atlanta Braves road #44
- Pose: End of swing
- Markings: name on front of base, sponsor plaque atop base, Bobble Dobbles sticker on bottom
- Availability: Extremely tough (0/3)
- Price estimate: $60-80 NIB
- See box
- Search on eBay
2003 Atlanta Braves
- Issue date: September 19, 2003
- Production: 12,000
- Sponsors: Publix, Coca Cola
- Manufacturer: AGP
- Uniform: Atlanta Braves home #44
- Pose: End of swing
- Markings: name on front of base, sponsors on sides
- Availability: Widely available (10/5)
- Price estimate: $30-60 NIB
- See box
- Search on eBay
2010 Milwaukee Brewers
- Issue date: May 16, 2010
- Production: unknown
- Sponsors: Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board
- Manufacturer: BDA
- Uniform: Milwaukee Brewers home #44
- Pose: At bat
- Markings: name on front of base, “Wisconsin Cheese” plaque atop base, photo of Hank Aaron at bat behind bobble figure
- Other notes: Scheduled for reissue of 500 at March 21, 2011 Cactus League game; however game was canceled due to rain
- Availability: Widely available (19/8)
- Price estimate: $15-20 NIB
- See box
- Search on eBay
2012 Eau Claire Express
- Issue date: June 14, 2012
- Production: unknown
- Sponsors: Royal Credit Union
- Manufacturer: AGP
- Uniform: 1952 Eau Claire Bears home #6
- Pose: End of swing
- Markings: name on front of base, sponsor plaque atop base
- Other notes: Mini-bobble, 60th anniversary of Aaron’s minor league debut
- Availability: Very tough (0/0)
- Price estimate: $70-90 NIB
- See box
- Search on eBay
2013 Milwaukee Brewers
- Issue date: July 7, 2013 (regular season), March 3, 2014 (spring training)
- Production: All fans (39,677) at regular season game plus 2000 at spring training
- Sponsors: US Cellular
- Manufacturer: BDA
- Uniform: Milwaukee Braves home #44
- Pose: Standing holding bat
- Markings: name on front of base, 44 on bat (number of home runs), 31 on base (number of steals), sponsor on side of base
- Other notes: 50th anniversary of Aaron’s 40/30 season
- Availability: Widely available (10/17)
- Price estimate: $15-25 NIB
- See box
- Search on eBay
2014 Atlanta Braves
- Issue date: April 10, 2014
- Production: unknown
- Sponsors: Delta and Coca Cola
- Manufacturer: unknown
- Uniform: Atlanta Braves home #44
- Pose: End of swing
- Markings: “40th Anniversary #715” on front of base, sponsors on side of base, signature atop base
- Other notes: (approximate) 40th anniversary of Aaron’s 715th home run
- Availability: Widely available (5/17)
- Price estimate: $30-40 NIB
- See box
- Search on eBay
2016 Lakeshore Chinooks
- Issue date: June 4, 2016
- Production: 1,000
- Sponsors: Robert Haack Diamonds
- Manufacturer: AGP
- Uniform: Lakeshore Chinooks home #44
- Pose: Standing with bat on shoulder
- Markings: name on front of base, sponsor plaque atop base, 344 marker on outfield fence behind figure, crowned 755 on bat
- Other notes: Part of the “Outfield Wall” series with Paul Molitor, Jim Gantner, and Robin Yount; also note that publicity photos showed the Aaron bobblehead with gray hair.
- Availability: Moderate (7/2)
- Price estimate: $30-40 NIB
- See box
- Search on eBay
2016 Gwinnett Braves
- Issue date: July 16, 2016
- Production: 2,500
- Sponsors: Cool Ray
- Manufacturer: Success Promotions
- Uniform: Milwaukee Braves home #44
- Pose: Standing with bat on shoulder
- Markings: name on front of base, sponsor plaque atop base, “HOF 1982” on back of base
- Other notes:
- Availability: Moderate (4/0)
- Price estimate: $40-60 NIB
- See box
- Search on eBay
2017 Atlanta Braves
- Issue date: 2017 TBD
- Production: 1
- Sponsors: Atlanta Braves
- Manufacturer: unknown
- Uniform: Atlanta Braves home #44
- Pose: Standing with bat on shoulder
- Markings: name on front of base
- Other notes: About six feet tall; a fan may be able to win it at the end of the season
- Availability: Impossible (0/0)
- Price estimate: $20K or more
- See box
1975 Milwaukee Brewers
- Issue date: 1975 (often listed as 1974; however, Aaron did not become a Brewer until November 2, 1974, so this seems dubious)
- Production: unknown
- Distribution: Milwaukee County Stadium
- Manufacturer: Sports Specialty Corporation
- Uniform: Milwaukee Brewers home #44
- Pose: Standing with ball in right hand
- Markings: signature on front of base
- Other notes: The side of the box includes directions for ordering more “dolls” by writing to Milwaukee Brewer Promotions via Milwaukee County Stadium
- Availability: Widely available (13/4)
- Price estimate: $40-60 NIB
- See box
- Search on eBay
1994 SAM
- Issue date: 1994
- Production: 1,000
- Distribution: Retail
- Manufacturer: Sports Accessories and Memorabilia (SAM)
- Uniform: Atlanta Braves home #44
- Pose: Standing with bat
- Markings: “Henry Aaron 500 Homerun Club” on front of base
- Other notes: Issued as part of 500 HR club series; very poor resemblance to Hank Aaron, even for a bobblehead; my box shows a $69.95 price tag.
- Availability: Moderate (2/4)
- Price estimate: $50-80 NIB
- See box
- Search on eBay
2001 Alexander Global Promotions
- Issue date: 2001
- Production: 1,000
- Distribution: Retail
- Manufacturer: AGP
- Uniform: Milwaukee Braves home #44
- Pose: Standing with bat
- Markings: name on front of base
- Other notes: Distribution was mainly in the South; production is believed to be about one-third that of other “Bobble Dobbles” from that same year. A variation featuring a Hall of Fame plaque was distributed two years later by the Hank Aaron Automotive Group.
- Availability: Moderate (3/1)
- Price estimate: $50-70 NIB
- Search on eBay
2003 Hank Aaron Automotive Group
- Issue date: 2003
- Production: 50-75 estimated
- Distribution: Distributed at various Hank Aaron-owned car dealers in the Atlanta area. Please contact me if you have information on how these were made available to consumers.
- Manufacturer: AGP
- Uniform: Milwaukee Braves home #44
- Pose: Standing with bat
- Markings: name on front of base, National Baseball Hall of Fame plaque
- Other notes: Only the box (plain white) and the HOF plaque distinguish this bobblehead from the more common 2001 AGP.
- Availability: Extremely tough
- Price estimate: N/A
2013 Forever Collectibles
- Issue date: 2013
- Production: 2,013
- Distribution: Retail
- Manufacturer: Forever Collectibles
- Uniform: Atlanta Braves home #44
- Pose: End of swing
- Markings: name on front of base, “Atlanta Braves” and script lowercase “A” logo on base
- Other notes: Retail outlets, including Turner Field; part of “Legends of the Diamond” series
- Availability: Fairly tough (0/2)
- Price estimate: $70-90 NIB
- See box
- Search on eBay
2014 Forever Collectibles
- Issue date: 2014
- Production: 360
- Distribution: Retail (Turner Field)
- Manufacturer: Forever Collectibles
- Uniform: Atlanta Braves home #44
- Pose: End of swing
- Markings: “40th Anniversary,” “715,” and signature on plaque; large “715” on base
- Other notes: April 2014 “Bobble of the Month” at Turner Field
- Availability: Fairly tough (0/1)
- Price estimate: $70-90 NIB
- See box
- Search on eBay
2017 Atlanta Braves “A-List”
- Issue date: September 2017
- Production: 1512 (63 cases of 24)
- Distribution: Available to “A List” season ticket holders only, though the logistics of notification/distribution were something of a cluster
- Manufacturer: unknown
- Uniform: Milwaukee Braves home uniform #5
- Pose: Standing, leaning on bat
- Markings: Name on front of base, “1954 Rookie” on back of base
- Other notes: Braves A-list members voted among various Braves all-time greats (Hank Aaron, Phil Niekro, Chipper Jones, Warren Spahn, Dale Murphy); A-list “memory points” used to purchase bobblehead
- Availability: Moderate at the moment; however, I suspect availability will be short-lived.