America names its official Bob L. Head
While most zany promotions and giveaways have their shelf life (ahem, beanie babies), bobbleheads seem to have imprinted their mark on the game along with caps, Cracker Jacks, baseball cards and overpriced light beer.
"It's tough to say what makes bobbleheads so popular," said Ben Hoel, director of ticket sales for the Portland Beavers. "I've been in this for eight years. Sometimes you see some niche giveaways come and go. When the bobbleheads first came out, I don't know, maybe 15 years ago -- I'm just guessing -- it's always stuck and been a popular draw."
It should come as no surprise, then, that teams are always looking for the next great bobblehead, something that will bring fans in droves to the ballpark.
For Ben Hoel, his new bobblehead idea had been years in the making.
When Hoel was working in the Frontier League several years ago, his team had an Alan Benes bobblehead giveaway during which he met a man by the name of Bob L. Head from Evansville, Ind. It was too good to be true. They flashed his name up on the scoreboard, and the fans got a kick out of it.
Hoel tossed around the idea of an official Bob L. Head Night.
"It would be kind of funny and cool doing a Bob L. Head [Night]," said Hoel. "I did some research and found out that it wasn't actually that uncommon of a name."
After a few years of wrestling with the wacky promotion and an organization change to the Portland Beavers, Hoel finally went through with the Bob L. Head Bobblehead Night. Ripper Hatch, VP of marketing for the Beavers, suggested they make it a national search for the official Bob L. Head of the United States.
So the Beavers went through the phone book and sent out a letter to about 15 Bob L. Heads asking them to submit an essay on why they think they should be the official Bob L. Head and have a bobblehead designed in their honor.
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Robert Leroy Head grew up a farm boy in Iowa, where he would later go on to become a car mechanic with his own dealership. Now, he's retired with three children and six grandchildren in Maquoketa, Iowa. He spends his time working on his small farm and fixing things for himself and his kids. He's also a chaplain for the Jackson County hospice and a deacon in his church.
"I think I'm busier than I ever have been since I retired," chuckled Mr. Head.
Little did Mr. Head know, his life would get even busier.
On a February afternoon, Mr. Head opened his mail in Maquoketa and, to his surprise, received a letter from the Portland Beavers. It asked him if he was interested in becoming the official Bob L. Head of the United States and having a bobblehead created in his honor. If he was, he should send an essay to the Beavers, convincing them why he would be the best Bob L. Head.
"I thought it was a joke at first," said Head.
Of course, then there was the realization that his name, when put together as Bob L. Head, sounded like bobblehead.
"You see my name is Robert Leroy Head, and I always put the L with the Robert," said Head. "I never put the L with the Bob. There's a lot of people who know me by Bob, who probably don't even know that my middle initial is L."
After some thinking and confirming that the contest wasn't a joke, Mr. Head decided he would write the essay. Why not? It would be a neat experience.
"I thought it was a fun thing to do," said Head. "I knew that baseball was a family thing, and I'm a family-orientated man, and so I thought that would be a good thing to do."
In his essay, Mr. Head wrote about some of his experiences in baseball like the time in elementary school when he pitched his team to second place. He also talked about his decision to become a T-ball coach, so his daughter could play the game. At the time, girls were not allowed to participate in baseball.
He also made the case that he had a talented arm with a versatile arsenal.
"The Portland Beavers are a farm team, and I knew I was an Iowa farm boy," said Head. "I told them I could pitch hay and I could pitch manure; I thought I could pitch a baseball."
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As the essays came into PGE Park in Portland from America's Bob L. Heads, the Beavers narrowed the field of candidates down to three. Then, in true democratic fashion, they would let America decide the official Bob L. Head of the United States via an online vote.
Bob Leroy Head was one of them. The two others were Bob Louis Head from Vallejo, Calif., and Bob Lee Head of Evansville, Ind.
"I was pretty excited," said Bob Leroy. "I thought that when I sent in the essay that that might be the last I hear of it, but when I found out I was in the running, I was pretty excited. My children all got behind me, and we decided we'd do the best job we could."
The Beavers expected to get around 1,000 votes. They got 30,000.
"I think we got the media involved, and it made a good story," said Bob Leroy. "I think the word got out. It's just been kind of nonstop ever since."
Bob Leroy Head won America's heart, getting 51 percent of the vote. Along with his new title of the official Bob L. Head of the United States, he got to throw out the first pitch for the Beavers on Aug. 18, the same date that the first 2,000 fans in attendance received his bobblehead.
The night was one to remember.
"It was great," said Hoel. "We had lines of people lined up at the gate to get in. We brought all three of the Bobs in because they were all really good guys about it. There was a little pre-game introduction of all three of them, and Bob Leroy threw out his first pitch."
"The fans were great," added Bob Leroy. "I mingled with the fans, I signed cards, I signed bobbleheads, I talked to them, they all welcomed me to Oregon. It was a great time talking to the fans."
The newly crowned Bob L. Head also proved he was worthy of the title. With little practice and his children, grandchildren, extended family and friends in attendance, Bob Leroy sailed his first pitch right in there for a strike.
"It's something I've never done before, and it was pretty exciting and it went pretty well," said Bob Leroy. "And guess what? I threw in a pretty good pitch. It surprised me, it surprised the fans, and it surprised the catcher."
The Beavers, according to Mr. Head, have yet to offer him a pitching contract.
As for the future, the official Bob L. Head isn't showing any signs of slowing down or taking his position lightly. He and his wife decided to turn the whole promotion into community work to raise money for the hospice house where Bob Leroy serves as chaplain.
"We decided we would try to do some good for hospice because I'm the hospice chaplain in Jackson County here in Maquoketa," said Bob Leroy. "The hospice of Jackson County right now is trying to build a hospice house. So, we're taking this bobblehead promotion, and we're trying to turn it into a fund-raising campaign for our hospice house."
Recently, the real Bob L. Head held a signing campaign at the local bank in Maquoketa. In two days, they raised $9,168.
Bob Leroy says he plans to make other appearances at ballparks across the nation to not only fulfill his role as the official Bob L. Head, but to also raise money for the construction of the new Jackson County Hospice House. He has already visited the Swing of Quad Cities, where he threw out the first pitch.
With the celebrity status growing, Bob L. Head remains that humble farm boy from Iowa. He's just happy to be making a difference as America's official Bob L. Head.
"I still think I'm just plain old Bob," said Mr. Head. "I'm happy to be able to be in a position to raise some money for this hospice house. That makes me feel good ,and I think it makes a lot of other people feel good also."
For more information on how you can help out the Hospice of Jackson County and get an official Bob L. Head bobblehead, T-shirt and signed baseball, visit www.hospiceofjacksoncounty.com.
Evan Mohl is an associate reporter for MLB.com.