The Newark Eagles are one of 15 teams included in a Kickstarter Campaign launched by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museumand Dreams Fulfilled to create a series of officially licensed, limited edition vintage Negro Leagues bobbleheads. The campaign reached the goal within 24 hours of launching and is now approaching double the initial target, enabling the bobbleheads to be purchased individually. Starting in 1960, generic bobbleheads featuring every MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA team were produced and quickly became popular collectibles. However, vintage bobbleheads of the Negro Leagues teams have never been produced…until now!
This bobblehead series was launched to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the Negro National League and features 10 Negro Leagues teams with five teams being added if the campaign reaches the $15,000 mark. The Campaign is part of the Make 100 initiative for projects launched in January, where Kickstarter “asks the creator community to bring 100 of any work into the world and invites backers to support the one-of-a-kind—or at least one of 100—ideas”. The Campaign also coincides with Black History Month and the start of baseball season, and it will conclude at 9pm Central Time on Friday, February 29th.
Only 100 of each gold-based bobblehead is being produced, with the bobbleheads available as a set of 10 for a contribution of $250 plus shipping or a set of 15 for a contribution of $350 plus shipping. Each bobblehead will be individually numbered to only 100 and come in a collector’s box. Prototypes of the 10 bobbleheads have been produced and the bobbleheads have gone into production. If all sets aren’t sold through the Kickstarter Campaign, backers can secure them individually for a contribution of $30 plus shipping. If all sets are sold through the Kickstarter, backers will receive green-base bobbleheads that will not be individually numbered.
The bobbleheads are officially licensed by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and are being produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in conjunction with Dreams Fulfilled and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each Negro Leagues bobblehead will go to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum located in Kansas City, Missouri.
Abe Manley built the Newark Eagles by merging two underperforming Negro League teams, the Newark Bears (acquired in 1933) and the Brooklyn Eagles in 1935. In 1935, Manley met the Effa Brooks at a New York Yankees game and soon after married. As husband and wife, Abe and Effa Manley ran the Newark Eagles with Effa handling marketing and operations, including scheduling and negotiating player contracts. As the Negro League collapsed due to integration and the subsequent loss of star players, the Manleys sold the Eagles in 1948. The team became the Houston Eagles (1949-1950) and the New Orleans Eagles (1951) before dissolving.
This campaign follows the Negro Leagues Centennial Bobblehead Series Kickstarter Campaign that concluded in January 2019 with nearly 750 backers pledging over $75,000 to make that project a reality. All 38 bobbleheads that were part of the initial Kickstarter campaign were produced, with the final bobbleheads shipped to Kickstarter Backers ahead of the projected February 2020 timeline. The Centennial Series bobbleheads can be purchased at a discounted rate of $25 through the new Kickstarter Campaign.
The initial ten teams included in the series are the Baltimore Elite Giants, Birmingham Black Barons, Detroit Stars, Hilldale Club, Homestead Grays, Indianapolis Clowns, Kansas City Monarchs, Newark Eagles, Pittsburgh Crawfords and St. Louis Stars. The five additional bobbleheads are the Kansas City Monarchs (Road Jersey), New York Black Yankees, Philadelphia Stars, New York Cubans and Chicago American Giants.
“Our goal is to produce bobbleheads that celebrate and commemorate the Negro Leagues while educating current and future generations about the League and its players, and we think bobbleheads are the perfect way to do that.” said Phil Sklar, Co-Founder and CEO of the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum. “Museum visitors love seeing the vintage bobbleheads and we thought it was time for the Negro Leagues teams to be honored with a series of its own.”
