Modern bobbleheads debuted in the mid-1950s and by the end of that decade major league basketball had fully adopted the concept. The first of MLB's bobbleheads were papier-mache dolls, nearly indistinguishable from one another. The face of each of these early bobbleheads bore the same angelic features. A bobblehead was produced for each team, rather than any particular player, and the small team uniform was the only way to tell them apart.

MLB Bobbleheads

Robinson Cano Qman Mlb Nyy 7 Bobblehead Super Value

Price: $24.99    

Nolan Ryan Yogi Berra 2002 Mlb Hof Coppertowns Collectors Edition Bobble Heads

Price: $9.99    

Willie Wilson Kansas City Royals Mlb Baseball Bobblehead New In Box Bobble Head

Price: $15.00    

Play Makers Sammy Sosa 2001 Mlb Edition Bobblehead And Collectible Card

Price: $6.00    

Barry Bonds Bobble Head 2002 Upper Deck Mini Playmakers Nib Mlb Sf Giants

Price: $.95    

2001 Mlb Edition Derek Jeter Bobble Head

Price: $8.00    

2001 Mlb Edition Pedro Martinez Bobble Head

Price: $8.00    

Ben Sheets Milwaukee Brewers Mini Baseball Bobblehead 2004 Vintage Mlb New

Price: $34.99    

Damian Miller Milwaukee Brewers Mini Baseball Bobblehead 2005 Vintage Mlb New

Price: $34.99    

Don Sutton 1982 Retro Brewers Hof Mini Baseball Bobblehead 2007 Vtg Dodgers Mlb

Price: $34.99    

Brady Clark Milwaukee Brewers Mini Baseball Bobblehead 2006 Vintage Mlb Sga

Price: $34.99    

Rickie Weeks 23 Milwaukee Brewers Mini Baseball Bobblehead 2006 Vtg Mlb

Price: $19.99    

Richie Sexson Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Bobblehead Pepsi Vtg 2002 Mlb Sga Mint

Price: $48.99    

2003 Mlb Upper Deck Barry Bonds Bobble Head Nip Unopened Ny Giants

Price: $19.99    

Roger Clemens Mlb Lot All Star Bobblehead Houston Astros Majestic Jersey Youth S

Price: $22.00    

For the 1960 World Series, major league baseball released bobbleheads featuring player-specific uniforms. Bobbleheads were created for Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, and Roger Maris, though all four shared the same face. The papier-mache construction of these dolls made the bobbleheads quite fragile and, unfortunately, quite destructible as well. Very few of the 1960s bobbleheads survive today.

By the early 1970s a new generation of bobblehead dolls, this time constructed with ceramic materials, gained in popularity. The bobblehead tradition expanded beyond baseball into other sports and into the realm of popular culture. Cartoon characters and popular musicians became the inspiration for new bobbleheads. For instance, a Beatles bobblehead set released in this era become quite iconic and maintains its popularity (and value) to this day.

In baseball, however, bobbleheads waned in popularity due to the production costs associated with ceramic materials. By 1980, neither Major League Baseball nor any individual baseball teams were producing the bobbleheads. For nearly two decades it seemed as though the bobblehead might be consigned to drift quietly into the pages of history.

Basic economics once again brought the bobblehead back to prominence. By the 1990s new production methods enabled producers to substitute plastic for the costly and fragile ceramic that had been previously used. Costs plummeted and plastic bobbleheads became cost efficient to mass produce.

Willie Mays Bobbleheads

San Francisco Giants Willie Mays 1999 Bobblehead

Price: $75.00    

Sf Giants Willie Mays Sga Bobblehead

Price: $59.99    

San Francisco Giants Hofer Willie Mays 1999 Chronicle Sga Bobblehead

Price: $89.99    

Willie Mays Sf Giants 80th Birthday Statue Replica Bobblehead 2 Party Hats Sga

Price: $36.50    

Willie Mays 2010 Sf Giants Bobble Bobblehead Sga

Price: $79.95    

San Francisco Giants Willie Mays Bobblehead Bobble Sga

Price: $79.99    

San Francisco Giants Willie Mays Thomson Bobblehead Tix

Price: $69.99    

Willie Mickey And The Duke Bobble Bobbleheads Mays Mantle Snider Set Lot Sga

Price: $209.95    

Sf Giants Willie Mays Bobblehead Sga 5 16 Nib

Price: $49.99    

Perhaps the watershed moment in bobblehead history occurred in 1999 when the San Francisco Giants distributed over 30,000 Willie Mays bobbleheads to ticket holders during a regular season game. The Willie Mays bobblehead, with its unique Mays-inspired facial features, became a surprise hit. Other teams took notice and the renaissance of the bobblehead had begun.