New Bobblehead Doll Created for #16 Seed Fairleigh-Dickinson University Cinderella Basketball Team

BY JEFF GARRETT STAFF WRITER

FLORHAM PARK - Ask the most mad sports fans around who collect memorabilia for their favorite players, teams and leagues just how many bobblehead dolls exist in their collection and you’ll probably find more they own more than a few. Now there’s a bobblehead for fans of the Fairleigh Dickinson University Knights. It was created for the men’s basketball team after their unpredicted first round 63-58 upset of #1 seed Purdue University on Mar. 17 in the NCAA Division I basketball tournament. The Knights’ victory went down as the biggest upset in NCAA men’s tournament history and just the second time a #16-seed took out a #1 seed. The soonto-be-finished Knights bobblehead created by Phil Sklar Co-Founder of the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame & Museum in Milwaukee, Wis., takes a spot next to the University of Maryland – Baltimore

Bobblehead for FDU Basketball is a first in school’s history

County (UMBC) bobblehead created in 2018, after that #16-seeded team defeated the #1 seeded University of Virginia in the Men’s NCAA Tournament. Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City had a similar one made in 2022 after their firstround historic upset as a #15 seed over #2 seed, Kentucky.

Surely it’s a collector’s item which many FDU sports fans will want to have. Sklar’s seen his creations take off before.

“We are excited to unveil the Fairliegh Dickinson bobblehead following FDU’s incredible upset victory that captivated fans everywhere,” said Sklar. “This is something unique, something memorable.”

“This victory will be talked about for a long time and now fans, students, alumni, faculty and staff will have a bobblehead to commemorate this historic accomplishment.”

Sklar started collecting bobbleheads in the 1990’s and partnered with another collector in 2003 from his hometown of Rockford, Ill., before opening the National Bobblehead Collector’s Museum in Milwaukee in 2015.

The owners estimate they’ve got about 3000 bobbleheads at the Hall. To make the Knights’ one, they approached FDU for a license which they got before getting to work on the colorful figurine.

“It’s made of resin and a high-quality ceramic,” says Sklar, as are all of the bobbleheads he creates. “Each of them are numbered, cost $30.00 plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8.00 and are currently available for pre-ordering at http://www.store. bobbleheadhall.com/products/ fairlieghdickinson.com. Eventually, they’ll be for sale at the FDU bookstores; the bobbleheads themselves will be ready by July 2023.

“These bobbleheads make great gifts for hardcore fans to regular fans. These are great gifts for faculty, staff, students and college basketball fans in general,” he added, which is 8 in. tall with detail right down to a school-colored headband around the ceramic player.

The Bobblehead Hall of Fame creates bobbleheads of pro and collegiate sports teams and players as well as pop culture stars. Eight years ago, they polled folks as to whether or not Pete Rose, flagged from entering the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame for betting on baseball as coach of the Cincinnati Reds, should have a bobblehead created. An overwhelming majority of 94% favored the Rose bobblehead and so the green light appeared for its creation.

Sklar thinks the FDU bobblehead will take off similarly to the way the UMBC and Saint Peter’s ones did. Its creation in and of itself is a first for Fairliegh Dickinson, which should have its basketball play- ers, coaches and fans excited as the school joins a heralded small growing lot of schools in this unique category of sports collectible.