Big Wheel, Game Boy, Ball now in Toy Hall of Fame

The Strong National Museum in Rochester, NY has housed the National Toy Hall of Fame since 2002 when it outgrew its original location in Salem, Oregon. The National Toy Hall of Fame was established in 1998 and the 2009 inductees: the Big Wheel, the Game Boy and the ball, join some very notable toys that have been making children happy for many years.

The Big Wheel tricycle was launched at the 1969 Toy Fair in New York. Introduced by Louis Marx and Company in 1969, the Big Wheel was a very popular toy in the 1970s in the United States, partly because of its low cost and partly because consumer groups said it was a safer alternative to the traditional tricycle or bicycle.

The ball, surprisingly not awarded a place in the Toy Hall of Fame until now, is one of those classic toys we all take for granted. With multiple uses, the ball has been bounced, kicked, caught and thrown over the years. The Spanish were the first Europeans to see bouncing solid rubber balls which were used in the Mesoamerican ballgame. Balls used in various sports in other parts of the world prior to Columbus were made from other materials such as animal bladders or skins, stuffed with various materials.

The Gameboy, now inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame, is a household word for many children and even adults. Nintendo's Game Boy is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America on July 31, 1989, and in Europe on September 28, 1990.

The Game Boy was a tremendous success as The Game Boy and Game Boy Color combined have sold 118.69 million units worldwide. Upon its release in the United States, it sold its entire shipment of one million units within weeks.

Here are the complete list of all of the toys inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame:

Alphabet Blocks
Atari® 2600 Game System
Baby Doll
The Ball
Barbie®
Bicycle
Big Wheel®
Candy Land®
Cardboard Box
Checkers
Crayola® Crayons
Duncan® Yo-Yo
Easy Bake® Oven
Erector® Set
Etch A Sketch®
Frisbee®
G.I. Joe®
Hula Hoop®
Jack-in-the-Box
Jacks
Jigsaw Puzzle
Jump Rope
Kite
LEGO®
Lincoln Logs®
Lionel® Trains
Marbles
Monopoly®
Mr. Potato Head®
Nintendo Game Boy®
Play-Doh®
Radio Flyer® Wagon
Raggedy Ann and Andy™
Rocking Horse
Roller Skates
SCRABBLE®
Silly Putty®
Skateboard
Slinky®
Stick
Teddy Bear
Tinkertoy®
Tonka® Trucks
View-Master®

With so many great toys under one roof, the Toy Hall of Fame that is inside the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY might just be a fun family trip. Parents can head down memory land with the classic toys displayed.

See a great video about the Big Wheel from the early 1970's here.

Strong National Museum of Play: museumofplay.org

Cheryl Phillips
HULIQ.com

source: Wikipedia, museumofplay.org