Like marble steps, snowballs, the Bromo Seltzer Tower and Old Bay Seasoning, Mr. Boh — that dashing, one-eyed, handlebar-mustachioed mascot of National Bohemian Beer — is a genuine Charm City symbol.
And now, the 88-year-old advertising icon – whose 27-foot-tall visage graces the top of the National Brewing Company building in East Baltimore’s Brewers Hill — is officially a bobblehead.
Today, Sept. 27, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled a pair of officially licensed, limited-edition Mr. Boh National Bohemian Beer Bobbleheads to celebrate tomorrow’s observance of “National Drink a Beer Day.” (Hey, ain’t that every day, hon?)
The bobbleheads are being produced exclusively by the hall of fame and museum, which is fittingly located in Milwaukee (a.k.a., “Brew City” because of its own long and storied beer brewing history).
The first bobblehead features Mr. Boh — who has never publicly confirmed reports that he’s engaged to the Utz Potato Chip girl — hoisting a can of National Bohemian. The second features a costumed version of Mr. Boh holding a bottle of National Bohemian in one hand and a can in the other.
Mr. Boh is standing on a circular base with the beer’s logo across the front. Each bobblehead is individually numbered to 2,024 and available exclusively through the hall of fame and museum’s Online Store.
The bobbleheads, which are expected to ship in January, are $30 each, plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order.
Better known in these parts as “Natty Boh,” National Bohemian first began brewing in 1885 in Baltimore. It was originally manufactured by the National Brewing Co., and Baltimore’s Hoffberger family acquired the company in 1931. Five years later, Mr. Boh was introduced as the company’s mascot.
Natty Boh was served at Memorial Stadium back in the days when Jerold C. “Jerry” Hoffberger owned the Orioles, and became the official beer of Baltimore in the late 1960s. In 1999, the company was purchased by the San Antonio, Texas-based Pabst Brewing Co.
While the beer is currently brewed at the Molson Coors brewing facilities in Albany, Georgia, and Trenton, Ohio, nearly 90 percent of Natty Boh sales are in Baltimore. Meanwhile, Mr. Boh’s image remains a ubiquitous sight in Charm City, on T-shirts, baseball caps, hoodies, coffee mugs, keychains, bowties, holiday ornaments, towels and boxer shorts.
“We’re excited to unveil these Mr. Boh bobbleheads to celebrate ‘National Drink a Beer Day,’” said Phil Sklar, co-founder and CEO of the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum. “With the help of the iconic Mr. Boh, ‘Natty Boh’ has embodied the spirit of Baltimore and the ‘Land of Pleasant Living’ for well over a century. We think people are going to love these new bobbleheads.”
Co-founded in February of 2019 by Sklar, a Jewish Illinois native, and his friend Brad Novak, the hall of fame is the world’s only museum dedicated to the celebration, display and manufacturing of bobbleheads. Its collection holds more than 10,000 unique bobbleheads, including some manufactured by Sklar and Novak.
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