This morning, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled an officially licensed, limited-edition Lone Star Beer Bobblehead and a pair of Mr. Boh National Bohemian Beer Bobbleheads to celebrate National Drink a Beer Day, which is on Saturday. The National Bohemian bobbleheads feature the one-eyed, handlebar-mustachioed mascot, Mr. Boh, the mascot of Baltimore’s beloved National Bohemian Beer while the Lone Star bobblehead features the Lone Star armadillo drinking a bottle of Lone Star beer. The new bobbleheads join the collection released earlier this month featuring Pabst Blue Ribbon, Blatz, and Schlitz. The bobbleheads are being produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, an official licensee of Pabst Brewing Company.
The first National Bohemian bobblehead features National Bohemian’s mascot, Mr. Boh, hoisting a can of beer with the National Bohemian label prominently displayed. The second bobblehead features the costumed version of Mr. Boh holding a bottle of National Bohemian Beer in one hand and a can in the other hand. Mr. Boh is standing on a circular base with the beer’s logo across the front. The Lone Star bobblehead features the armadillo laying on its back and holding a bottle of Lone Star with the Lone Star labels prominently displayed. Each bobblehead is individually numbered to 2,024, and they are only available through the National Bobblehead 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.
With a big cult following, National Bohemian beer, also known as “Natty Boh,” first began brewing in 1885 in Baltimore, Maryland. It was first brewed by the National Brewing Company but was eventually purchased by Pabst Brewing Company in 1999. Baltimore’s Hoffberger family acquired National Brewing Company in 1931. For a time, National’s president Jerold Hoffberger also owned the Baltimore Orioles. “Natty Boh” was served at Memorial Stadium and became the official beer of Baltimore in the late-1960s.
The company’s mascot, the one-eyed Mr. Boh, was introduced in 1936. There are several stories about why the mascot has only one eye. Most subscribe to the theory that “Gunther’s got it.” Gunther Beer was the top competitor for “Natty Boh” in the post-prohibition days. A popular joke asked, “What happened to Mr. Boh’s other eye?” to which the answer was “Gunther’s got it” (Gunther’s slogan). Mr. Boh has become an icon of the city. The citizens of Baltimore have fought to make Mr. Boh an unofficial spokesman for the city. He is a friendly-faced reminder to always keep an eye on what’s most important in life.
National Brewing Company is responsible for the way people drink beer today. When they rolled out six-packs of “Natty Boh” cans in the 1940s, they became the very brewer to dole beer out by the half dozen. For over 15 years, the famous Baltimore beer was not available on draft, only bottles and cans, but in February 2011, local taverns celebrated the ability to serve National Bohemian from a keg. While the beer is currently brewed under contract at the Molson Coors brewing facilities in Albany, Georgia, and Trenton, Ohio, nearly 90 percent of National Bohemian sales are in Baltimore.
Lone Star has endured and refreshed generations of Texans since Lone Star Brewery was built 140 years ago in 1884 and the new bobblehead celebrates the 140th anniversary for “The National Beer of Texas.” Associated with brand since the 1970s, the armadillo appears on most of Lone Star’s merchandise. Founded by Adolphus Busch of Anheuser-Busch in 1884 as the Alamo Brewing Company of San Antonio, the Lone Star Brewery was the first large, mechanized brewery in Texas. Now owned by Pabst Brewing Company, the beer is still marketed as “The National Beer of Texas.” Production of Lone Star is currently contracted to Miller Brewing Company in Fort Worth, Texas. Available in almost every state, roughly 80 percent of Lone Star’s sales are made within its home state.
In 1974, Lone Star Marketing Vice President Barry Sullivan took a trip to Armadillo World Headquarters, a since-shuttered Austin music hall and beer garden, to meet with its in-house artist, Jim Franklin. He asked Franklin to draw whatever he wanted, as long as it depicted a bottle of Lone Star and some nod to Texas culture. The result was an illustration of an armadillo running around a post-apocalyptic wasteland with Lone Star bottle necks sticking out of the sand. Sullivan left the Lone Star team to start his own business in 1977, but the armadillo would become the crux of Lone Star’s marketing.
For many years, Lone Star only produced two beers: its original lager and Lone Star Light. But in the spring of 2020, Lone Star launched Mexican-style lager Rio Jade as its first-ever seasonal release. A few months later, the brand rolled out Das Bier Y’all, a peach-flavored German-style kölsch. The brand also debuted High Desert Days, a wheat beer brewed with hibiscus and agave nectar in June 2021 as an ode to Texas’s Big Bend National Park. All three beers are part of Lone Star’s “Culture Series” with each release paying homage to a different region or aspect of Texas culture.
"We’re excited to unveil these bobbleheads celebrating National Bohemian and Lone Star in conjunction with National Drink a Beer Day,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said. “We think people will love these unique bobbleheads featuring two iconic beer brands.”
About the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum:
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, which is located at 170 S. 1st St. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, opened to the public
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