the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled the first Savannah Bananas Bobblehead. The officially licensed, limited-edition bobblehead features Split, the mascot of the Savannah Bananas. The special edition bobblehead is being produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, an official licensee of the Savannah Bananas.
Standing on a banana-shaped base bearing his name with the Savannah Bananas’ logo, the Split bobblehead, sporting his trademark sunglasses, has his arms outstretched and is wearing a yellow #0 jersey with a cape. The bobbleheads, which will be individually numbered, are only available through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s Online Store. They are expected to ship in October and cost $30 each plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order.
Founded in 2016, the Savannah Bananas have been heralded as the “World Famous Baseball Circus,” “The Greatest Show in Sports” and “the Harlem Globetrotters of Baseball”, have been featured by ESPN, The Wall Street Journal and Sports Illustrated because of their on-field antics and viral videos. According to the team website: “What makes us different? We are not your typical baseball team. We are different. We take chances. We toe the line. We test the rules. We challenge the way things are supposed to be.” The Bananas implemented some deviations from standard baseball rules, otherwise known as “Banana Ball” – the fastest and most entertaining game of baseball.
Until 2022, the Bananas competed in the Coastal Plain League’s West Division, where they won three Petitt Cup championships. The Bananas were named the league’s organization of the year in 2016 and 2017. The team, which plays its home games at Grayson Stadium, has sold out every game since the first game in Savannah and every city on the Banana Ball World Tour. An ESPN+ miniseries about the team called “Bananaland” was released in August 2022.
In early April of 2016, Split was announced as the name of the Savannah Bananas mascot after the team received 1,200 suggestions in a “Name the Mascot” contest. Jennifer Terry from Norman Park, Georgia, was the first fan to submit Split on the morning the contest was announced and was declared the winner. “Split was by far the most popular name suggested in our contest and we feel it is the perfect fit for our Bananas mascot,” team president Jared Orton said. Standing 7 feet tall, Split is the World’s Largest Banana and the most physically fit with six-pack abs and giant biceps. According to Orton, Split is the “King of Potassium.”
“We’re excited to be offering the first Savannah Bananas bobblehead for all of the Bananas’ fans across the country,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said. “Bobblehead and baseball are a perfect combination, and we know fans of the Savannah Bananas are going to love this new bobblehead.”
“The first ever Bananas bobblehead will be our iconic mascot, Split, and I can’t think of a better way to introduce our King of Potassium to the world!” said Jared Orton.
