Bobbleheads immortalize ‘Alligator Robb’ and ‘Chance the Snapper

Written by: Dan Scanlon

Chance the alligator and trapper Frank Robb become bobbleheads as reptile now resides at St. Augustine’s Alligator Farm after somehow ending up in a Chicago park lagoon.

“Chance the Snapper,” arguably the nation’s most famous alligator after his rescue from a Chicago lagoon by a Florida-certified trapper, is adjusting to his new home at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park.

But if you can’t get to the farm’s alligator pond to see the creature or meet “Alligator Robb,” who trapped him early July 16 in a sprawling park west of the Windy City, $25 plus an $8 shipping charge will soon secure a Chance the Snapper bobblehead or one of the trapper holding his catch.

Chance was gently placed in his new home a week ago as seen in a video at bit.ly/2YlYIpr. Then late this week the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in Wisconsin announced pre-orders are being taken for two commemorative items. One will be trapper Frank Robb holding the gator with a danger sign on its base. The other will be Chance covered with water in the Humboldt Park Lagoon.

Robb and the alligator’s head will bobble, and $1 from every bobblehead sold will be donated to the Friends of Chicago Animal Care and Control.

“The Lord blessed me with the gift of working with Crocodilians, and the blessings he and the city of Chicago have provided me are beyond my comprehension,” Robb told the hall of fame.

Robb works for Florida Fish and Wildlife in Brevard County and has been capturing alligators for 24 years. He was asked to come to Chicago to trap Chance after reports of an alligator in a park lagoon began circulating in early July. Arriving July 14, he cased out the lagoon before capturing the gator with a fishing rod and line about 1:30 a.m., the hook latching onto Chance’s tail.

The catch made Robb an instant celebrity as he threw out the first pitch at a Chicago Cubs game, was interviewed by reporters in Chicago and across the world and even did the weather on WJXT TV-4.

The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum opened to the public on Feb. 1. For more information on the Chance and Robb bobbleheads, go to bobbleheadhall.com.