Western Illinois Leathernecks Bobblehead Unveiled for Back-to-School

This morning, to celebrate the start of the 2024-25 school year, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled an officially licensed Western Illinois Leathernecks Bobblehead featuring WIU’s mascot, Rocky the Bulldog. Rocky’s bobblehead will join the previously released bobbleheads featuring Western Illinois’ live mascots Colonel Rock III and IV.

Over the next two weeks, we are unveiling our back-to-school bobblehead collection, and we’re excited to have Western Illinois included. The officially licensed bobbleheads are being produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, an official licensee of Western Illinois University.

• The bobbleheads featuring Western Illinois’ mascot, Rocky the Bulldog, are now available in the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s Online Store at this link.
• The bobbleheads, which are expected to ship in October, are $35 each plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order.
• Each bobblehead is individually numbered to 2,024.
• Standing on a base that reads “Leathernecks” across the front with a backing featuring the Western Illinois logo, the Rocky the Bulldog bobblehead has his arms pointing to the sky wearing WIU football jersey.
• The bobblehead featuring Rocky the Bulldog joins previously released bobbleheads featuring Western Illinois’ live Bulldog mascots, Colonel Rock III and Colonel Rock IV.
• Western Illinois’ first live mascot made its first appearance on October 10th, 1959. The English Bulldog, which was purchased by the Student Government Association, was officially named Colonel Rock – in honor of former WIU coach and athletic director Ray “Rock” Hanson – following a contest in which more than 200 entries were received. Hanson, a former colonel, was responsible for bringing the Leathernecks nickname and the Marine tradition to Western Illinois. In 1973, with the retirement of Colonel Rock II (aka “Rocky”), a costumed version took over for the live bulldog mascot. Rocky was immortalized in the form of a 900-pound cement statue, which was unveiled on October 6th, 1971. Current live bulldog mascot Colonel Rock IV (aka “Ray”) took over mascot duties for the Leathernecks on June 7th, 2018, after the retirement of Colonel Rock III, who ended the school’s 37-year live mascot hiatus and served as the school mascot for eight years.
• “We’re excited to unveil this new Western Illinois Bobblehead in conjunction with the start of the new school year,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said. “This bobblehead will be the perfect way for Western Illinois fans, alumni, students, faculty, and staff to show off their school pride!”
• The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, which is located at 170 S. 1st. St. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, opened to the public on February 1st, 2019. The HOF and Museum also produces high quality, customized bobbleheads for retail sale as well as organizations, individuals, and teams across the country.