Sister Jean bobblehead goes into production in record-setting fashion By Lewis Lazare

By now, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt needs no introduction.

The sprightly 98-year-old chaplain and mascot of the Loyola University Chicago men’s basketball team is a global superstar who charmed the world week after week during the 2018 NCAA March Madness tournament.

With a beneficent and beaming Sister Jean looking on, the Loyola team stunned the world and ascended to the Final Four, only to be defeated by an aggressive University of Michigan team.

Whether or not Loyola makes it to March Madness next year, Sister Jean will not be forgotten.

Her image has been emblazoned on tens of thousands of tee-shirts, socks, scarves and other memorabilia. And soon thousands of her fans will be in possession of the Sister Jean bobblehead that the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame in Milwaukee said has just gone into production.

The final count on orders for the Sister Jean bobblehead stands at nearly 17,000, the Hall of Fame said April 13, as the organization debuted the final design. The Hall of Fame says the Sister Jean bobblehead is now by far the best-selling sports-related bobblehead of all time.

Each $25 Sister Jean bobblehead will be individually numbered, as the Hall of Fame aims to have them in the hands of customers in June.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each officially-licensed Sister Jean bobblehead will benefit the Loyola Athletic Fund and the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.