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The ball finally made it into the National Toy Hall of Fame. Yes, that ball – the ubiquitous round thing that comes in so many sizes and weights. It was found worthy of the Class of 2009 along with Game Boy and Big Wheel.
Original inductees (1998-99) to the Hall, part of Rochester, NY’s Strong National Museum of Play, include Barbie, the hula hoop, crayons, Lincoln logs, Monopoly and other old favorites. Somehow ball missed that first class – a class usually larger than future ones in order to catch up with the greats. Ball didn’t make it.
Stick didn’t either. Stick got in with the 2008 class. More injury – kite was a 2007 inductee. Adding insult to injury, cardboard box won a spot in 2005 – a full four years before ball.
After a year long campaign Raggedy Ann was a 2002 inductee. After 5 years she was joined by Raggedy Andy, yet Barbie still yearns for Ken.
Ball (and stick while we’re at it) are as basic as toys get – cross-cultural toys going back thousands of years – the Adam & Eve of toykind. As cultures became more sophisticated toys evolved to suit the tastes of the people, yet ball and stick remain fundamental to play despite the mankind’s advances.
On behalf of ball and stick I resent their shoddy treatment at the hands of the National Toy Hall of Fame.
http://www.museumofplay.org/nthof/inductees.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Toy_Hall_of_Fame
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