First Michigan vs. Michigan State Rivalry Bobblehead Unveiled Ahead of Saturday’s Game

Image courtesy of National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum

The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled the first Michigan Wolverines vs. Michigan State Spartans Football Rivalry Bobblehead ahead of Saturday night’s rivalry game. The officially licensed bobblehead features a replica of the Paul Bunyan Trophy and is being released in conjunction with the 118th meeting between the Wolverines and Spartans. The bobblehead is available exclusively from the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, an official licensee of the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.

More Details….

• The bobbleheads are now available exclusively in the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s Online Store at this link.
• The bobbleheads, which are expected to ship in April, are $50 each plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order.
• Each bobblehead will be individually numbered to 2,025.
• The bobblehead is being released in conjunction with the 118th meeting between the teams on Saturday, October 25th in East Lansing, Michigan.
• Standing side-by-side on a football field base that reads “WOLVERINES” in one end zone and “SPARTANS” in the other end zone, The vintage-style bobbleheads are wearing their respective school colors while giving the No. 1 signal and holding a football adorned with their school logo. Positioned in between the bobbleheads is a replica of the Paul Bunyan Trophy. The front of the base features the logos for each team.
• First played in 1898, the Michigan-Michigan State football rivalry has been played uninterrupted every year since 1945. Michigan holds a 73-38-5 advantage in the all-time series. However, since Michigan State’s admittance into the Big Ten Conference in 1950, the series is 40-32-2 in favor of Michigan.
• The Wolverines have won the last three meetings, including a 24-17 victory last season in Ann Arbor, but the Spartans have won 10 of the last 17 meetings. In the entire history of the rivalry, the game has never been contested anywhere besides Ann Arbor or East Lansing, and alternates between the two campuses. In 2023, the Big Ten announced the removal of the divisional format beginning with the 2024 season. The Michigan-MSU contest is one of 11 annually protected rivalry games under the conference’s new “Flex Protect Model.”
• The winner of each year’s game receives the Paul Bunyan – Governor of Michigan Trophy, or simply known as the Paul Bunyan Trophy. Representing Michigan’s history as a major lumber-producing state, it is a four-foot-tall wooden statue of Paul Bunyan, the giant lumberjack of American folklore, mounted on a five-foot base. The trophy was first presented by Michigan Governor G. Mennen Williams in 1953 to commemorate Michigan State’s first year of football competition in the Big Ten Conference.
• “We’re excited to unveil the first bobblehead commemorating the Michigan vs. Michigan State Rivalry ahead of tomorrow’s game in East Lansing,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said. “This bobblehead will be the perfect way for Michigan and MSU fans, alumni, students, faculty, and staff to show off their school and state 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.