SUPERIOR — Curling enthusiasts will soon be able to set five-time Olympian John Shuster on their desks, bookcases or knick-knack shelves.
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum today unveiled a limited edition bobblehead of the Superior man, as well as a new bobblehead of his teammate,Matt Hamilton, who hails from McFarland.
Shuster led Team USA to the country’s first gold medal in curling at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and has competed in five straight Winter Olympics. He was chosen as one of two United States flag bearers for the opening ceremonies of the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, China.
Hamilton helped Team USA bring home a gold medal from the 2018 Winter Olympics, after helping Team Shuster win five straight must-win matches. Hamilton’s first bobblehead, which was released following the 2018 gold medal performance, was the first curling bobblehead ever produced and honored the first curling gold medal for Team USA in Olympics history.
“We released the first bobblehead of Matt in February of 2018. We contacted him on Twitter while he was still in South Korea, and he loved the idea and we made it happen quickly,” said Phil Sklar, co-founder and CEO of the Milwaukee-based museum. “We’ve received requests for bobbleheads of John since releasing Matt’s bobblehead, and Matt helped connect us with John to make his bobblehead a reality.”
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Shuster’s bobblehead features the skip on a red, white and blue oval-shaped base holding a broom in his left hand while celebrating his team’s victory.
The new version of Hamilton again features him in a rock-throwing pose, but it now incorporates his longer, shoulder-length hair, new tattoo and the multi-colored shoes that were all the rage at the 2022 games.
Both bobbleheads include removable gold medals. Each one is individually numbered to 2,022 and they are only available through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s online store. The toys are expected to ship in July.
“I’m sure some Duluth and Superior stores will carry the bobbleheads when they arrive. We don’t have any arrangements yet, but we will,” Sklar said.
Visit the website, bobbleheadhall.com , for more information.
