We had this thing in the 80’s, call it an odd obsession, but we really wanted to gross people out in a fun way. Seriously, there was slime, and creature creation machines, and Boglins (which we will discuss in a later post), and of course Garbage Pail Kids (which we will discuss in a later post), and then there were these wonderfully odd toys. I have often sat and tried to figure out the idea behind these and why we liked them so much but all I ever come up with is “We just did”.
Madballs! Balls with crazy creature faces on them, roughly the size of a baseball.
Let’s take a look at the history of these bad boy toys.
They came from AmToys back in 1985. American Greeting, who AmToys was a subsidiary of, created greeting cards, mostly. Sure, they also gave us Care Bears, which makes sense since, you know, greeting cards, feelings, caring and Bear rhymes with care right? But how did a greeting card company find its way to Madballs? Well, the phenomenon of Garbage Pail kids played a large part.
We will do a deep dive on Garbage Pail Kids in another post but understand that these were trading cards parodying Cabbage Patch Kids, and these little cards took the world by storm. That popularity didn’t go unnoticed by American Greetings, and the company had done their market research. They knew that young boys liked gross things and they wanted in on the action. Enter The Characters from Cleveland, a team of artists spearheaded by Mark Spangler, Ralph Shaffer, and James Elliot, who were tasked with finding a way to reach that young boy, gross out market.
They liked the art behind Garbage Pail Kids as well as the idea of the trading cards, but they really wanted something more tangible, something 3D that kids could get their hands on… they wanted balls. (Please hold the giggles).
With an idea in hand they began the design phase starting with the crazy faces. After that they needed a list of cool names that would speak to the masses. Finally, with everything together under one, zany roof they were ready to go and in 1986 the first run hit the shelves and quickly disappeared.
They were quirky, crazy and just gross enough to grab the attention of the media. Newspapers began blasting ads asking the questions “How in the world could this be justified?” “Why would anyone want such toys?” The thing is people did want the MadBalls and all the headlines just went to further the kids desire to buy.
They retailed for around $4 each and the first launch had 8, as did the second, making 16 original Madballs. There were also 3 Super Madballs, the Football Touchdown Terror, the Soccer ball Goal Eater and Foulshot the Basketball. 9 more variations of Madballs from the first two series were released called Head Poppin Madballs.
They were intended to be bouncy balls, but they were shaped weird and would launch all over if you threw them so mostly people just collected them, which is why they are still collectable today.
These guys were considered a nuisance by some and several schools actually banned them but again, all that did was increase the popularity, which of course spurred a number of similar lines like Spit Balls and Blurp Balls.
We should also mention the VHS cartoon Escape from Orb which featured the exclusive girl Madball Freakella. There was a Madball Gross Jokes video and a Star Comics comic book run. Oh and R.L. Stine wrote a book featuring them as well. You could also get a Trapper Keeper, pencil sharpeners, bed sheets…. Madballs the Lunchbox, Madballs the cereal, Madballs the Flamthrower… you get the idea.
Sales were good until somewhere around 1988-99 when suddenly they just dropped, and kids moved on and production stopped.
To those who collect you can get these loose for anywhere from $10 and up but a lot of eight used Madballs and a handbook did sell for over $300, while a sealed Fist Face Madball recently went for over $140.00. . Due diligence if you’re going to buy and be patient! Also be careful! There were re-releases so make sure it’s the original 80’s run if that’s what you’re after.
So, there you have it, the craze that was Madballs!
Be sure to visit https://www.entertainmentearth.com/?id=RE-010201518 If you’re a toy collector these guys are right up your alley!
Until next time, remember, when it comes to rewind toys the hunt is half the fun.
Jason Emmitt signing off.
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