A look behind the scenes at the National Toy Hall of Fame

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — When curators at the National Toy Hall of Fame learned last fall that the Fisher-Price Corn Popper had been voted in as part of the class of 2023, they knew they had some serious work to do.

With a formal induction ceremony approaching, they would have to figure out how to showcase the beloved toddler push toy with colorful balls that ricochet around a clear dome.

It isn’t as simple as going to Walmart and pulling one off the shelves: The hall, part of the The Strong National Museum of Play in upstate New York, aims to show how its toys have endured and evolved over the years — pieces go from wood to plastic, electronics are added.

That means digging through archives, auctions, the internet and garage sales to hunt for an original, or one close to it — a process repeated with each new hall of fame inductee.

“We want some recognizable things currently on the market, but we also want people to say, ‘Oh, I had one of those!’” said Christopher Bensch, chief curator at the Strong museum, which is a larger-than-life interactive toybox for kids and adults.

For example, when the jigsaw puzzle was inducted in 2002, they added one of the world’s first versions, a map of Europe pasted onto a thin mahogany board from 1766, alongside a child’s Donald Duck board puzzle from 1990. Not all of the toys inducted into the hall are specific products, either — 2021's inductee was simply “sand.”

In the case of the Corn Popper, the curators needed to find something recognizable to generations. The toy has been around since 1957 and more than 36 million have been sold, according to Fisher-Price. Nearly 650,000 visitors would arrive over the next year to view it and the hall of fame’s other vaunted toys.

After being voted in by experts and fans, many hall of fame toys are pulled for permanent display from the museum’s vast archives.

The honorees are usually so iconic — the Barbie doll, the teddy bear, checkers — that the odds are good there will be multiples among the half-million or so objects already in the ever-expanding collection.

But staff is always on the lookout for playthings worth saving — keeping an eye on eBay and garage and estate sales, especially if a toy is already in, or seems bound for, the hall of fame.

With new toys on the market all the time, curators can only guess what might be the next Etch A Sketch, a mechanical drawing toy that's still popular and virtually unchanged after 100 years, and which toys will fizzle.

“We want to be the repository for them, for the nation or the world," Bensch said. “That’s why we have 1,500 yo-yos in our collection, or 8,000 jigsaw puzzles,” he said, naming two past inductees.

Some of the stored board games, stuffed animals, doll houses and other molded, cast and carved reminders of childhood have been donated by manufacturers. Others come from private collectors following a death, divorce or move. A parent recently donated a collection of 1,600 American Girl dolls and accessories after their child outgrew them.

Some items are pursued at auction, the way a fine art museum might acquire a masterpiece. That's how The Strong landed one of its most prized possessions, an original Monopoly set, hand-painted on oil cloth in 1933 by inventor Charles Darrow before the game went into mass production. With Monopoly in the hall of fame since 1998, the winning $146,500 bid at Sotheby's in 2010 was over budget — but worth it.

“We’re the National Museum of Play. If we were the Henry Ford Museum and we didn’t have the first Model T, we would kick ourselves ever after,” Bensch said.

Babies have been toddling behind Fisher-Price Corn Poppers for more than 60 years, but finding a “historic” one in pristine, museum-display condition proved challenging.

“Those are toys that get used pretty hard,” Bensch said, “especially early versions with that plastic dome and the wooden balls hitting against it. Those did not survive in great condition.”

What eventually went on display were two versions. One is a 1980 model purchased on eBay from a woman in Canada, who likely has no idea her castaway — its wear and tear evident in its dinged-up and slightly cloudy dome — is now a museum piece. The other is a shiny new version that is still on store shelves for about $12, with a sleeker blue handle and beefier red wheels that reflect slight design changes over the years.

“It was hard to find a photogenic one that went back more than a few decades,” Bensch said. “I’m not sure we eventually got one that was as old as we wished for, just because they had been so well loved.”

Each year, a new class of toys makes it into the hall of fame, the culmination of an annual process that invites anyone to nominate their favorite toy online.

Museum staff culls the nominees to 12 finalists before a panel of experts votes in the winners. Eighty-four toys have earned the honor since the hall opened in 1998.

Nominees can be as lasting as steel erector set creations, inducted in 1998, or as fleeting as bubbles blown through a plastic wand, honored in 2014.

Many inductees are a reminder that the true value of a toy isn’t necessarily in the price, but the play. In 2008, an ordinary stick from a tree — but a no-cost sword or magic wand to a child — was inducted into the hall, but Flexible Flyer sleds and the Rubik’s Cube did not make the cut that year. The Easy-Bake Oven was bypassed in 2005 — by the cardboard box it might have shipped in.

The museum received 2,400 nominations for 382 different toys for the class of 2024.

This year’s 12 finalists include Apples to Apples, balloons and the trampoline. Also: “Choose Your Own Adventure” books, Hess Toy Trucks, remote-controlled vehicles, the stick horse, Phase 10, Sequence and the Pokémon Trading Card Game, and two perennial nominees, My Little Pony figures — a seven-time finalist — and Transformers action figures.

From them, a chosen few will be announced and honored in November, and the curators will begin their hunt all over again

Large scrabble letters line the outdoor Hasbro Game Park at The Strong National Museum of Play, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

Oliver Jin of Toronto walks through the outdoor Hasbro Game Park at The Strong National Museum of Play, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

Christopher Bensch, chief curator at The Strong National Museum of Play, stands among shelves of toys and games in a storage area below the museum, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

Elliot Drury, exhibits fabricator and designer at The Strong National Museum of Play, works on a new exhibit, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

Katie and Henry Liggett play with an interactive game while visiting The Strong National Museum of Play, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

Travis Skadberg watches as Jacob, 6, plays a giant game of Donkey Kong at The Strong National Museum of Play, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

Visitors walk through the Toy Hall of Fame inside The Strong National Museum of Play, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

Christopher Bensch, chief curator at The Strong National Museum of Play, closes a storage locker of porcelain dolls Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

A visitor takes a picture of an original Monopoly set on display at The Strong National Museum of Play, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

Jesse and Lydia Xu of Toronto play a game of Jenga with their kids Casper, 9, and Lydia, 8, at The Strong National Museum of Play, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

Visitors walk through the Toy Hall of Fame inside The Strong National Museum of Play, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

One of the world's first jigsaw puzzles from 1766 is displayed in the Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong National Museum of Play, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

Suellen Sues puts together a Potato Head with her granddaughter, Isla, 2, while visiting The Strong National Museum of Play, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

A visitor walks through the outdoor Hasbro Game Park at The Strong National Museum of Play, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

Ryan, 4, and Camryn Nielander, 2, shop at a play grocery store at The Strong National Museum of Play, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

Twins Josh and Zach Alli, 6, of Toronto play racing games at The Strong National Museum of Play, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

Rita Wilks plays a game of Bingo with her grandson, Oliver, 2, while visiting The Strong National Museum of Play, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

Christopher Bensch, chief curator at The Strong National Museum of Play, holds one of the games that is a finalist for the 2024 Toy Hall of Fame, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

The Fisher-Price Corn Popper toys on displays in the Hall of Fame at The Strong National Museum of Play, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

Christopher Bensch, chief curator at The Strong National Museum of Play, holds one of the toys that is a finalist for the 2024 Toy Hall of Fame, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

The Toy Hall of Fame inside The Strong National Museum of Play, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

Christopher Bensch, chief curator at The Strong National Museum of Play, takes out toys and games that are finalists for the 2024 Hall of Fame, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

The Strong National Museum of Play, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

A display of baseball cards inside of the Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong National Museum of Play, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

Large scrabble letters line the outdoor Hasbro Game Park at The Strong National Museum of Play, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Rochester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren Petracca)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired “Fernandomania” while winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, has died. He was 63.

The team said he died Tuesday night at a Los Angeles hospital, but did not provide the cause or other details.

His death comes as the Dodgers prepare to open the World Series on Friday night at home against the New York Yankees. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Valenzuela would be honored during the series at Dodger Stadium.

Valenzuela had left his color commentator job on the Dodgers’ Spanish-language television broadcast in September without explanation. He was reported to have been hospitalized earlier this month. His job kept him as a regular at Dodger Stadium, where he held court in the press box dining room before games and remained popular with fans who sought him out for photos and autographs.

“God bless Fernando Valenzuela!” actor and Dodgers fan Danny Trejo posted on X.

Valenzuela was one of the most dominant players of his era and a wildly popular figure in the 1980s, although he was never elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. However, he is part of Cooperstown, which features several artifacts including a signed ball from his no-hitter in 1990.

“He is one of the most influential Dodgers ever and belongs on the Mount Rushmore of franchise heroes," Stan Kasten, team president and CEO, said in a statement. “He galvanized the fan base with the Fernandomania season of 1981 and has remained close to our hearts ever since, not only as a player but also as a broadcaster. He has left us all too soon.”

Valenzuela's rise from humble beginnings as the youngest of 12 children in Mexico and his feats on the mound made him hugely popular and influential in Los Angeles’ Latino community while helping attract new fans to Major League Baseball. Their fondness for him continued for years after his retirement.

“63 is way too young.... A piece of my childhood is gone,” actor and “Access Hollywood” co-host Mario Lopez posted on X. “Growing up as a Mexican kid one of the main reasons I'm a Dodgers fan is because of Fernando. ... Not only a great player, but a great man to the community. What a legend.”

In 1981, Valenzuela became the Dodgers’ opening day starter as a rookie after Jerry Reuss was injured 24 hours before his scheduled start. He shut out the Houston Astros 2-0 and began the season 8-0 with five shutouts and an ERA of 0.50. He became the first player to win a Cy Young and Rookie of the Year in the same season.

His performances created the delirium known as “Fernandomania” among Dodgers fans. The ABBA hit “Fernando” would play as he warmed up on the mound.

He was 13-7 and had a 2.48 ERA in his first season, which was shortened by a players’ strike.

Valenzuela was an All-Star selection every year from 1981-86, when he recorded 97 victories, 84 complete games, 1,258 strikeouts and a 2.97 ERA. He was 5-1 with a 2.00 ERA in eight postseason starts. He earned two Silver Slugger Awards and a Gold Glove.

Valenzuela’s no-hitter on June 29, 1990, a 6-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium, was an emotional career highlight. He struck out seven and walked three.

“If you have a sombrero, throw it to the sky!” Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully exclaimed in his game call.

Nicknamed “El Toro” by the fans, Valenzuela had an unorthodox and memorable pitching motion that included looking skyward at the apex of each windup. His repertoire included a screwball -- making him one of the few pitchers of his era who threw that pitch regularly. It was taught to him by teammate Bobby Castillo after the Dodgers felt Valenzuela, who wasn’t known as a hard thrower, needed another pitch.

Early in his Dodgers career, Valenzuela spoke little English and had trouble communicating with his catchers. Rookie Mike Scioscia learned Spanish and became Valenzuela’s personal catcher before becoming the team’s full-time catcher.

Valenzuela was a better-than-average hitter, with 10 career home runs.

Eventually, his pitching was compromised by nagging shoulder problems that kept him out of the 1988 postseason, when the Dodgers won the World Series.

The team released Valenzuela just before the 1991 season. He also pitched for the former California Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals.

He retired in 1997, going 141-116 with a 3.31 ERA in 11 seasons with the Dodgers. Overall, he was 173-153 with a 3.54 ERA in 17 seasons.

Valenzuela’s rise from his tiny hometown of Etchohuaquila in the Mexican state of Sonora to stardom in the U.S. was improbable. He was the youngest child in a large family who tagged along when his older brothers played baseball.

He signed his first pro contract at age 16, and soon began overpowering older players in the Mexican Central League.

In 1978, legendary Dodgers scout Mike Brito was in Mexico to watch a shortstop when Valenzuela entered the game as a reliever. He immediately commanded Brito’s attention and at age 18, Valenzuela signed with the Dodgers in 1979. He was sent to the California League that same year.

In 1980, Valenzuela was called up to the Dodgers in September and soon made his big league debut as a reliever.

He remains the only pitcher in MLB history to win the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards in the same season. The left-hander was the National League’s starting pitcher in the All-Star Game in 1981, the same year the Dodgers won the World Series.

He is the all-time major league leader in wins (173) and strikeouts (2,074) by a Mexican-born player.

During his career, he made the cover of Sports Illustrated and visited the White House.

In 2003, Valenzuela returned to the Dodgers as the Spanish-language radio color commentator for NL games. Twelve years later, he switched to the color commentator job on the team’s Spanish-language TV feed.

“He consistently supported the growth of the game through the World Baseball Classic and at MLB events across his home country,” Manfred said in a statement. “As a member of the Dodger broadcasting team for more than 20 years, Fernando helped to reach a new generation of fans and cultivate their love of the game. Fernando will always remain a beloved figure in Dodger history and a special source of pride for the millions of Latino fans he inspired.”

He was inducted into the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014. Five years later, the Mexican League retired Valenzuela’s No. 34 jersey. The Dodgers followed in 2023 after keeping his number out of circulation since he last pitched for the team in 1991. The team has a rule that requires a player to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame before having the Dodgers retire his number, but they made an exception for Valenzuela.

The Dodgers named Valenzuela as part of the “Legends of Dodger Baseball” in 2019 and inducted him into the team’s Ring of Honor in 2023.

He became a U.S. citizen in 2015.

Valenzuela served on the coaching staff for Mexico during the World Baseball Classic in 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2017. He was a part-owner of the Mexican League team Tigres de Quintana Roo, with son Fernando Jr. serving as team president and son Ricky serving as general manager. Fernando Jr. played in the San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox organizations as a first baseman.

In addition to his sons, he is survived by his wife, Linda, who was a schoolteacher from Mexico whom he married in 1981, and daughters Linda and Maria as well as seven grandchildren.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

FILE - Los Angeles Dodger pitching sensation Fernando Valenzuela tips his hat to the crowd celebrating his equaling the major league record of eight shutouts by a rookie during a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Sept. 18, 1981, in Los Angeles. Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired “Fernandomania” while winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, has died Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024.(AP Photo/Molenhouse, File)

FILE - Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela blows bubbles as he passes the time in the dugout during the rain delay before Game 3 of the National League playoffs with the Expos at Montreal, Oct. 18, 1981. Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired “Fernandomania” while winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, has died Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024.(AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy, File)

FILE - Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela throws the ceremonial first pitch during the MLB All-Star baseball game, July 19, 2022, in Los Angeles. Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired “Fernandomania” while winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, has died Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024.(AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)

FILE - Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Fernando Valenzuela tips his sombrero at a news conference after he was named National League Rookie of the Year, Dec. 2, 1981, in Los Angeles. Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired “Fernandomania” while winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, has died Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024.(AP Photo/Wally Fong, File)

FILE - Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela pitches against a San Francisco Giants batter during the first inning at Candlestick Park, Oct. 3, 1982, in San Francisco. Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired “Fernandomania” while winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, has died Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela speaks during a news conference ahead of his jersey retirement ceremony at a baseball game between the Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies, Aug. 11, 2023, in Los Angeles. Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired “Fernandomania” while winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, has died Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun, File)

FILE - Fernando Valenzuela throws to the plate during the Old-Timers baseball game, June 8, 2013, in Los Angeles. Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired “Fernandomania” while winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, has died Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)