The Toy Association inducts industry icons into 2027 Toy Industry Hall of Fame
The Toy Association today announced five industry icons who will join the esteemed Toy Industry Hall of Fame: Jay Foreman, Founder and CEO of Basic Fun!; Robert Pasin, Chief Wagon Officer at Radio Flyer; and the posthumous honorees, Ralph H. Baer, known as the “father of video games” and inventor of Simon; Charles Crandall, inventor and founder of Crandall Toys & Waverly Toy Works; and Norman Sas, inventor of Electric Football and founder of Tudor Games.
101 industry leaders
The 2027 Toy Industry Hall of Fame inductees will join an impressive roster of 101 industry leaders who have each had a significant impact on the lives of children through toys and play. Since its inception in 1984, the Toy Industry Hall of Fame has recognized top leaders from manufacturing, retail, entertainment, licensing, and other sectors, including game changers such as Walt Disney (Disney); Ruth and Elliott Handler (Mattel/Barbie); Joan Ganz Cooney (Sesame Street); Maxine Clark (Build-A-Bear Workshop); Alan Hassenfeld (Hasbro); Neil Friedman (Fisher-Price, Toy Industry Hall of Fame Committee chair); Andrea Barthello (ThinkFun, Toy Industry Hall of Fame Committee co-chair); and many more.
Significant contributions
Foreman and Pasin were nominated and voted on by members of The Toy Association in recognition of their significant contributions to the industry and the impact they have had on the lives of children through a lifelong commitment to toys and play. Baer, Crandall, and Sas, the 2027 posthumous inductees, were recommended by the Hall of Fame Subcommittee on Posthumous Selection and voted on by the Hall of Fame Committee. The process for selecting posthumous inductees helps to ensure recognition of any deserving person who has contributed to the U.S. toy industry since 1800 and who might have been overlooked in previous years.
The 2027 Toy Industry Hall of Fame inductees will be honored during The Toy Foundation’s Toy of the Year® (TOTY®) Awards on Friday, February 19, 2027. The Toy Industry Hall of Fame lives alongside the National Toy Hall of Fame in a special exhibit at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY.
Source: Press Release The Toy Association