Cleveland Indians Chief Wahoo Rempel Rubber Squeak Toy 1949

Chief Wahoo, the symbol of the Cleveland Indians, has been protested by various American Indian and civil rights organizations over the years, but he continues to be on their logo. He thankfully no longer has a scalp in one hand as did this toy copyrighted by Fred G. Reinert for Rempel Mfg. of Akron, Ohio, Patent No. 2469892.

The hard rubber toy no longer squeaks but is in good condition. It stand 6.5" high, not counting the feather (which we assume is not the original). He has a blue tomahawk, bright yellow moccasins, what appears to be more of a white diaper than a loin cloth, and his signature grin.

It could probably be cleaned beneficially, but we have not attempted to clean it.

The cartoon caricature first appeared in 1947 as the logo for the baseball team and has remained, despite the protests, in some form ever since. Several other organizations also had used the caricature in Ohio at least, but after the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility in 1997 called the use of Chief Wahoo "insulting and racially insensitive marketing," various companies stopped using the logo. Anheuser-Busch stopped using Chief Wahoo in their Ohio beer ads, and Denny's Restaurants banned its Ohio employees from wearing the logo to work.

Item ID: 995