Carson King awarded a spot in the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame

Fresh off the Hawkeye football field where he presented nearly $3 million to the Stead Family Children’s Hospital, Carson King is receiving a spot in the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame.

Contributed

Kinsey Phipps, News Reporter
October 14, 2019

Carson King’s household name will soon become household decor.

The “Iowa Legend” first received national recognition after his sign pleading for additional beer money from ESPN College GameDay fans at the annual Cy-Hawk game Sept. 14 led to a cash overflow into his Venmo.

One month and more than $3 million later, the Prairie City native is being honored for his choice to donate extra beer money to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum announced Monday that King will be commemorated with his very own limited edition bobblehead.

For each time the product sells, the Hall of Fame and will donate $5 to the Children’s Hospital King Family Fund. King’s bobblehead is currently available for preorder and is expected to ship January 2020. Featuring King decked in red and yellow with “Iowa Legend” printed across his shirt, the bobblehead displays him holding the very sign that started it all.

When King’s request for beer money initially gained traction, he prolonged the fundraising until the end of September. Industry giants such as Venmo and Anheuser-Busch jumped on board to match the total.

Phil Sklar, co-founder and CEO of the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, said in a news release that when members of his organization learned about King’s accomplishments over the last few weeks, they knew he deserved the honor.

“We think having a bobblehead is one of the biggest honors,” Sklar said. “…In addition to raising even more funds for Iowa’s Children’s Hospital, the bobblehead will inspire generations of people in Iowa and across the country to do good like Carson.”

King said he was offered a cut of the proceeds made from the bobbleheads, but he turned it down.

“They let me know we could distribute [the money] however we wanted, but I don’t need a cut of it,” King said. “I wanted it all to go to the hospital.”

King on Oct. 11 presented the check, which totaled $3,004,202.14. In partnership with the Children’s Hospital, the “King Family Fund” was established to collect donations in King’s name.

“We sat down and discussed exactly how I wanted it to go. I wanted it to all go to clinical needs,” King said. “I didn’t want it to be called the ‘Carson King Fund,’ so I attributed it to my family.”

The donation money from bobblehead sales and all other funds raised in King’s name moving forward will go to the King Family Fund.

Looking to the future, King said he hopes to start a foundation and possibly make helping others a full-time career.

“It’s amazing that a regular guy wanting to do something nice can spark a movement of generosity,” King said in the Hall of Fame news release. “To be honored with a bobblehead that will continue to help raise money for worthy projects is enough to leave a guy speechless.”