BC/What's Next Classic - National Yo-Yo Contest (1996) - Bird in Hand
Exhibit #2375
Type
Event
Shape
Standard (-)
Axle
Fixed
Packaging
None
Construction
Three piece wood
Response
None
Gap
Fixed
Condition
Mint
Date
1996
Owner
Rick Brough
Compare
This all wood yo-yo was made by BC/What's Next (see *Note below) and sold at the 1996 National Yo-Yo Contest in Chico, California. One side of the yo-yo was stamped with the "Bird in Hand" store logo (they were one of the contest sponsors), while the other side was stamped with the "1996 National Yo-Yo Contest" crest, encircled by 16 stars, and "Chico" below the crest. The paint scheme is a dark navy with very fine metallic sparkles.
Two notable differences between this model and the models from the previous three years: "Championship" was replaced with "Contest" in the crest design, and the Bird in Hand logo now included a bird motif above the text. These annually released yo-yos had much smaller production runs compared to full mass market releases.
1996 was the fourth year that the National Yo-Yo Championship was held.
*Note: 1995 was about the time that Hummingbird Toy Company went out of business. Its successor was BC/What's Next. As such there is some question as to whether this 1996 model was made with blanks from the former Hummingbird company and later finished by BC, or if it was made entirely by BC. In all likelihood, it was the latter. Also, to my knowledge, a "1995 National Yo-Yo Championship" yo-yo was never released by BC or Hummingbird.
