'This is my 401(k)': Rockford-area man donates from massive bobblehead collection

A Boone County man is using his massive collection of bobbleheads to give back to the community.

Darrell McFarlin owns almost 1,700 bobbleheads, each one displayed in his basement.

Last month, he selected 30 of his unique souvenirs to be part of a raffle, raising $1,840 for the Rockford IceHogs Community Fund, the charitable arm of the hockey team that has donated $1.4 million to local organizations and causes since 1999.

"I would call it a huge success," McFarlin said. "The raffle ending up bringing more than two-and-a-half times the value of my 30. The IceHogs added a signed Lukas Reichel bobblehead, too, to make it 31. The $1,840 was nearly double what I was expecting."

The raffle was held Feb. 24, Bobblehead Night at the BMO Center, as the IceHogs took on the Iowa Wild. McFarlin's donation included several unique IceHogs bobbleheads — some of Hammy, the teams mascot; one of NBA star Fred VanVleet and another of the late Chicago Blackhawks legend Stan Mikita.

“We frequently say that we have some of the most generous fans in all professional sports here in Rockford," said Mike Peck, vice president of marketing, content and operations for the Rockford IceHogs. "For Darrell to tap into his personal bobblehead collection and donate a set of bobbleheads so we could raise money for the IceHogs Community Fund exemplifies that."

'This is my 401(k)'

The raffle was McFarlin's first venture into fundraising. Because he had a family member die from cystic fibrosis, he initially planned to work with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to conduct the raffle, but that didn't pan out.

"The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation does not deal with raffles," he said. "Raffles go against their fundraising policies."

Set on holding a raffle, McFarlin called Peck, someone he knows well from his years working as an off-ice official. Things fell into place, and the raffle was on. It even included a bobblehead of Peck, a one-time play-by-play announcer for the team.

McFarlin started building his collection on Saturday, July 10, 2004, when he received a Gorman Thomas bobblehead as a stadium giveaway at a Milwaukee Brewers game.

He's now part of a network of collectors and enthusiasts that includes former professional athletes. He owns every IceHogs and Blackhawks bobblehead ever released along with hundreds of baseball, basketball, custom and non-sports pieces.

Though he doesn't know what everything in his basement is worth, McFarlin says he owns several rare bobbleheads that could fetch several thousand dollars each.

"I tell my wife, 'This is my 401(k)'."

Jim Hagerty writes about business, growth and development and other general news topics for the Rockford Register Star. Email him at jhagerty@gannett.com.