Radio Flyer (company)
Encyclopedia
Radio Flyer is an American
toy
company best known for their popular red toy wagon
. Radio Flyer also produces scooters, tricycles, bicycles, horses, and ride-ons. The company was founded in 1917 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.
started building wooden toy wagons in Chicago
in 1917, selling them to area shops. His business grew until the Liberty Coaster Company, named in honour of the Statue of Liberty
was formed in 1923. In 1930, the company was renamed Radio Steel & Manufacturing. The renamed company produced steel-bodied wagons and used assembly line manufacturing techniques. The new Radio Flyer wagons were named for Pasin's fascination with radio and with flight. In 1933 Chicago was the host of the World's Fair, Century of Progress
, and Radio Steel was asked to be a part of the celebration. Antonio Pasin took on major debt to fund the construction of a 45 foot tall wood and plaster Coaster Boy statue depicting a boy riding a Liberty Coaster wagon. Below the Coaster Boy exhibit Pasin sold miniatures for 25 cents. During World War II
, steel was essential war materiel
; from 1942–1945, the company shifted production to portable five gallon Blitz cans
for the US Army
.
In 1987, Radio Steel changed its name to Radio Flyer after its popular flagship little red wagon. Today, the company produces a wide range of children's products, including scooters
, bicycle
s, tricycle
s, ride-ons, horses, and wagons
. Robert Pasin, Antonio's grandson, has been CEO
since 1997.
. Since 2002, the company has produced plastic as well as metal-bodied wagons.
A number of designs and styles have been produced by Radio Flyer, often inspired by the automobiles or popular culture of the day. The "Zephyr", produced in the 1930s, paid homage to the Chrysler Airflow
. The 1950s saw a yellow wagon inspired by the movie Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier
and a blue wagon produced in partnership with Disney's Mickey Mouse Club. Wagons from the 1970s borrowed the stylings of the muscle car
s of the day, including the Fireball 2001 inspired by Evel Knievel
. The 1990s saw the introduction of the "Quad Shock Wagon" echoing sport utility vehicle
s. The "Ultimate Family Wagon", introduced in 2007, includes a sunshade and an adjustable seat; the design won a Chicago Innovation Award
in 2007.
The Radio Flyer Wagon was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame
at The Strong
in Rochester, New York
in 1999, and its creator was inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame
in 2003.
flies to safety in a converted Radio Flyer wagon. Radio Flyer wagons appear in a store display in the 1983 film A Christmas Story
.
.
Riverfront Park in Spokane, Washington features a large red wagon that doubles as a playground slide
. It is 12 feet (3.7 m) high and 27 feet (8.2 m) long. The interactive sculpture was sculpted by Ken Spiering and installed in 1989.
The "World's Largest Wagon" is a sculpture commissioned by Radio Flyer in honor of their 80th anniversary. It is nine times the size of a little red wagon, and weighs 15000 lbs.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
toy
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
company best known for their popular red toy wagon
Toy wagon
A toy wagon has the same structure as the traditional, larger wagon, but is much smaller and has an open top. An average wagon is able to seat one child, and is generally propelled by human power through a handle at the front. Some famous brands are Radio Flyer, Red Rider, Northern Tool and...
. Radio Flyer also produces scooters, tricycles, bicycles, horses, and ride-ons. The company was founded in 1917 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.
History
Antonio PasinAntonio Pasin
Antonio Pasin started making wagons in 1923. He was an Italian immigrant. He started the Radio Flyer company. he was born in 1897 and died in 1990.- Life :...
started building wooden toy wagons in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 1917, selling them to area shops. His business grew until the Liberty Coaster Company, named in honour of the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
was formed in 1923. In 1930, the company was renamed Radio Steel & Manufacturing. The renamed company produced steel-bodied wagons and used assembly line manufacturing techniques. The new Radio Flyer wagons were named for Pasin's fascination with radio and with flight. In 1933 Chicago was the host of the World's Fair, Century of Progress
Century of Progress
A Century of Progress International Exposition was the name of a World's Fair held in Chicago from 1933 to 1934 to celebrate the city's centennial. The theme of the fair was technological innovation...
, and Radio Steel was asked to be a part of the celebration. Antonio Pasin took on major debt to fund the construction of a 45 foot tall wood and plaster Coaster Boy statue depicting a boy riding a Liberty Coaster wagon. Below the Coaster Boy exhibit Pasin sold miniatures for 25 cents. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, steel was essential war materiel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
; from 1942–1945, the company shifted production to portable five gallon Blitz cans
Jerrycan
A jerrycan is a robust fuel container originally made from pressed steel. It was designed in Germany in the 1930s for military use to hold 20 litres of fuel. The development of the Jerrycan was a huge improvement on earlier designs, which required tools and funnels to use.-Uses:Today similar...
for the US Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
.
In 1987, Radio Steel changed its name to Radio Flyer after its popular flagship little red wagon. Today, the company produces a wide range of children's products, including scooters
Kick scooter
A kick scooter or push scooter, originally scooter, is a human-powered vehicle with a handlebar, deck and wheels that is propelled by a rider pushing off the ground. The most common scooters today have two hard small wheels, are made primarily of aluminium and fold for convenience...
, bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
s, tricycle
Tricycle
A tricycle is a three-wheeled vehicle. While tricycles are often associated with the small three-wheeled vehicles used by pre-school-age children, they are also used by adults for a variety of purposes. In the United States and Canada, adult-sized tricycles are used primarily by older persons for...
s, ride-ons, horses, and wagons
Toy wagon
A toy wagon has the same structure as the traditional, larger wagon, but is much smaller and has an open top. An average wagon is able to seat one child, and is generally propelled by human power through a handle at the front. Some famous brands are Radio Flyer, Red Rider, Northern Tool and...
. Robert Pasin, Antonio's grandson, has been CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
since 1997.
The wagon
The Liberty Coaster Company began producing the wooden bodied "No. 4 Liberty Coaster" in 1923. In 1927, Pasin replaced the wooden body with stamped steel, taking advantage of assembly line manufacturing techniques and earning him the nickname "Little Ford". 1500 wagons a day rolled off assembly lines even during the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Since 2002, the company has produced plastic as well as metal-bodied wagons.
A number of designs and styles have been produced by Radio Flyer, often inspired by the automobiles or popular culture of the day. The "Zephyr", produced in the 1930s, paid homage to the Chrysler Airflow
Chrysler Airflow
The Chrysler Airflow is an automobile produced by the Chrysler Corporation from 1934-1937. The Airflow was the first full-size American production car to use streamlining as a basis for building a sleeker automobile, one less susceptible to air resistance...
. The 1950s saw a yellow wagon inspired by the movie Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier
Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier
Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier is a 1955 live-action Walt Disney adventure film starring Fess Parker as Davy Crockett. This film is an edited compilation of the first three stories from the Disney television series Davy Crockett :...
and a blue wagon produced in partnership with Disney's Mickey Mouse Club. Wagons from the 1970s borrowed the stylings of the muscle car
Muscle car
Muscle car is a term used to refer to a variety of high-performance automobiles. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines muscle cars as "any of a group of American-made 2-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." Usually, a large V8 engine is fitted in a...
s of the day, including the Fireball 2001 inspired by Evel Knievel
Evel Knievel
Evel Knievel , born Robert Craig Knievel, was an American daredevil and entertainer. In his career he attempted over 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps between 1965 and 1980, and in 1974, a failed jump across Snake River Canyon in the Skycycle X-2, a steam-powered rocket...
. The 1990s saw the introduction of the "Quad Shock Wagon" echoing sport utility vehicle
Sport utility vehicle
A sport utility vehicle is a generic marketing term for a vehicle similar to a station wagon, but built on a light-truck chassis. It is usually equipped with four-wheel drive for on- or off-road ability, and with some pretension or ability to be used as an off-road vehicle. Not all four-wheel...
s. The "Ultimate Family Wagon", introduced in 2007, includes a sunshade and an adjustable seat; the design won a Chicago Innovation Award
Chicago Innovation Awards
The Chicago Innovation Awards was created by the Chicago Sun-Times and Kuczmarski & Associates in 2002. Each year the Awards recognize 10 Chicago area businesses, nonprofits, and government organizations that develop the year’s most innovative new products and services.-2010:The 2010 Chicago...
in 2007.
The Radio Flyer Wagon was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame
National Toy Hall of Fame
The National Toy Hall of Fame is an American hall of fame that recognizes the contributions of toys and games that have sustained their popularity for many years...
at The Strong
The Strong
The Strong is an interactive, collections-based educational institution in Rochester, New York, USA, devoted to the study and exploration of play...
in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
in 1999, and its creator was inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame
Toy Industry Hall of Fame
The Toy Industry Hall of Fame recognizes the contributions of toy-makers around the world. It is maintained by the Toy Industry Foundation, an arm of the Toy Industry Association.-External links: at the Toy Industry Association...
in 2003.
Other products
- The InchwormInchworm (toy)The Inchworm was a ride-on toy for children produced by the Hasbro Corporation, first introduced in the early 1970s. A scooter with yellow wheels in the shape of a green caterpillar wearing a yellow hat, the Inchworm was jointed under the saddle so its wheelbase could expand and contract. The...
is a wheeled ride-on toy propelled by the bouncing motion of the rider. It is styled as a Geometer caterpillarGeometer mothThe geometer moths or Geometridae are a family of the order Lepidoptera...
, or inchworm. It was initially produced by HasbroHasbroHasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
in the 1970s. - The Radio Flyer Tricycle features the same bright red color and graphics as the little red wagon.
In popular culture
The readily recognizable little red wagon manufactured by Radio Flyer is used in several artistic works. A character in the 1992 drama film Radio FlyerRadio Flyer (film)
Radio Flyer is a 1992 drama-fantasy film from Columbia Pictures. It is a Stonebridge Entertainment Production in association with Donner/Shuler-Donner Productions ....
flies to safety in a converted Radio Flyer wagon. Radio Flyer wagons appear in a store display in the 1983 film A Christmas Story
A Christmas Story
A Christmas Story is a 1983 American Christmas comedy film based on the short stories and semi-fictional anecdotes of author and raconteur Jean Shepherd, including material from his books In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, and Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories. It was directed by Bob Clark...
.
Sculpture
The 45 foot tall Coaster Boy wood and plaster statue of a young boy and wagon was constructed by Radio Flyer for the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, Century of ProgressCentury of Progress
A Century of Progress International Exposition was the name of a World's Fair held in Chicago from 1933 to 1934 to celebrate the city's centennial. The theme of the fair was technological innovation...
.
Riverfront Park in Spokane, Washington features a large red wagon that doubles as a playground slide
Playground slide
Playground slides are found in parks, schools, playgrounds and backyards. The slide may be flat, or half cylindrical or tubular to prevent falls. Slides are usually constructed of plastic or metal and they have a smooth surface that is either straight or wavy...
. It is 12 feet (3.7 m) high and 27 feet (8.2 m) long. The interactive sculpture was sculpted by Ken Spiering and installed in 1989.
The "World's Largest Wagon" is a sculpture commissioned by Radio Flyer in honor of their 80th anniversary. It is nine times the size of a little red wagon, and weighs 15000 lbs.
External links
- Company website
- A detailed history of Radio Flyer
- Worlds Largest Wagon