Ice hockey boasts a long, colorful history in America, debuting for the first time around 1893 and followed by the first American hockey team joining the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1924. Since then, hockey fans gather each season to watch their favorite teams battle it out on the ice as they race to get the puck in the other team’s goal.
Hockey would be nothing without its fun, competitive spirit, and of course, the beloved fans.
One dedicated hockey fan base showed up this year with a spirited fire that helped them set a record in the coveted annual “Teddy Bear Toss.”
AHL’s Hershey Bears were pitted against the Binghamton Devils for the annual holiday tradition. Seconds after Bears’ player Riley Barber scored the first goal, fans took the plush toys they brought along to the game and hurled them from the stands out onto the ice.
Channeling the giving nature of the holidays, fans tossed 34,798 toys on the ice, shattering the previous world record of the largest number of toys donated during a hockey Teddy Bear Toss. Hershey collected all the stuffed toys to donate to over 30 local schools, food banks, and churches.
Nothing brings smiles during the holiday season quite like a teddy bear, and the Teddy Bear Toss continues to impress with displays of generosity each year. Will you be attending a teddy bear toss this season? Stock up now to beat the new world record with stuffable animals from The Zoo Factory!
