Radio Flyer is an American

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

company best known for their popular red

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 ...

. Radio Flyer also produces scooters, tricycles, bicycles, horses, and ride-ons. The company was founded in 1917 and is based in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

History

Antonio Pasin immigrated to the United States from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in 1914 when he was 16 years old. He started building wooden toy wagons in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1917, selling them to area shops. He was working as a craftsman at the time, mostly selling phonograph cabinets, and built small wooden wagons to carry around his tools. After he received numerous requests from customers of phonograph cabinets to buy the wagons as well, he refocused his business on the wagons. His business grew until the ''Liberty Coaster Company'', named in honour of the Statue of Liberty, was formed in 1923. The demands for these original wooden wagons, dubbed the "Liberty Coaster," quickly outpaced production. Incorporating the mass manufacturing techniques of the auto industry, Pasin began making metal wagons out of stamped steel in 1927. At around that time, the red wagons sold for slightly less than $3, or about $40 in 2016 dollars. 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 as a tribute to two famous men of the day: Marconi and Lindbergh. Italian inventor and engineer Guglielmo Marconi developed, demonstrated, and marketed the first successful long-distance wireless telegraph and in 1901 broadcast the first transatlantic radio signal.

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

completed the first solo, non-stop flight across the Atlantic in 1927. Combining those two marvels, Pasin christened his new metal wagons "Radio Flyer". In 1933, Pasin set up a large manufacturing facility on Grand Avenue in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood. That year, Chicago was the host of the World's Fair,

Century of Progress A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Expositi ...

, and Radio Steel was asked to be a part of the celebration. Antonio Pasin took on major debt to fund the construction of a 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 or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, steel was essential war material; from 1942–1945, the company shifted production to portable five gallon '' Blitz cans'' for the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. In 1987, Radio Steel changed its name to Radio Flyer after its popular flagship little red wagon. Pasin died in 1990, and his grandson, Robert Pasin, Antonio's grandson, has been CEO since 1997. Today, the company produces a wide range of children's products, including scooters,

tricycle A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) three-wheeled vehicle. Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for passenger transport) and freight trikes ...

s, ride-ons, horses, battery ops, and wagons. In 2015, Fortune named Radio Flyer number one in the top 25 best small businesses for which to work.

The wagon

The Liberty Coaster Company began producing the wooden bodied "No. 4 Liberty Coaster" in 1923.Radio Flyer in the Beginning
corporate history 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 Depression. 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 ''Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier'' is a 1955 American Western film produced by Walt Disney Productions. It is an edited and recut compilation of the first three episodes of the ''Davy Crockett'' television miniseries. The episodes us ...

'' and a blue wagon produced in partnership with Disney's ''

Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised fo ...

''. Wagons from the 1970s borrowed the stylings of the

muscle car Muscle car is a description according to '' Merriam-Webster Dictionary'' that came to use in 1966 for "a group of American-made two-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." The '' Britannica Dictionary'' ...

s of the day, including the ''Fireball 2001'' inspired by

Evel Knievel Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel (; October 17, 1938 – November 30, 2007) was an American stunt performer and entertainer. Over the course of his career, he attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps. Knievel was inducted into the Motor ...

. The 1990s saw the introduction of the "Quad Shock Wagon" echoing

sport utility vehicle A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon defini ...

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 The National Toy Hall of Fame is a U.S. hall of fame that recognizes the contributions of toys and games that have sustained their popularity for many years. Criteria for induction include: icon status (the toy is widely recognized, respected, and ...

The Strong The Strong is an interactive, collections-based educational institution in Rochester, New York, United States, devoted to the study and exploration of play. It carries out this mission through six programmatic arms called "Play Partners": * Na ...

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...

in 1999, and its creator, Antonio Pasin, was inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame in 2003.

Radio Flyer Tricycle

The Radio Flyer Tricycle features the same bright red color and graphics as the little red wagon. File:Radioflyr.jpg, Radio Flyer Tricycle File:Damaged(yetChained)RedTrike.jpg, Radio Flyer Tricycle

Other products

* The Inchworm is a wheeled ride-on toy propelled by the bouncing motion of the rider. It is styled as a Geometer caterpillar, or inchworm. It was initially produced by

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...

in the 1970s. * The Radio Flyer Ziggle, introduced in 2013, is a ride-on toy for kids 3 to 8 with four caster wheels and no pedals. Kids propel forward by wiggling and twisting their bodies in a back and forth motion and moving the handle bars at the same time. * In 2016, Radio Flyer introduced a new partnership product, the Tesla Model S for Kids. The first and only battery powered ride-on for kids with Lithium Ion Technology. The Flightspeed™ Lithium Ion Batteries are engineered to provide the best performance available with a lower impact on the environment. It can easily switch between a top speed of and a parent limited speed of with the flip of a switch located in the trunk. The car is customizable and can be personalized.

In popular culture

The readily recognizable little red wagon manufactured by Radio Flyer is used in several artistic works, including film and television. A character in the 1992 drama film '' Radio Flyer'' flies to safety in a converted Radio Flyer wagon. Radio Flyer wagons appear in a store display in the 1983 film '' A Christmas Story''. The June 24, 2013 episode of ''

Let's Make a Deal ''Let's Make a Deal'' (also known as ''LMAD'') is an American television musical comedy variety-game show that originated in the United States in 1963 and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The program was created an ...

'' parodied this wagon as a Zonk being offered under the name "Zonk Flyer".

Sculptures

Statue

The Coaster Boy wood and plaster statue of a young boy and wagon was constructed by Radio Flyer for the 1933 Chicago World's Fair,

Red wagon playground

Riverfront Park in

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features a large red wagon that doubles as a

playground slide Playground slides are found in parks, schools, playgrounds and backyards. The slide is an example of the simple machine known as the inclined plane, which makes moving objects up and down easier, or in this case more fun. The slide may be flat, ...

. It is high and long. The interactive sculpture was sculpted by Ken Spiering and installed in 1989.

"World's Largest Wagon"

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 .