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 p ...

company best known for its 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,

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

s, horses, and ride-ons. The company was founded in 1917 and is based in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois.

History

Antonio Pasin immigrated to the United States from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

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

in 1917, selling them to area shops. He was working as a craftsman at the time, mostly selling

phonograph A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...

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 The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...

, 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 Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquess of Marconi ( ; ; 25 April 1874 – 20 July 1937) was an Italian electrical engineer, inventor, and politician known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based Wireless telegraphy, wireless tel ...

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, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...

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 Exposit ...

, 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. 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, has been

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

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 transport, human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) Three-wheeler, three-wheeled vehicle. Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for pa ...

s, ride-ons, horses, battery ops, and

wagons A wagon (or waggon) is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draft animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

. 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 The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. 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 adventure drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions. It is an edited and recut compilation of the first three episodes of the ''Davy Crockett'' television miniseries. ...

'' and a blue wagon produced in partnership with Disney's '' Mickey Mouse Club''. Wagons from the 1970s borrowed the stylings of the

muscle car A muscle car is an American-made two-door sports coupe with a powerful engine, marketed for its performance. In 1949, General Motors introduced its 88 with the company's OHV Rocket V8 engine, which was previously available only in its lux ...

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

Evel Knievel Robert Craig Knievel (October 17, 1938November 30, 2007), known professionally as Evel Knievel (), was an American stunt performer and entertainer. Throughout his career, he attempted List of Evel Knievel career jumps, more than 75 ramp-to-ra ...

. 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 definitio ...

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 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": * Th ...

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

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 corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

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 popular culture

The readily recognizable little red wagon manufactured by Radio Flyer is used in several artistic works, including in film and on television. A character in the 1992 drama film ''

Radio Flyer Radio Flyer is an American toy company best known for its 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. History Antonio Pa ...

'' 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'' is a 1983 Christmas comedy film directed by Bob Clark and based on the 1966 book '' In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash'' by Jean Shepherd, with some elements from his 1971 book ''Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories ...

''. The June 24, 2013 episode of ''

Let's Make a Deal ''Let's Make a Deal'' (also known as ''LMAD'') is a television 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 and produced by Stefan Hatos and Mo ...

'' 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

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

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, o ...

. It is high and long. The interactive sculpture is modeled after the Radio Flyer wagon, and 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 .

References

External links

{{Commonscat, Radio Flyer
Company website
* A detailed history o
Radio Flyer

Worlds Largest Wagon
Toy companies of the United States Companies based in Chicago Wagons Tricycles 1917 establishments in Illinois