Meet the woman behind the Homer Hanky
MINNEAPOLIS -- It wouldn't be a Minnesota Twins playoff push without a Homer Hanky.
This year's hankies are red and say, "We Believe." But it's safe to say fans believed 36 years ago, too, when the hanky was first introduced, and the Twins won their first World Series.
"We had the radios blaring the games and stuff, and so I just loved baseball," said Terrie Robbins.
As a kid growing up in Moorhead, Robbins never saw her beloved Twins win a World Series. But when they got to the playoffs in 1987, she was the marketing director for the Star Tribune.
"I was in charge of getting more subscribers, keeping subscribers, single copy sales," said Robbins.
Oddly enough, it was football and a funeral that gave her the idea for the Homer Hanky. She noticed that the Pittsburgh Steelers fans had Terrible Towels.
RELATED: A brief history of the Homer Hanky
"Then I saw some film about Peru and funerals, and they waved their little white hankies at funerals," said Robbins.
It was a far cry from baseball, but it led to her iconic idea — the Homer Hanky. Its original purpose was to help sell subscriptions for the paper, and Robbins changed the words to the song "My Baby Does the Hanky Panky," when she pitched the idea to her boss.
"I said, 'So this would be changed to "My Baby Waves the Homer Hanky,'" and he starts dancing in his chair," said Robbins.
The white hankies instantly became a hit during the first game of the '87 playoffs.
"Gary Gaetti got up in the first inning, hit a home run, and the place exploded. And I looked at my best friend who was sitting next to me, and just look at her and I go, 'Oh my God, it worked!'" said Robbins.
As the Twins kept winning, the hankies kept selling. People stood in line for up to three hours to buy them at the Star Tribune.
"They went around the block. We had to put out portable potties for them to go to the bathroom," said Robbins.
When the team advanced to the World Series and played the Cardinals in St. Louis, owner Carl Pohlad let Terrie fly with the team. They sold 2.1 million Homer Hankies that year and another 1.9 million during the '91 World Series. How fun it would be to see Terrie's invention make a return trip after all these years.
"And all the people that helped make it happen. It was just incredible," said Robbins. "It was my 15 minutes of fame. It was just so wonderful."
Robbins said in 1987 and 1991, the Homer Hankies sold for $1 and the limit was 2 per person.
