Bobble
Heads !

Wally the Beerman gets his own Bobblehead
Stadium Vendor Honored with Bobble in his Likeness

McNeil, better known as Wally the Beerman, has worked as a vendor since 1970. He started at the old Minneapolis Auditorium, selling refreshments during wrestling and boxing matches.

When the Metrodome opened in 1982, McNeil began working Twins and Vikings games, as well as other major events. He is in his 60s, but he still is in great shape, working almost every day of the year.

“The trick is not to run up the steps,” said McNeil. “The Dome is my $84 million StairMaster. I don’t have to go to the gym. It’s like a three-hour workout.”

His most recent event, however, was special. During a night of races at Canterbury Park, the Plymouth resident was the featured guest. Bobblehead dolls in Wally’s likeness were given away to the crowd July 11, and Wally the Beerman hit a new level of celebrity.

“If you’re not having fun with what you do, you shouldn’t be doing it,” said McNeil, who moved to Plymouth with his wife Joyce six years ago. “I’m in good health, and I’ll probably be doing this as long as the Lord lets me. This was just another way to have a good time with it.”

Canterbury holds a special place in McNeil’s heart. In the mid-1990s, when Curtis Sampson bought the track, McNeil started a new hobby. He went in with Sampson on the purchase of three young horses, the first named Special Cove, in 1997. He also bought a share in horses named Wally the Beerman (appropriately) and JW Dollar.

McNeil also owns a stake in two horses that are running this summer. Mrs. Beerman has run twice, finishing second and fifth. Wally’s Choice has a pair of second-place finishes in two starts under standout jockey Bobby Walker Jr. But McNeil is not in it for the money.

“You’re lucky if you break even,” McNeil said. “But we enjoy it. You’ve got to have an interest in it. And I love going out to the track.”

A year ago, McNeil was approached by Dennis Kuchenmeister, a designer at Golden Eagle Collectibles, about the idea for bobbleheads. They gave out more than 3,000 at TwinsFest last spring. Canterbury decided to capitalize on the idea.

It is a far cry from McNeil’s job prior to vending, when he worked as the vice president of operations for a local wholesale pharmaceutical company.

“I’m not complaining,” said McNeil, who was raised in north Minneapolis. “I’m having fun, I’ve met some great people and I live in a real nice community.”

And he keeps on working, with his familiar refrain, “Cold Beer!”

McNeil made an appearance recently at Hillcrest Golf Club for Excelsior Manufacturing. Wally can be found walking the aisles at the Metrodome for the remainder of the Twins’ season.

“I can’t say I like any event more than any others,” said McNeil. “I have fun with wherever I’m at that day.”

- Sun Newspapers Online (July 24)
www.mnsun.com/story.asp?city=Bloomington&story=117000