ORIGIN & DISTRIBUTORS = This page updated 8/7/2026 - Many thanks to Robert Burrell for clarifying the LE GO brand name. All text in "RED" was from an article written by Robert.
These dolls were created in Japan from 1961 through the mid 1970's. They were manufactured by Maruyoshi, a Japanese company, which created the molds for the dolls and then painted and assembled them. These dolls were made from Papier Mâché. The term Papier Mâché (pronounced póp-ee-ay mash-áy) comes from the French phrase meaning "chewed paper.". Papier Mâché is made from newspapers and paste.
LE GO was one of the many the souvenir and concession giants that included Sportservice Corporation and Bobbie Enterprises Inc. (Buffalo, N.Y...). Later, Sports Specialties (Los Angeles, Ca.), T.J.B. ENT. INC. (Boston, Ma.), Tex Coulter Enterprises (Montreal, Canada), CPSE LTD. (Cleveland, Ohio), The Pro Market (Chicago, Ill.), NANCO-Nancy Sales Co. (Boston, Mass.) and Mascot Sales ((Montreal, Canada) were also added to the list of companies that either imported or distributed the dolls in North America. The Sportservice Corp. bought out the Bobbie Enterprises Co., which was owned by the L.A... Rams football team in 1962-63. Dolls were retailed for $1.00 to $1.75 each. The "Lego" name was not put on hockey dolls. The "Lego" decal or name was used on the Baltimore Orioles GREEN base baseball dolls & all the Peanuts cartoon dolls. (See picture at end of page for an example of a "Lego" sticker.)
As production expanded, another name began appearing on a variety of Japanese novelty imports: "LEGO." For decades, many collectors naturally assumed the mysterious mark referred to the famous European toy plastic building block company. In reality, the evidence points instead to Leo Goldman Imports of New York, with the LEGO name derived from the first two letters of Leo, and the first two letters of, Goldman — LE GO. The firm specialized in importing Japanese novelty merchandise into the North American market, including officially licensed Peanuts nodders, clearly marked at the bottom of the bobblehead series, while we see the Maruyoshi production line of Snoopy dolls in action. Leo Goldman also produced generic-themed baseball, football, golfing and bowling figures, kissing dolls, banks and a wide assortment of ceramic novelties manufactured in Japan.
The connection between Leo Goldman and the Danish LEGO company is more than coincidence. As the Danish company expanded internationally during the 1950s, it encountered Goldman, who was already using the LEGO name. This resulted in the Danish company temporarily using the name LEGIO in Norway before eventually securing the LEGO name familiar to generations of building-block enthusiasts
This is an example of a "Lego" decal and stamping on a 60's Lucy (Peanuts) character doll. Hockey dolls did not have a "Lego" decal or stamp on their bases. Decal reads =
FINE QUALITY
Lego
JAPAN
