"The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade dates as far back as the 1920's, when Macy's employees, many of whom were immigrants, began this tradition in an attempt to connect with American culture by celebrating Thanksgiving."
Balloon years, when given, come from various sources, including Wikipedia and Macy's website itself. Some have no name or date and a guess was made as to what year they may have appeared.
This is by no means comprehensive as there are most likely many balloons, especially early on that are not included.
1927 Felix the Cat
Macy's used to release the balloons after the parade was over. Tickets were attached with a reward of $100 for the return of the balloons. That was a fairly nice reward. As an example, a cost around that time period, for a new stove could range from $30 to $60. A nice radio could cost $15 or a new ice box about $30.
Unknown Father Knickerbocker
Father Knickerbocker is a pen named used by Washington Irving, who wrote the first history of New York and was Manhattan's first best seller. The then 26-year-old, used the name Diedrich Knickerbocker, "Diedrich" meaning "father" in Dutch, and a note by Irving in the book, indicating Knickerbocker meant to nod or doze over books.
Unknown Alligator
Facts and tidbits used are also from various sources, a special thanks to David Tarkington and his blog which has some nice bits of trivia.
1932 A...turkey?
Unknown Hippo
1934 Mickey Mouse
1935 The Marx Brothers
These particular ones are from 2004.
1937 The Nantucket Sea Monster
1937 Pinocchio
1937 Christmas Stocking
1938 Acrobats
1938 Uncle Sam
1939 Santa
1939 Superman
1940 Eddie Cantor
Boardwalk Empire fans know Eddie Cantor as a character on the show. But in case you didn't know, he was based on a real person.
Unknown Ferdinand the Bull
1940 The Tin Man
1941 Fish
No parade was held during the years 1942-1944 because of war efforts and a shortage of rubber and helium.
1945 Jack-o-Lantern
1945 Harold the Clown
1946 Harold the Baseball Player
Pilgrim 1946
1947 Artie The Pirate
1947 Artie the Gnome
Unknown Clown II
1947 Harold the Police Officer
1948 Harold the Fireman
1949 Toy Soldier
1951 Daschund/Lucky Pup
1951 Mighty Mouse
1951 Flying Fish V.2
1952 Spaceman
1957 Popeye
Numerous stories report that during a rain storm, Popeye's hat filled with water. It eventually tipped over onto parade watchers. Merry Christmas!
1960 Happy Dragon
c. 1973
Also a Happy Dragon, but no date given. Obviously much older based on the cars.
Unknown Toy Soldier
1961 Bullwinkle J. Moose
Apparently the oldest balloon still in use.
1962 Donald Duck
"Heavy rain filled the brim of Donald Duck’s hat in 1962, causing the character to tip over and dump 50 gallons of water on unamused onlookers."
I'm thinking other onlookers were highly amused.
1963 Sinclair Oil Dino the Dinosaur
1964 Linus the Lionhearted
1965 Underdog
1966 Smokey Bear
1966 Superman V.2
1968 Aviator Snoopy
Part 2, tomorrow. But no promises.
