Five Industry Game Changers will be Honored at Toy of the Year® Awards Gala February 19

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Toy Association™ today announced five industry icons who will join the esteemed Toy Industry Hall of Fame: Jay Foreman, Founder & CEO of Basic Fun!; Robert Pasin, Chief Wagon Officer at Radio Flyer; and the posthumous honorees, Ralph H. Baer, known as the “father of video games” and inventor of Simon; Charles Crandall, inventor & founder of Crandall Toys & Waverly Toy Works; and Norman Sas, inventor of Electric Football & founder of Tudor Games.

The 2027 Toy Industry Hall of Fame Inductees will join an impressive roster of 101 industry leaders who each have had a significant impact on the lives of children through toys and play. Since its inception in 1984, the Toy Industry Hall of Fame has recognized top leaders from manufacturing, retail, entertainment, licensing, and other sectors, including game changers such as Walt Disney (Disney); Ruth and Elliott Handler (Mattel/Barbie); Joan Ganz Cooney (Sesame Street); Maxine Clark (Build-A-Bear Workshop); Alan Hassenfeld (Hasbro); Neil Friedman (Fisher-Price, Toy Industry Hall of Fame Committee chair); Andrea Barthello (ThinkFun, Toy Industry Hall of Fame Committee co-chair); and many more.

“Jay Foreman and Robert Pasin have spent decades bringing great ideas, beloved brands, and memorable play experiences to children and families,” said Greg Ahearn, president & CEO of The Toy Association. “Jay’s entrepreneurial drive and instinct for connecting toys with culture have made him a force in our industry, and Robert has taken the cherished legacy of the Little Red Wagon and expanded the brand in new directions while staying true to what has made it special for generations. Both leaders have also been tremendous supporters of the toy community, making this recognition especially meaningful.”

Continued Ahearn: “Ralph Baer, Charles Crandall, and Norman Sas were pioneers who saw possibilities for play that others had yet to imagine. Ralph envisioned the television screen as an entirely new place to play, helping usher in the era of electronic and video gaming; Charles found inventive new ways for children to build, balance, and solve; and Norman brought the excitement of the football field to the tabletop while helping pave the way for sports licensing in toys. Each individual left the toy industry different than they found it, and we are proud to honor their extraordinary legacies in the Toy Industry Hall of Fame.”

Foreman and Pasin were nominated and voted on by members of The Toy Association in recognition of their significant contributions to the industry and the impact they have had on the lives of children through a lifelong commitment to toys and play. Baer, Crandall, and Sas, the 2027 posthumous inductees, were recommended by the Hall of Fame Subcommittee on Posthumous Selection and voted on by the Hall of Fame Committee. The process for selecting posthumous inductees helps to ensure the recognition of any deserving person who has contributed to the U.S. toy industry since 1800 who might have been overlooked in previous years.

The 2027 Toy Industry Hall of Fame inductees will be honored during The Toy Foundation‘s Toy of the Year® (TOTY®) Awards on Friday, February 19, 2027. The Toy Industry Hall of Fame lives alongside the National Toy Hall of Fame in a special exhibit at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY.

Visit toyassociation.org/HOF for more information about the 2027 Toy Industry Hall of Fame inductees.

About the Toy Industry Hall of Fame toyassociation.org/HOF
In 1984, the Toy Industry Hall of Fame was established to recognize the people who have brought the value of play to the lives of children and adults. Every year for nearly four decades, members of the industry have proudly nominated hundreds of men and women — from toy inventors to toy retailers — who have made their mark on the industry and created a love of play in the hearts of children of all ages.

About The Toy Association™ toyassociation.org / toyfoundation.org / peopleofplay.com / thegeniusofplay.org / playsafe.org
Founded in 1916, The Toy Association^™, Inc. is the business trade association representing all businesses involved in creating and delivering toys and youth entertainment products for kids of all ages. The Toy Association leads the health and growth of the U.S. toy industry, which has an annual U.S. economic impact of $155.7 billion, and its roughly 800+ members drive the annual $45.6 billion U.S. domestic toy market. The Toy Association serves as the industry’s voice on the developmental benefits of play and promotes play’s positive impact on childhood development. The organization has a long history of leadership in toy safety, having helped develop the first comprehensive toy safety standard more than 40 years ago, and remains committed to working with medical experts, governments, consumers, and the industry on ongoing programs to ensure safe and fun play.

As a global leader, The Toy Association produces the world-renowned Toy Fair^™ in New York City; hosts marketplace activities in Los Angeles; engages in state, federal, and international advocacy on behalf of its members; supports the inventor and design community through People of Play™ and its numerous assets and events, including the consumer-facing Chicago Toy & Game Fair; sustains the Canadian Toy Association; acts as secretariat for the International Council of Toy Industries and International Toy Industry CEO Roundtable; and chairs the committee that reviews and revises America’s widely emulated ASTM F963 toy safety standard. The Toy Association’s philanthropic arm is The Toy Foundation^™, a 501 (c)(3) children’s charity that acts as the uniting force for the collective philanthropy of the toy industry. To date, The Toy Foundation has delivered the joy of play to 33 million children in need worldwide.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-toy-association-inducts-industry-trailblazers-into-2027-toy-industry-hall-of-fame-302898442.html

SOURCE The Toy Association