Billy Possum - Wikipedia
Billy Possum is a type of stuffed toy depicting an opossum. Designed to be the replacement for the Teddy bear after Theodore Roosevelt vacated the office of President of the United States in 1909, the toy's popularity waned quickly, with the trend …
Billy Possum: President Taft's Answer to the Teddy Bear - Mental Floss
Jun 10, 2013 · When Taft’s belly was stuffed, local boosters presented the president-to-be with a small plush opossum. The toy, they told Taft, was destined to be the next big thing—it was going to replace the...
Billy Possum - Ohio History Connection
Nov 23, 2019 · “Billy Possum” was the toy they created. It was a stuffed opossum made in honor of Ohio’s very own William Howard Taft. The toy companies were sure that they had struck gold.
The Story of Billy Possum, President Hoover’s Pet Opossum
In this article, I turn to original sources to tell the story of the time when President Herbert C. Hoover adopted an opossum as the White House pet and named him Billy Possum. What’s In a Name? “Billy Possum”
TR Center - Billy Possum - Theodore Roosevelt Center
Jun 27, 2022 · All of us are familiar with the Teddy bear, perhaps the most ubiquitous plush toy of the twentieth century. But have you ever heard of its failed successor, Billy Possum?
The Possum and Taters Feast That Launched "Billy Possum"
May 9, 2023 · Listen as we uncover new details about the Billy Possum’s short, wild life and fiery death in our brand new episode “The Rise and Fall of Billy Possum.”
Jealous of the Teddy Bear, How President Taft Tried to Make Billy ...
Presidents William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt battled it out in the election of 1912, even though Roosevelt had handpicked Taft as his successor just...
The presidential history of Trumpy Bear, Billy Possum, and the
Nov 12, 2018 · More than a century before a commercial aired featuring a guy in a golf cart exclaiming that Trumpy Bear “makes my golf game great again,” William Howard Taft had Billy Possum—a plush...
Jealous Of The Teddy Bear, President Taft Tried To Make Billy Possum …
Jun 23, 2021 · In a year-long battle, Taft supporters tried to replace the beloved teddy bear with a new stuffed animal, Billy Possum, declaring, "Good-bye, Teddy Bear. Hello, Billy Possum." The stuffed marsupial was praised in poems, promoted on postcards, and even shown eating a teddy bear. But why a possum?
The Story of Billy Possum - Neatorama
Sep 4, 2016 · When Taft was presented with a plush opossum toy at an Atlanta banquet (after he ate one), toy manufacturers were inspired. The Georgia Billy Possum Company formed, churning out thousands of the stuffed toys. (The company’s …