Teddy bear madness! 7,908 stuff animals fly at annual AHL Teddy Bear Toss

The Bakersfield Condors have been running their annual Teddy Bear Toss for 17 years, and thanks to a huge effort from fans this past weekend, the club surpassed the 100,000-mark for donations. The stuffed animals continued to fly for close to five minutes.

The Bakersfield Condors are known for being one of the most entertaining teams in all of minor professional sports, but they are also one of the most giving.

The organization, like many others, took part in its annual Teddy Bear Toss this past weekend in an effort to collect some stuffed animals for the United Way. The Condors’ Teddy Bear Toss was entering its 17th season and looking to hit the 100,000-mark for stuffed animals donated to charity, and they more than reached their goal as 7,908 toys flew from the stands and onto the ice after a Ryan Hamilton goal in the first period. Skip to 1:01 in the video:

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xzut1ltOGE[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T59x0gh_Qs8[/embed]

The 7,900-plus toys are the second-most the team has ever collected, but still close to 200 fewer than the 2009 record of 8,075. Total, the Condors have now donated more than 103,000 stuffed animals to charity. This year’s donations went to more than 50 local organizations.

So, how long did the clean up take? Well, it was a lot quicker than you may expect. After close to five minutes of fans throwing stuffed toys onto the ice, the Condors had the game back underway in about 12 minutes. Not bad.

The OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs also had their Teddy Bear Toss this past weekend and, like the Condors, fans had to wait until the home team notched a goal to start throwing the toys on the ice. Hilariously, though, the goal that started the toss was waved off, meaning the Teddy Bear Toss actually took place during what was just a stoppage in play. Check it out, via Neate Sager:

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzQcZDTbImg[/embed]

Regardless of the execution of the Frontenacs’ Teddy Bear Toss, we give them an ‘A’ for effort. After all, who cares about the timing when the fans are donating some stuffed friends for a good cause.