Tom Cat (originally named George the Tiger) was a Macy's original character who appeared in the form of a giant helium character balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
History with the Macy's Parade[]
In 1931, Macy's and Goodyear created a balloon called the Tom Cat for that year's parade. During development, when the balloon was completed at Goodyear's plant in Akron, Ohio, the balloon was destroyed as a result of a fire that started in the balloon room. Due to this, a duplicate had to be quickly made, which would then make its parade debut later that November.
When the balloon reached 34th Street, it was released into the air, where whoever caught it would receive a prize by Macy's. Despite being released, it was returned, resulting in it being brought back to the parade for one more year in 1932 with the balloon retiring after the latter.
Incidents[]
- In 1931, Tom Cat's front left paw was deflated.
- In 1932, Tom Cat hooked onto an airplane when the pilot of the airplane was attempting to catch it, sending the plane into a tailspin. Due to this accident, Macy's stopped releasing the balloons at the end of the parade.
See also[]