Uniroyal Gal, AKA Miss America, at Bell Plastics in 2018, Hayward, California.

Uniroyal Gal

Hayward, California

Type: Uniroyal Gal

Arm position: Standard, left arm up.

Accessories: Blouse and skirt

Nicknames: Miss America

A solitary 18-ft. tall lady stands among the collection of male bruisers at Bell Plastics. She's probably one of the original Uniroyal Gal statues, manufactured in southern California in the late 1960s. Her sculptor, said (by his former employer at International Fiberglass) to be inspired by the look of Jackie Kennedy, created the mold for advertising roadside businesses.

Some time after 1966, a large statue order from the Uniroyal Tire and Rubber Company called for a custom-designed female figure, with a removable blouse and skirt, and upstretched left hand to hold aloft a sign.

By 1970, after the Uniroyal campaign had ended and the figures had been scrapped or sold, International Fiberglass marketed the design in their catalog for other interested business. Their price sheet referred to this model as "Miss America in Bikini."

Uniroyal Gal at Stan the Tire Man's shop in 2008, Mt. Vernon, Illinois.

At Roadside America, we refer to the overall statue Type as a "Uniroyal Gal."

Stan the Tire Man

In 1970, Stan the Tire Man, a tire business in Salem, Illinois, purchased the Uniroyal Gal figure from a gas station and installed her next to their mascot Paul Bunyan Muffler Man statue. Locals considered the pair happily "married," but nothing lasts forever, and the community took note when the Uniroyal Gal moved out and south to Stan's Mt. Vernon location on Broadway, where she stayed for many years (in 2007, the Bunyan departed for Rocky Mount, North Carolina).

Headed West

When Stan the Tire Man closed the business in 2015, Bruce Kennedy bought the big gal, and had her shipped to Hayward, California. Kennedy, who was assembling an impressive array of classic roadside statuary, had the lady completely restored, upgraded with more detailed skin and hair. The Uniroyal Gal's blouse and skirt were restored and freshly painted, and are stowed away (ready for deployment when needed). She currently stands in her pink polka-dot bathing suit among Bell Plastics' cargo containers and Bruce's other roadside giants.

Bruce has generated complete molds to make more Uniroyal Gals; on display at Bell Plastics' 2018 open house/Big Mike's Birthday Bash.

Uniroyal Gal fiberglass mold.