Brass ring

Small grabbable ring that a dispenser presents to a carousel rider

For the musical group, see The Brass Ring.

Catching the brass ring

A brass ring is a small, grabbable ring that a dispenser presents to a carousel rider during the course of a ride. These dispensers are filled with a large number of iron or steel rings and a single or a few brass rings. The rings can then be tossed at a target as the carousel rotates. Typically, a brass ring can be traded for a prize, which is often a free repeat ride. Although they were standard features for carousels during their heyday in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, brass ring dispensers are now rare. The figurative phrase to grab the brass ring is derived from this device.

## Background

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Brass ring dispenser on arm end, from the carousel at Glen Echo Park[1]

The general concept of obtaining rings while riding carousels originates from ring jousting competitions in Europe in the 17th century.[2] Carousels were first developed during the late 17th century to allow participants in these competitions to practice ring jousting without overworking their horses.[2]

Brass ring devices were prevalent during the heyday of the carousel from the 1870s to the early 1930s, and the first references to brass rings appeared in the 1890s.[3][4][5] They were meant to encourage carousel riders to sit on the outermost row of carousel animals, which were often stationary. While a carousel is in motion, riders on the outermost row can grab rings dispensed from a wooden arm suspended near them. To discourage riders from keeping these rings as souvenirs, images such as clown's mouths and lion's mouths are placed as targets adjacent to the carousel at which the rider's rings can be thrown.[6] Most rings are iron or steel, but one or two per ride are made of brass; if a rider manages to grab a brass ring, it can often be redeemed for a free ride.

## Brass ring carousels today

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> It used to be that you'd fall off a horse (reaching for a ring), pick yourself up and get back on. These days you fall off, pick yourself up and go to the nearest attorney.

—Carol Perron of the Perron family, historic carousel preservationists, 1990[7]

Although there are many carousels in operation today, those that still use brass ring dispensers are very rare.[8] The need for carousel riders to position themselves at wide angles to reach for rings from a ring dispensing arm often leads to lost balance and falls off of the ride, leading to personal injury lawsuits and hence their avoidance by most modern operators.[7]

Operating carousels that use brass ring dispensers  Name  | Location  | Image  | Builder  | Date  | Notes/Updates

|
|
|
|
|

Balboa Park Carousel  | Balboa Park, San Diego, California |  | Herschell–Spillman | 1910  |
Santa Cruz Looff Carousel | Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, California |  | Looff | 1911  |
Lenny & Joe's Magical Fish Tale Carousel  | Lenny & Joe's Fish Tale, Madison, Connecticut |  | Dentzel | 1999  |
The Carousel of Old Lyme  | Old Lyme, Connecticut |  | Herschell–Spillman  | 1925  |
Cass County Dentzel Carousel | Riverside Park, Logansport, Indiana |  | Dentzel  | c. 1900–1903 | Also known as the Spencer Park Dentzel Carousel
Flying Horses | Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts |  | Dare  | 1876  |
A Carousel for Missoula | Caras Park, Missoula, Montana |  | Volunteer-built  | 2001  |
Eldridge Park Carousel  | Eldridge Park, Elmira, New York |  | Looff  | 1924 (2006)  | Original carousel mechanism was built in the 1890s and installed in Elmira in 1924. The original animals were auctioned in 1989, and replacement antique horses were acquired starting in 2003.
Nunley's Carousel | Museum Row, Garden City, New York |  | Stein & Goldstein Artistic Carousell Manufacturing Company  | 1912  | Formerly located in Nunley's in Baldwin, New York
Northrop Grumman Carousel  | Mitchell Park, Greenport, New York |  | Herschell–Spillman  | 1920  |
Grand Carousel  | Knoebels Amusement Resort, Elysburg, Pennsylvania |  | Kremer's Carousel Works/Carmel  | 1913  |
Weona Park Carousel | Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania |  | Dentzel  | 1917  | One of only two remaining stationary Dentzel menagerie carousels with original factory paint on the carousel figures[9]
Crescent Park Looff Carousel | East Providence, Rhode Island |  | Looff  | c. 1895 |
Flying Horse Carousel | Westerly, Rhode Island |  | Dare  | c. 1876 |
The Gesa Carousel of Dreams  | Southridge Sports Complex, Kennewick, Washington |  | Fred Dolle Company/Carmel  | 1910  | Formerly located in Silver Beach Amusement Park in St. Joseph, Michigan
Riverfront Park Carousel | Riverfront Park, Spokane, Washington |  | Looff  | 1909  |
Roseneath Carousel  | Roseneath Fairgrounds, Alnwick/Haldimand, Ontario |  | Parker/Herschell–Spillman  | 1906  |

## Cultural references

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"Grab the brass ring," "reach for the brass ring," and similar phrases are metaphors for seeking the highest prize (especially a championship ring in sports) or living life to the fullest. This is exemplified by the annual Brass Ring Awards presented by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) to recognize achievements in the worldwide amusement industry.[10] It is not clear when the term brass ring used in this context came into wide use, but it has been found in dictionaries since the late 19th century.[11][12] The term has also been used in multiple book titles.[13][14]

Usage of the brass ring term and its symbolism can be found in numerous forms of media, including the last chapter of the 1951 book The Catcher in the Rye, when Phoebe, the sister of Holden Caulfield, reaches for a brass ring while riding a carousel. The brass ring is symbolic of adulthood, the transition to which is a preoccupation of Holden throughout the book. The term is also present in music, such as the Four Seasons' 1967 song "Beggin'." It contains the line "now that big brass ring is a shade of black," a reference to missing an important opportunity. The brass ring term also exists in film, specifically during the climax of the 1992 film Sneakers, in which all of the main characters have the opportunity to receive anything they want in exchange for handing over a crucial piece of technology to the US National Security Agency. When River Phoenix's character requests something with no monetary value, he is admonished by Robert Redford's character to think bigger, as "this is the brass ring." This term was also used in television-broadcast professional wrestling when Tyson Kidd and Cesaro of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) formed an official alliance in 2015, calling themselves the "Brass Ring Club."

## References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brass ring dispensers.

1. ^ Information from "Carousel Info Page". National Park Service. Archived from the original on 13 October 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2006.
2. ^ a b Hinds (1990), pp. 17–18.
3. ^ Blitz, Matt (24 July 2015). "Take a Spin on the Most Beautiful, Hand-Crafted Carousels in the Nation". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on 30 December 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
4. ^ "Take a Trip This National Carousel Day". The Times Herald. 18 July 2015. Archived from the original on 6 August 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
5. ^ From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle of 24 September 1899 about the famous Coney Island amusement park:

"This big place has been the rendezvous for thousands of children who have spent their nickels and have enjoyed a ride on the ponies, besides trying their best to capture the brass ring, which the boy drops in the big iron arm that is swung out at the side of the merry-go-round."
as quoted in: Michael Quinion. "Meaning of the term Brass Ring". World Wide Words. Retrieved 26 September 2006.
6. ^ Adam Sandy. "The Grand Carousel Knoebels Grove- Elysburg, Pennsylvania". Archived from the original on 30 June 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2006.. Images from that site: grabbing the ring and the target
7. ^ a b Morrow, Theresa (18 November 1990). "Merry Go Round — This Portland Family Treats These Frozen Horses Like an Endangered Species". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 1 April 2025. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
8. ^ "Classic Carousels with Operating Ring Machines". National Carousel Association. Retrieved 26 September 2006.
9. ^ Cremers, Estelle (4 March 1999). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form – Weona Park Carousel" (PDF). National Park Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 March 2025. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
10. ^ "IAAPA Brass Ring Awards". iaapa.org. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
11. ^ From "The Mavens' Word of the Day - Brass ring". WORDS@RANDOM, Random House, Inc. Archived from the original on 3 March 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2006.:

"Merriam-Webster's 10th Collegiate defines the metaphor and dates it to 1950. Christine Ammer's The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms says it's from the late 1800s."
12. ^ World Wide Words: Brass ring
13. ^ Hinds (1990), p. i.
14. ^ For example: Mauldin, Bill; Mauldin, William Henry (1971). The Brass Ring. ISBN 0393074633.

## Bibliography

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* Hinds, Anne Dion (1990). Grab the Brass Ring: the American Carousel (1st ed.). Crown Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-517-57486-1.

*[c.]: circa