Irwin Toy

Irwin Toy Limited

The Irwin Toy logo and font "Johnny Irwin" designed by Johnny Larocque.
Type	Private
Industry	Toys, games
Founded	1926
Headquarters	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Key people	Sam and Beatrice Irwin

Irwin Toy Limited was a Canadian distributor and manufacturer of toys. It was Canada's oldest toy company and remained independent and family owned until 2001.

The company began in 1926 as an importer and distributor of dry goods and clothing, located in Sam and Beatrice Irwin's house. Later, the company moved to a warehouse in the west end of Toronto and focused mainly on toys, Sam and Beatrice's sons had taken over management in the years to follow.

Most of Irwin's profits came from distributing other (usually American) companies' toys. Almost all popular toys available in Canada until the 1990s were distributed by Irwin. Major American companies wished to sell their toys in Canada, but did not open Canadian branches because of the lower population and tariffs which would generate less income. Irwin's success came mainly due to their licensing and contract manufacture of American companies Kenner and Parker, where Irwin was the Canadian importer and distributor of their products.

The business found success with the help of the Hula Hoop, Slinky, Frisbee, and later on in the century with the popular Star Wars action figures, Care Bears and the Easy-Bake Oven. In the early 1980s, the Atari Video Computer System was a success, and Irwin was the Canadian distributor. Irwin would also acquire the rights to the Sega video game brand in Canada later on. The video game sales helped fuel revenues of $100 million and growth for the company. The company also had a junior shareholders program to get kids interested in the toy company and introduce them to the stock market. The company had 350 employees at their downtown Toronto factory.

1972-1987 Ed Hurst, Jerry Inch and Bob Blakely, in charge of Irwins Frisbee promotions, were instrumental in the introduction of disc sports (Frisbee) across Canada. With the use of performing Frisbee athletes Ken Westerfield and Jim Kenner, Irwin partnered with several major companies such as Lee Jeans, Orange Crush, and Air Canada. Together they sponsored Frisbee show tours and the beginning of organized disc sports programs in Canada. Two successful nationally sponsored tournaments were the Canadian Jr Frisbee Championships and the Canadian Open Frisbee Championships (1972-1985).