toy sales in 1939, Ward offered a free book to children, one that would become synonymous with the holiday.

It was the creation of catalog copywriter Bob May.

- May used a combination of things to come up with a story: his own childhood holiday experiences, the story of The Ugly Duckling, and also he combined it with the story of St. Nicholas and the reindeer that already existed.

- [Narrator] Children loved the plucky young reindeer so much that Ward gave away more than 2 1/2 million copies.

When Rudolph's run at Montgomery Ward was over, creator Bob May asked for the copyright.

- [Kori] For Avery to give away this copyright just meant he didn't see a future for the Rudolph story.

- [Narrator] But one thing readers learned about Rudolph was not to count him out.

May wrote more stories, and his brother-in-law penned the famous song.

♪ Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer ♪ - That it.

♪ Had a very shiny nose ♪ - [Narrator] The song hit number one during Christmas 1949, and 15 years later, the animated TV special debuted.

- Won't you guide my slay tonight?

- It will be an honor, sir.

(all cheering) - [Narrator] And, as they say, this Chicagoan went down in history.