What character was the first balloon to hover over the Macy's thanksgiving parade?

Macy's introduced the first large inflated balloon characters in 1927. The first year, the balloons were filled with air, not helium, and had to be supported by poles. The designer, Tony Sarg, referred to them as "upside-down marionettes."

The first cartoon character introduced that year was Felix the Cat. Other balloons included a caricature of singer/actor Eddie Cantor, a dinosaur, a group of cavemen, and assorted turkeys, chickens and ducks.