 By the time "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus" was adapted into a television special in 1985, the producers had replaced Baum's ten reindeer with eight unnamed reindeer to make the special compatible with Moore's poem.Rudolph's story was originally written in verse by Robert L. May for the Montgomery Ward chain of department stores in 1939, and published as a book to be given to children in the store at Christmas time.According to this story, Rudolph's glowing red nose made him a social outcast among the other reindeer.