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| Type | Sportsaction figure |
|---|---|
| Invented by | Pat McInally |
| Company | Kenner (1988–1991) Hasbro (1991–2001) |
| Country | United States |
| Availability | 1988–2001 |
| Materials | Plastic |
| Features | Sports players |
Starting Lineup is a brand of sportsaction figures originally produced from 1988 to 2001, first byKenner and later byHasbro. They were conceived byPat McInally, himself a former professionalAmerican football player with theCincinnati Bengals. The figures became very popular, and eventually included sports stars frombaseball, football,basketball,ice hockey; and, to a lesser extent,auto racing,boxing,track & field,ice skating,association football, andgolf. In the late 2010s, the figures made a comeback as a promotional item at several sporting events.
McInally, who graduatedcum laude fromHarvard University[1] and is the only NFL player with a verified perfect score on theWonderlic test,[2] came up with the idea during a visit to a toy store. He noticed that there were many figurines available of the likes ofG.I. Joe, but none depicting famous athletes, whom McInally considered to be just as recognizable to children.[3] Today, the figures arecollector items, with prices per figure sometimes ranging in the hundreds.[3]
A typical figure stands about 4 inches (10 cm) tall, but the brand at times launched various special series that can be much larger including a 14" NBA line and came with a sports card of the respective athlete.
Kenner debuted the Starting Lineup figures in 1988 by releasing a 132-playerMLB set, a 137-playerNFL set, and an 85-playerNBA set.[3] Each MLB team had at least four players in the set except for the Canadian teams ofMontreal andToronto, which had only one player each because Kenner was unsure of the set's appeal in Canada.[4] TheNew York Mets had the most players in the set with seven.[citation needed] Kenner distributed the players to stores by geographical region, so it was very difficult to complete the collection or find players from out-of-market teams.[3]
While there was always at least one annual set featuring single-packed figures for baseball, basketball, football and hockey, there were many other specialty products such as dual-packed figure sets, team sets, one-on-one scene type sets and much more. In 1989 Kenner introduced the Baseball Greats dual-packed figures, featuring such past Hall of Famers asMickey Mantle withJoe DiMaggio, andReggie Jackson withDon Drysdale. Basketball, football and hockey would later get their own dual-packed sets in the late 1990s.
1989 also saw Kenner releasing many other specialty and sometimes one-time only products like theAFC andNFC offensive and defensive helmet sets, 9-figure baseball team sets, baseball, basketball and football one-on-one action sequences featuring two players from different teams, and even a Headliner set which featured a superstar player displayed on a base with a miniature newspaper front page cover touting the accomplishment of that particular player.
1989 was also the year Kenner released the NBA Slam Dunk series, which featured players likeMichael Jordan andLarry Bird dunking on a small basketball hoop, complete with backboard and hardwood floor. Kenner would also offer exclusive product lines through their four-issue annual Starting Lineup Collector's Club Newsletter, in which consumers could order such unique items as aNolan Ryan Freeze Frame product in 1995, featuring the pitcher in four different team uniforms with each figure depicting a different position in his windup and delivery of a pitch. Other specialty product lines included 12" doll-like figures in 1997 and the once popular Stadium Stars baseball set featuring larger figurines placed over a base which was a replica of that player's respective stadium;Roger Clemens standing overFenway Park is one example of such a figure.
Boxing figurines were released as part of their "Timeless Legends" series during the late 1990s, featuringJoe Louis,Rocky Marciano,Sugar Ray Leonard andMuhammad Ali as well as a dual pack with enlarged figures of Ali andJoe Frazier. Other important sports figures also had figures of them released as part of that series, includingMary Lou Retton andPelé.
After the release of the initial sets, Kenner and Hasbro, who purchased Kenner in 1991, found it difficult to produce large sets because almost all notable players had already been included in the 1988 releases.
Legacy One, Inc. obtained the trademark after Hasbro let it lapse. As of January 2017[update], Match-Up, a Florida company, is licensed to produce Starting Lineup figures as stadium giveaways.[5] In 2016, three professional sports teams gave away special edition Starting Lineup figures. On October 30, theTampa Bay Buccaneers released a figure ofJameis Winston.[6] In addition, on November 25, theSan Jose Sharks released a figure ofJoe Pavelski,[7] and on December 23, theCharlotte Hornets released a figure ofNicolas Batum.[8] In the years since, over two dozen special edition giveaways have occurred acrossMLB, theNBA, and theNHL.[9]
