Starting Lineup figures were the pride of Cincinnati. Conceived by former Bengals punter Pat McInally (700 punts for 29,307 yards) and produced by Kenner from the city, they were a sensation in the 1980s.
In 1988, Kenner launched Starting Lineup, a series of action figures portraying the most notable athletes of the time.
When McInally retired from football in 1985, he sold his Cincinnati condo to a Kenner Products executive. The two struck up a conversation that turned to the toy company’s famous Star Wars figures.
Kenner was a big player in the toy industry. They are perhaps best known for the production of the Easy-Bake Oven starting in 1962. The company was bought by General Mills, better known for its massive industrial foods division.
It was the beginning of the big sports card boom, which would become the infamous “Junk Wax Era.” Meanwhile, it was also the peak of the action figure craze. So the marriage between the two was natural.
Pat later remembered, “I was talking to him about my idea for working with kids and writing books. He took me to a toy store, and we picked up a G.I. Joe. I thought, ‘Why not a sports figure? Everybody knows who Walter Payton, Michael Jordan, and Magic Johnson are.'”
Before they did Starting Lineup, Kenner made a very popular Star Wars series. Look for them on eBay.
It did not take much convincing for the McInally to convince the local company to produce the figurines. Luckily they didn’t punt on the idea (ok, I apologize).
It took three years for the awesome sports figurines to show up in the shop. But that wasn’t because Kenner was unenthusiastic about the idea. One of the significant delays was related to the takeover of Kenner from General Mills by toy company Tonka. They reorganized Kenner as an independent division.
However, the new owners of Kenner were excited by the Starting Lineup idea. In fact, the Cincinnati-based toy company launched a massive line of athletes. The toys were a gigantic hit and proved a worthy competitor to the primary action figures of the time.
One of the coolest things about the original Starting Lineup releases was the enclosed trading cards. The cards were unique to the release, coming with the Starting Lineup logo. As a result, they can be worth quite a bit of money when graded.
Here is a look at some of the prices they have gone for (prices current as of posting):
However, these are the exceptions. Most of the Starting Lineup cards are worth a few bucks.
The Kobe Bryant figure and card are the gems among the later releases. Look for them on eBay.
The popularity and broad scope of the original release were part of the problem. The 1988 class included well over 300 figures (124 MLB players, 137 NFL players, and 85 NBA players in all). So everyone got their favorite athletes early on. Later releases were far more limited and generally included lower-profile names.
Even when new sports were included, things didn’t go very well. For example, in 1993, the first hockey set was released but did not include the legendary Wayne Gretzky, who wanted more money. His figure finally arrived in 1997, but the release was well past its sell-by date by then.
The kids who grew up on Starting Lineup had grown up and gone to college. Younger consumers were more enamored with video games. Indeed, the golden age of action figures was gone. Sonic the Hedgehog had replaced G.I Joe.
But the real killer of the series was the sports licensing fees. Until the late 1990s, leagues charged (relatively) affordable rates. But the costs began to escalate as the league owners encouraged monopolies. The same process killed off the smaller card producers and left us only with the giant companies.
In 2000 toy giant Hasbro bought Kenner and essentially dismantled the smaller company. In 2001, Starting Lineup produced the last set of MLB figures and quietly left the scene. At least for a while.
The new release is part of an emerging partnership between Hasbro and Fanatics.
A Hasbro press release celebrated the new initiative: “We’re thrilled to be bringing back one of the most beloved sports collectibles brands of all time, Starting Lineup, and to be teaming up with Fanatics for its highly anticipated return this fall,” Eric Nyman, President, and COO of Hasbro said in a press release.
“The fast-growing sports collectibles category presents great opportunities to connect with fans of all ages, and we’ve got many exciting announcements to come from the brand in the months ahead.”
Unfortunately, we do not know which athletes will be included in the new release. However, Fanatics already owns the baseball and several soccer licenses. In addition, it will soon hold the NBA and NFL licenses. Therefore, Fanatics will have its choice of athletes.
The new line made its long-awaited debut on September 22, 2022.
Update: The Starting Lineup Figures are back and they are much better than you remember.
Hasbro and Fanatics kick off the new Starting Lineup era with an all-NBA release. These new toys are instantly recognizable, and you can adjust them in different poses. Check out this article where we reviewed the new release to find out more on the 2022 Starting Lineup Series 1 release.
The original releases were pretty cool. However, they had their limitations. Due to the use of old-school industrial molds, they only had ten poses for the different athletes. Over time, more poses were introduced, but none were all that imaginative.
Of course, each figure can stand independently (unless you broke it). The base was made to look like the field in that particular sport. So baseball players on grass, basketball on a court, and hockey players on the ice.
Conventions focused on the product popped up around the country in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They also garnered a good deal of attention at The National Sports Collectors Conventions of the day.
To mark these conventions, Kenner released unique limited figurines starting in the mid-1990s.
This Joe Montana was only available at conventions. Look for more convention figures on eBay.
The SLUCC was the Starting Lineup Collectors Club. It offered special deals to members, including figures not available to the general public. Some of these were unorthodox releases with helmets instead of figures. Many of them are exceedingly rare today.
As with most figurines, the value is determined by the condition of the box. An unboxed figure is worth very little. So are figurines in heavily damaged packages. So you will want to look at these boxes the way you look at cards when considering grading.
The value depends mainly on availability. So the widely circulated Michael Jordan is worth a lot less than some of the more obscure athletes to feature in Starting Lineup.
If so, the box is the most critical part of the condition. Although, of course, a broken figure in a pristine box (don’t ask me how that happens) wouldn’t be worth much either.
So, what do these babies get on the open market? First, let’s take a look at some recent eBay sales.
Here are some of the highest recent acquisitions:
| 1988 Tony Dorsett (Graded 85/85/85) | $1,025 |
| 1988 Michael Jordan | $1,000 |
| 1996 Honus Wagner | $1,000 |
| 1989 Michael Jordan/Isiah Thomas One on One | $800 |
Here are some more typical sales:
These figures, especially early ones in good condition boxes, can maintain value. So you will want to keep them well protected.
The Starting Lineup figures are coming back, and the enthusiasm among veteran collectors is palpable. These toys meant a lot to fans of a particular generation. And it is easy to see why. These campy but awesome little figures just scream 1980s culture. It’s like watching the Breakfast Club. In addition, Kenner made these with love and care. It is notable in the details they included with every figure.
The return of Starting Lineup will add to their visibility in the future. So, this may be an excellent time to get some of the early figures. First, however, make sure you get ones in good condition and, of course, in their original box.
Below we have provided a complete checklist of the starting lineup figures we believe are worth an investment. They include the first generation of releases and the Cooperstown series, a particular favorite.
The 1988 release is the OG and, therefore, generally the most valuable and beloved one. Here is a complete list of all of the action figures included in that class.
There is always a market for collectibles of the Hall of Fame greats. Starting Lineup has released a few fantastic series of this sort.
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