Starting Lineup is a brand of sports action figures originally produced from 1988 to 2001, first by Kenner and later by Hasbro.
They were conceived by Pat McInally, himself a former professional American football player with the Cincinnati Bengals.
McInally, who graduated cum laude from Harvard University and is the only NFL player with a verified perfect score on the Wonderlic test, came up with the idea during a visit to a toy store.
He noticed that there were many figurines available of the likes of G.I. Joe, but nothing similar for sports stars.
The figures became very popular and eventually included sports stars from baseball, football, basketball, ice hockey; and, to a lesser extent, auto racing, boxing, track & field, ice skating, association football, and golf.
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Collection of Starting Lineup Action Figures
Evolution of the Starting Lineup Series
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 as Mickey Mantle with Joe DiMaggio, and Reggie Jackson with Don Drysdale.
1989 was also the year Kenner released the NBA Slam Dunk series, which featured players like Michael Jordan and Larry Bird dunking on a small basketball hoop, complete with backboard and hardwood floor.
Starting Lineup figures -- worthless to wildly expensive
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 a Nolan 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.
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NBA Starting Lineup Figures
"Timeless Legends" and Boxing Figurines
Boxing figurines were released as part of their "Timeless Legends" series during the late 1990s, featuring Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Leonard and Muhammad Ali as well as a dual pack with enlarged figures of Ali and Joe Frazier.
The Comeback as Stadium Giveaways
As of January 2017, Match-Up, a Florida company, is licensed to produce Starting Lineup figures as stadium giveaways.
In 2016, three professional sports teams gave away special edition Starting Lineup figures, including Jameis Winston, Joe Pavelski and Nicolas Batum.
Starting Lineup figures are making a comeback!
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Starting Lineup Stadium Giveaways in 2016:
| Athlete | Sport | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Jameis Winston | Football | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Joe Pavelski | Ice Hockey | San Jose Sharks |
| Nicolas Batum | Basketball | Charlotte Hornets |