Starting Lineup

Starting Lineup was a former NFL punter's idea. Pat McInally, who had played for the Cincinnati Bengals, was browsing a toy store when he noticed shelves full of action figures like G.I. Joe and none of real athletes, who he figured were just as recognizable to kids. Kenner launched the line in 1988 with sets for Major League Baseball, the NFL and the NBA. Each figure stood about four inches tall and came with a trading card of the player. Kenner was so unsure the line would sell in Canada that the Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays got just one player each, while other teams got at least four. Figures were distributed to stores by region, which made a complete set hard to find and out-of-market players even harder.

The line took off, and Kenner kept adding variations. In 1989 came Baseball Greats two-packs (Mickey Mantle with Joe DiMaggio), "Headliners" posed on a base with a miniature newspaper front page, and the NBA Slam Dunk series, with Michael Jordan and Larry Bird dunking on a tiny hoop with its own backboard and hardwood floor. Hasbro bought Kenner in 1991 and kept the line going. A collectors' club newsletter sold exclusives such as 1995's Nolan Ryan Freeze Frame set, four figures in four team uniforms, each frozen at a different point in his windup. Stadium Stars posed players above replicas of their ballparks (Roger Clemens over Fenway Park), a 12-inch line arrived in 1997, and a boxing series in the late '90s brought Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and Rocky Marciano.

Hasbro ended the line in 2001. The figures came back in the late 2010s as stadium giveaways, and the carded 1990s figures still sell on the collector market.