1. Is there a price guide for SLU? 

      We have a Price Guide link on my page, you can also check eBay or Worthpoint for completed sales. 

 2. Is there a checklist for SLU? 

      We have a Checklist sorted by player, team, and year of release. 

 3. Can the figures be graded? 

      Yes, grading the package or just loose sports cards can significantly increase the value. There's a company called Action Figure Authority (AFA) that will grade unopened figures. They grade on three criteria including the plastic, cardboard, and figure quality. Note figures with yellow plastic will be designated as 'Y'. Also the loose sports cards can be graded by PSA which may turn out to be worth than the unopened figures if Mint.  

 4. How many different Starting Lineup's were made? 

      Nearly 4K different figures were made over the years featuring baseball, football, basketball, hockey, racing, golf, boxing & Olympic sports. We have a Picture Guide that shows every SLU made sorted by sport & year. 

 5. Which company produced SLU's? 

      SLU's were originally released in 1988 by Kenner which was owned by Tonka at the time. 1989 Tonka produced it's own European Soccer set. In the mid 1990's Hasbro bought Kenner and continued producing figures till 2001 when the line was discontinued. In 1997, Hasbro started producing a Winners Circle line in a joint venture with ACTION. After 2001, the ACTION company bought the rights to the Winners Circle name and continued the brand by itself. And in 2016 a company called Match-Up Promotions started producing the sports figures again as Stadium Giveaways. 

 6. Who Invented SLU? 

      Starting Lineups where the brainchild of former NFL player Pat McInally in 1987. Pat thought kids needed toys of real-life action hero's. As an homage to Pat, Kenner put his #87 in the shape of a football on the back of every package starting in 1988. 

 7. How are SLU's made? 

      The sculpting process for the initial prototype would begin at Kenner headquarters in Cincinnati. After the player & league approved, the final prototype would then be sent to China where the factory would make a small series of packaged & unpacked samples to be sent back to Cincinnati for final approval. Unfortunately not all figures would get approved resulting in a series of very rare & valuable unreleased figures that would never make it to the stores. 

8. Can the 'yellow' tint be removed from the plastic or figure? 

      It's common for toy plastic to turn a darker color over time since they were intended as kids toys to open. For loose figures, usually exposing them to direct sunlight will reverse most the process and whiten the figures. Unfortunately there's no way to reverse the yellowing of the unopened plastic bubbles. Dark plastic packages are usually opened since the plastic will continue to darken and turn brittle over time. 

9. How do you remove the price stickers from the figures? 

      Usually a hair dryer will melt the glue enough for the sticker to  be removed from the package. Any residue left behind can be removed by Goo Gone Adhesive remover. This product also works well to remove paint marks from loose figures. 

10. How do you spot counterfeit SLU's? 

      Unfortunately some folks will razor around the edge and lift the plastic enough to change out the card or figure in an effort to deceive. Usually there will be white line around the edge of the plastic if it's been re-glued. And it's almost certain if it's not pictured in our online picture guide then it's not authentic. There has also been an increase in counterfeit sports cards on eBay since grading as taken off. Our card guide also has pointers on how to spot these fakes. 

11. Who is the most popular SLU?

      According the Watchcount it would be Michael Jordan with the 1988 Bulls figure leading the charge. Honorable mention also goes to Kobe Bryant, Bo Jackson, Shaq O'Neil, and Ken Griffey Jr. 

12. Who is the most commonly produced SLU? 

     That would also be Michael Jordan. An estimated 25-30K each where made of most figures with the 1991 jumping topping the list at nearly 50K!

13. Did they make any female figures? 

     They made 8 women... 1996 Nadia Comaneci, 1996 Florence Griffith Joyner, 1996 Jackie Joyner Kersee, 1996 Olga Korbut, 1997 Dottie Kamenshek, 1998 Bonnie Blair, 1999 Pepper Davis, 1999 Sheryl Swoops. 

14. What is the rarest SLU?

      Kenner auctioned off a series about 150 prototypes of different players for Charity at the Annual SLU convention. Each figure was a one of a kind prototype signed by Kenner executives accompanied with a Certificate of Authenticity. And it's no surprise that Nolan Ryan, Shaq, and Jordan sold for nearly $1,500 a piece! 

15. Did they release any coaches?

      They released three...1998 Vince Lombardi, 1999 Earl Weaver, 1988 Pete Rose(player/manager)

16. Can the plastic figures be reshaped if they're bent?

      It's common for the plastic to bend to a such a degree that certain loose figures would fall over. The plastic can usually be reshaped by dipping the part that needs straightening in really hot water for 30 seconds while you reshape it, then dip in ice water to hold the form. 

17. What is the most popular pose?

      Some poses are so popular that they can command a premium. The 1988 Squatting QB is usually a collector favorite. It was produced in 1988 then discontinued. Other favorites include football Center, basketball Warmup, defensive Lineman, hockey Goalies, and Slam Dunk pose. 

18. Are there any known errors in the line?

     There are generally three type of errors. Packaging errors are the most common and the least valuable. The wrong sports cards were often mismatched with the figures or the figures packaged upside-down. There were also several Card errors where the players names were misspelled. Finally, Figure errors are the the rarest. Sometimes the wrong team torso or head was mismatched with the body since the figures were painted before they were assembled. The Most valuable include #44-Jackie Robinson, Red Sox-Chipper Jones, No beard-Patrick Roy, brown hair-Marciano. 

19. Which sets are the rarest?

     Just about all the rarest sets are foreign released. Very few figures made it back to the USA. And those that did where badly damaged...

     1. 1989 French Soccer

      2. 1988 Canadian Baseball

      3. 1992 Argentina Soccer

      4. 1989 Canadian Baseball

      5. 1997 Upper Deck Basketball

      6. 1998 Mexican Soccer

      7. 1996 Basketball (Asian Edition)

      8. 1998 Baseball (Japan Edition)

20. Which figure is worth the most? 

      This is a general list of nm.mt figures. Also note some are condition sensitive and very hard to find without dark yellow plastic as notes by 'clear plastic'. 

     1989 Eddie Murray $2,000-3,000

     1989 Roger Staubach $2,000-3,000

     1989 Bob Horner $1,500-2,000

     1989 Bruce Hurst $1,500-2,000

     1989 Steve Sax $1,500-2,000

     1989 Julio Franco $1,500-2,000

     1989 Rafael Palmeiro $1,000-2,000

     1998 Eddie Jones $1,000-1,500

     1996 Edwin Moses $1,000-1,500

     1989 Bill Fralic $1,000-1,500

     1996 Patrick Roy (No Beard) $1,000-1,500

     1988 Karl Malone (clear plastic) $1,000-1,500

     1988 John Stockton (clear plastic) $700-800

     1995 Rocky Marciano (Brown Hair) $700-800

     1994 Jackie Robinson (#44) $500-600

     1997 David Robinson (Upper Deck) $500-600

     1989 Fernando Valenzuela (Canadian) $500-600

     1988 Mark Eaton $500-600

     1988 Reggie Miller (clear plastic) $500-600

     1988 Steve Jordan $400-500

     1988 Marc Wilson $400-500

     1989 Devon White (clear plastic)  $400-500

     1996 Magic Johnson (Asian) $300-400

     1988 Tony Dorsett $300-400

     1989 Sean Farrell $300-400

     1990 Simon Fletcher $250-300

     1992 Magic Johnson (Yellow Jersey) $200-300

21. Where can I find more information on SLU's? 

          We have the largest database online of original Magazine Articles, TV Commercials, Collector Club Newsletters, ToyFair catalogs, Kenner Kollector columns, and Tuff Stuff Guides.  

Blog Questions

 

 

Cardboard:

1) The 1992 Basketball set was an anomaly of sorts. I believe it was the only time Kenner released any SLU series on cardboard with square corners instead of the regular round corners. Why was this square cornered packaging only used for one series?  

 

2) The 1988 Baseball set featured two different styles of cardboard packaging. One featured an yellow advertisement for a 'free baseball' on the front while the other didn't. All baseball figures in the set could be found equally with either style except Bonds, Davis, Downing, Langston, Phelps, Sandberg, and Sutcliffe. Why were just these seven figures only packaged on the plain cards without the advertisement?

 Bubbles:

1) The outer plastic on early SLU's is intensely known to turn a dark yellowish color to the disdain of collectors. This darkening usually starts to develop after a couple a months and gets worse over time, 1988 Basketball seems to be the worse where half the figures are effected. On later series the inner plastic is known to turn a dark color. The oddity is usually all the figures on a select player will darken, almost 100% of  the 1996 Chipper Jones figures have yellowed over the years. Why did the plastic turn color? Did Kenner ever try to correct it?

2) The 1989 Football set featured about 25 players with two different styles of plastic bubbles. One type featured the helmet separate from the player while the other type featured the helmet next to the player in the same bubble. Why were two different styles used for this 1989 series only? And why were only 25 players selected for this packaging discrepancy?

 Poses:

1) The 1988 Football line included the squatting quarterback pose which was usually football collectors favorite pose, but after 1988 this pose was only used one other time by Kenner. Why was this extremely popular pose discontinued for the most part after 1988?

 

2) The 1993 Hockey set was Kenner's first Hockey line and featured all new poses. Although it was popular set, most collectors noticed there were no pucks with the figures. The two early prototypes below that I've seen of Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky both featured black pucks and removeable helmets. Why didn't any of the final figures released to retail include any of these two popular attributes?

3) Two of the most unique prototypes that I have ever seen for Starting Lineup were for Tennis star's Chris Evert & Ivan Lendl. Were these two considered for the Timeless Legends line? And did Kenner ever try to market current stars from individual sports? I remember Greg Norman was advertised as a Timeless Legend at one point, but he was never made, and of course a lot collectors wanted Tiger Woods.

 

 

4) Over the years a number of prototypes have surfaced depicting 1989 figures in alternate poses which were never released. Many of which appear to be shown in early Television and print advertisements for baseball & basketball.  It appears to be mostly all-star player like Clemens, Ripken, and Dawson. Is there a reason why Kenner was making two different prototypes of so many figures? At some point did Kenner plan on releasing these 1989 figures in two different poses like several of the 1990 Baseball all-stars?

 

5) Kenner designed some great basketball poses, but due to the nature of the tall poses many of the figures were top heavy. This was leaning was exacerbated in the figures with a steel pole design. Usually after opening the package gravity began to take hold and the figures leaned over to the point they would fall over. Did Kenner ever try to correct this problem? Or perhaps using stiffer plastic?

 

Cards:

1) I noticed several sports cards did not depict the same team as the figures for Timeless Legends line. For example, Wilt Chamberlain's card pictured him in Lakers jersey, but it was packaged with a Philadelphia figure. Why didn't Kenner use cards picturing the athletes in the same uniform as the figure? And why did the Joe Montana card picture an extremely up-close picture of the side of his face instead of showing him in uniform?

 

2) Not long ago a proof sheet emerged from 'Pacific' Trading Card Company which was the same company that Kenner used to make sports cards for the Elite Baseball & Football series. The football and baseball cards looked the same, but this sheet also featured what appeared to be a 6 card set for an Elite Hockey line. Was there a 6" Elite Hockey figure set planned like the Elite football & baseball series in 2000?  If so, why was the set cancelled.

 

 Players:

1) Kenner listed the popular Seahawk Steve Largent in all their advertisements for the 1989 and 1988 sets. And later advertised a 1991 Headliner featuring Largent, but no Largent figure was ever released. Later I discovered this resin prototype below of a Steve Largent, so I assume Kenner was close to making him at some point. Is there a reason Largent did not want his figure produced by Kenner? I believe he was the only active Hall of Famer never made in 1988 or '89.

 

 

 

2) Over the years rumors of Jim Brown figure persisted but he was never released by Kenner. He was easily the most popular and request retired football player from collectors. Over the years several prototypes appeared which were purported to be from the 1989 Legends and 1999 Classic Double sets. Is it true he was scheduled to be in these sets? And why was no Jim Brown figure ever made by Kenner?

 

3) Sandy Koufax was by far the most requested retired pitcher by collectors. Like Jim Brown, he had a shortened career but his status is still legendary among collectors. Why was Sandy never included in the Cooperstown sets?

 

4) And probably the most ask for non Hall of Famer was Shoeless Joe Jackson. His popularity grew more after a couple of movies came out in the last '90's featuring him. Did Kenner ever seriously consider a Jackson figure? There were rumors that MLB wouldn't allow it, but  I noticed the 'Southland' Plastic Company subsequently produced a figure of him.

 

5) William 'Refrigerator' Perry was literally the biggest thing in sports in the late 80's, but Kenner never produced a figure of him. At one point, his name appeared on the 1991 football checklist, and even a 1991 proof card and coin surfaced.  Was there a particular reason that Perry was never made? It was always speculated that since GI Joe had released a 'Fridge' figure in 1986 that Kenner didn't have the rights to make another figure. On the other hand, maybe it wasn't cost effective to use that much plastic on one player!

 

6) The back of the cardboard on the 1998 NFL Legends featured a list of players in the set, but one players name was blacked out. Collectors could peel away the tape to see Johnny Unitas name. Later this prototype/sample figure turned up which was purported to be the missing Unitas. Why was Unitas never included in '98 Legends? The next year Hasbro finally released a Unitas figure on-line but I noticed the head sculpt changed.

7) In 1989 Eric Dickerson famously sued the NFL and named Kenner as a defendant. Was Eric Dickerson ever considered for a figure again after he sued? And over the years I have talked to a few players that weren't crazy about SLU figure sculpting, but do you remember any other active players that refused to have an SLU figure made?

 

8) I believe Vince Lombardi was the only football coach Kenner ever produced, but one of the best sculpts that I have ever seen from Kenner was for a John Madden figure. Why weren't more coaches made? I noticed several legendary coaches like Tom Landry and Madden are often more collected than the players.

 

 Hockey:

1) In 1997/98 Kenner advertised a Timeless Legends Hockey set for sell that included the great Bobby Orr. All the hockey figures in the set were released but Orr. Why was Orr never released in the Timeless Legends set or any other set as a 4" figure? The only figure released of Orr was a 12 inch figure which many collectors lovingly referred to as 'dolls'.  Years later two or three 4" prototypes like this one below eventually did appear.

Basketball:

1) It was purported that plans for 1989 Basketball were scaled back because 1988 Basketball sales were poor. The advertisements in 1989 still featured an All-Star assortment, but the Cavs and Hornets were the only teams ever produced. Why were two of the worst teams in the NBA the only two teams selected to be produced in 1989? And why were there at least no popular All-Star's like Jordan, Magic, and Bird? It's hard to believe Kenner passed on the chance to make these three.  

 

2) In a move that has greatly frustrated collectors, Kenner decided to use two different brand cards in it's 1997 basketball line. Apparently, they started using the Topps cards for retail cases and later switched to the Upper Deck brand for Kenner Direct cases. But things got interesting when Sears sold a special complete set by mail order. A few of the Upper Deck branded cards were used in the Sears set for a select few players like David Robinson which were originally packaged with the Topps card for retail. Was there a reason why a very limited number Upper Deck cards were switched out for Topps cards for a few players from the Sears set?

 

3) After 1993 basketball Kenner never produced another Michael Jordan although by this time he was easily the most popular athlete in the world. Which left collectors wondering where was Jordan? I believe by this time he had signed exclusively with Upper Deck, but in '96 the company 'Playmates' did release a line of Jordan figures for Space Jam. Later this 1998 Jordan sample figure below from Hasbro was discovered; did Kenner just make this figure as wishful thinking or was a new Jordan figure imminent?  

4) In 1998 Kenner lost its NBA license to Mattel, although Kenner did release one last NBA set in 1998. Do you remember why Kenner lost it's license? Was this just a simple process of being outbid by Mattel or did Kenner decide to throw in the towel since they didn't have Michael Jordan? It was hard for collectors to image that Kenner gave up the license so easy after a decade, on the other hand it's hard to imagine an NBA set without MJ!

 

5) In 1999, Kenner started producing a college basketball line using the acronym F.A.M.E. Kenner officials were always very coy about what the acronym stood for. Maybe you can finally shed some light on what collectors have questioned for a decades. What did the acronym mean; if anything?

 



 NASCAR 

1) The 1997 NASCAR set was Kenner first racing set and very popular with collectors. But there was one anomaly in the set with Jeff Gordon. His figure didn't have his trademark 'Dupont' logo on his cap like all the other racers. I noticed most of the subsequent Gordon figures didn't have a logo either; although most of the early advertising showed Gordon with a logo on his red cap. Did Kenner have to leave his hat blank because of a licensing issue? It just looked strange to have a blank hat.

 

2) Another anomaly with the 1997 NASCAR set was Mike Skinner and Jeremy Mayfield who were both listed on the back of the package but neither were ever included in the set. Why were these two pulled from the set? And probably the strangest part was Mike Skinner was advertised as #16 on the back of the package, but his car number was #31. Why did Kenner list him as #16? Was the wrong number the reason he was pulled from the set? 

3) Another figure that Kenner left collectors searching for was the Star Wars Jeff Gordon. Supposedly the figure was scheduled for the 1999 set. A 'Motorsports figure' was advertised on the back of all the diecast car packages for Winners Circle in 1999, but the figure was never seen. Why was this Star Wars figure never released? I later located this prototype stamped 'LFL' on the base which the seller attributed to a former employee. Can it be confirmed if this is the Jeff Gordon Star Wars figure that the package refers to? It's a shame it was not produced, they even painted the hat!

4) I noticed that by the 1999 NASCAR series Kenner stopped including a racing helmet in the package for most drivers. This was a popular addition for most collectors. Was there a reason why Kenner didn't include the racing helmet with figures in the 1999 set?  

 

5) And lastly, Kenner decided to confuse racing collectors even more by releasing both the 1998 and 1999 NASCAR set using the exact same cardboard design. Why was the same design used two years in a row? I believe this was only time that I can remember that Kenner used the same cardboard design more than once.

 

Foreign Releases: 

1) In 1988 and 1989 Kenner released a small baseball set in Canada. All the figures and baseball cards were just like the American counterparts with one exception. Fernando Valenzuela's 1989 Canadian figure was released in a different pose than the American version.  Why Fernando the only figure to be released in two different poses?

2) In 1992 Kenner released a series of soccer players in Argentina entitled Futbol Mania.  Details from Kenner were always very sketchy about the set. Was there a reason why Kenner never released many details about the set? Even a checklist from Kenner hard to come by. Some have speculated that Kenner didn't want to advertise it because the quality of the product was poor, and apparently they had licensing issues because the name of a couple of players was cut off the bottom of the sports cards.  

 

3) In 1989 Kenner Tonka released a French Soccer set which has become legendary and highly sought after among collectors. Unlike the other European soccer series which were dumped in the U.S. in mass quantities in early '90's; the French series is rarely seen even on-line. Is there a reason the French soccer set was printed in much more smaller quantities?

 

Concepts:

1) Over the years several new concepts were floated by Kenner which never came to fruition. Two of the strangest were the player 'cassette tape' and 'talking football' card. How close was Kenner to ever marketing either of these two idea's?

 

2001 Baseball:

1) As you know in 2001 Kenner decided to redesign the SLU and call it SLU2 which was met with a lukewarm response from most collectors. Many people felt the new 5" figures didn't fit in with their vast collection of 4" figures. And a lot of collectors said they weren't 'real' Starting Lineup's. Probably because SLU2 didn't fit their traditional concept of the product. Nevertheless, why were the figures totally redesigned? It might have worked better if they kept the traditional packaging, but instead Kenner introduced this strange plastic dome with horizontal lines in the background. Why was the packaging also redesigned? In addition, why was baseball chosen to test market this new product? By the late 90's, football had overwhelmingly become the most popular sport in America and consequently the most popular line of SLU's as well. I thought it might have worked better if SLU2 went with football figures instead of baseball.

The End:
1) After the 2001 baseball series Hasbro/Kenner decided to stop producing SLU's. In addition, the Winner's circle racing line was also discontinued as short time later. The end of the line seemed to correspond with the Hasbro closing the Cincinnati facility circa 2000. Why was the SLU line ended and why did Hasbro decide to get out the sports toys completely? Over the years everything from poor sales to expensive Star Wars licenses were blamed.

Media:

1) Most collectors fondly remember that Starting Lineup's were prominently featured in the movie 'Home Alone' with Macaulay Culkin. Did Kenner have any interaction with the produces of the movie and did Kenner ever supply any other movies with figures?  

 

2) David Letterman was also a fan of the Starting Lineup and liked to poke fun at the product in his skits. Did Kenner have a positive view of show's segments?