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?
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!
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?
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?
i have a 98 timeless legends muhammad ali cant find out if it is worth anything any help would be helpful thanks
ReplyDeleteThey made several Ali Timeless Legends. They usually range from $10-20.
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