Every year around my birthday I hop on eBay and search for Starting Lineup figures to recapture a piece of my youth. There are select few sports (and non-sports) cards that have the same effect, but sports trading cards are still produced. Topps is still a thing, even if they are owned and run by a garbage conglomerate enshittifying the sports memorabilia landscape.
The Kenner Starting Lineup line just happened to perfectly dovetail with my adolescence. The first figures were released in 1988 - the first year I was well and truly obsessed with sports. Topps sports cards existed before then. Nintendo games existed before then. Garbage Pail Kids existed before then. Panini sticker albums existed before then. [editor's note: Panini did not have baseball or (American) football sticker albums before then, but Topps did.]
And unlike the sports cards and stickers I collected as a kid, SLU figures are no longer produced. In fact the line ended right around the time my childhood ended: 2000-01. Just as I was entering my twenties.
While trading cards are much easier to protect and store, Starting Lineup figures were opened and handled even more frequently than their flat cardboard counterparts. By 1988, collectors knew that trading cards could increase in value. I doubt anyone expected these toys to do the same.
SLU figures came with a free collector's card of their own, giving collectors even more incentive to rip open the package. While most pieces (especially 1990s figures) never increased in value beyoud their initial SRP, the 1988 and 1989 lines in particular have become tougher to find in decent shape. You've got figure collectors hoarding higher-end pieces, you've got trading card enthusiasts searching out any cards they can find in grade-worthy condition as if the figures are an inconvenience, and with the resurgence of 'vintage' hobbies - particularly with collectibles approaching 40 years old - it's getting tougher to find any sealed piece in presentable condition.
Which brings me to this year's purchase: a 1988 Marcus Allen figure for $32. Allen's best years were early in the 1980s - long before I was even aware of football - and as a result I didn't really understand why he was seen as a superstar and future Hall of Famer when I was a fan in the 1990s. Still, this is a nice looking first series figure in packaging that looked a clean as it gets.
The seller even included a nice note in the box:
I was all set to add this to my sealed Starting LIneup collection when I noticed that the trading card was out of alignment. I tried to shake it back into its plastic pocket and.. the bubble started coming unglued.
Since it was half opened just from me gently shaking the bubble, resealing it seemed pointless.
So I ended up paying $32 for an open figure and card that would have cost me half as much if I'd bought it already opened. It's a bummer, but I'll add Marcus to my shelf. He's already got a teammate there:
That's Todd Christensen, All-Pro tight end in 1983 and '85, and host of Touchdown Trivia on Married... With Children. Now I'm wondering If I can collect the whole Raiders team set. Who else is in there?
Just Howie Long and Marc Wilson? Easy peasy. Long is a litlle more money than Marcus Allen, but manageable. Meanwhile Marc Wilson is...
....one of the most expensive Starting Lineup figures ever.
If you're curious, there is an even more rare and expensive Starting Lineup football figure: Bill Fralic. Losing team with no national presence + regional Georgia-only release + offensive lineman = no one bought this thing and/or Kenner produced far fewer Fralic pieces. [editor's note: a comment on this video states there were only one or two Fralic figures per case.] There's one online now for $1,000.
Opened.
The last sealed Fralic figure sold (on eBay at least) for $4,250. I love rare and random Starting Lineups but ... yikes! Even if I had $4K+ lying around to spend on a hobby acquisition there's no way I'd choose an action figure over, say, a Hank Aaron rookie card or Roberto Clemente rookie card.
While it would be a dream to have a collection like this in my 'man cave' I've barely got enough room for the figures I have. And I'm content with picking up 1 or 2 new (to me) pieces every couple years or so.
I might be wrapping up my sports card collection but SLU figures are another story. We'll see if I get the urge to keep buying back my childhood next August.
Thanks for reading!
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