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1988 Starting Lineup |
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Sports Illustrated Sports Champions Figurine in box |
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| KeyMan
Collectibles |
NEWSLETTER |
April 2018 |
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Baseball Player Figurine and Statuette
Sets |
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Steven KeyMan |
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By Steven KeyMan |
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Founder of
Keymancollectibles.com,
and a long time
collector, Steven
KeyMan has more than 30
years of experience in
researching, and
cataloging information
on Baseball
Memorabilia.
Researching his own personal
collection, and helping others find
information on their
collectibles, the
website grew into the
largest online resource
for baseball
memorabilia |
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Ask
Steven: Direct your questions or feedback,
about Baseball Memorabilia to Steven KeyMan
Steve@keymancollectibles.com You can also Send
KeyMan pictures of your personal Memorabilia Display,
and get your own Free
Collectors Showcase Room featured on the website.. |
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One of the earliest figurine-statuette
sets representing actual baseball
players was Produced by Robert Gould
Inc. in 1955. Since that time there
have been a large number of sets
released including the 1958-1960
Hartland Plastics statues that remains
the cornerstone of sports figurine
collecting as we know it today. This
month we take a look at some of these
sets issued throughout the years. |
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Produced by
Robert Gould Inc. in 1955
these completely white plastic baseball
player statues, measure about 2 1/4
inches to 3 1/4 inches, with the size
varying from player to player. The base
of each statue has the players name
embossed into the base. A complete set
consists of 28 figurines, and were sold
in stores separately for about .25
cents, and were attached to a baseball
card with a rubber band. The blank
backed cards feature a notch and a hole
on each side to accommodate the rubber
band to hold the statue in place. The
Statues were also sold in 7 player
boxed sets.
 Virtually
identical to the white set issued in
1955 by Dairy Queen this is the
1956
Big League Stars Statues. The 18 player
bronze colored set included Roy Campanella, Bob Lemon, Mickey Mantle
Eddie Mathews, and Stan Musial. The set
was issued by Big League inc. in
blister packs on a baseball card like
backing. The back featured a Lifetime
Record, Big League history, and a pull
out tab to display the statue without
opening the package. The original price
for the plastic 3" statue was 19 cents.
 Founded
in 1941, Hartland Plastics was known
for making Plastic western toys, such
as horses, and cowboys. The company
then released
18 plastic baseball
player figurines between 1958 and 1960,
that sold for $1.98. at specialty and
discount stores like Woolworths. The
collection of 18 baseball players
included; Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Mickey
Mantle, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, and
other players that would become members
of the Hall of Fame. Hartland Statues
remains the cornerstone of sports
figurine collecting as we know it
today.
 The
1979
Metallic Creations Signature
Miniatures, pewter statues collector
sets were commissioned from some of
Americas best know artists and
sculptors. Approximately 3-1/2 high the
statuettes of "your favorite baseball
stars" included old school players;
Cobb, Gehrig, Johnson, Ruth, and
Speaker, to more current ball players
as Mays, Clemente, Rose and Ryan. The
statues feature the player's name on
the top of the base, and included a
3-5/8" x 5" black bordered baseball
card. The early statues came with a
photographic paper print, and had a
blank back.
 In
1988 Kenner debuted the
Starting Lineup
baseball player figures by
releasing a 124 player set. Each team
was represented by 4-6 players, with
the exception of the Expos, and Blue
Jays, each with only 1 player. Kenner
did not believe Canada had enough
retail outlets to warrant full team
sets. The New York Mets had 7
players. Also known as SLU by
collectors, Kenner issued a variety of
these highly popular sets until 2001.
The original 1988 SLU figure came with
a baseball card and had a suggested
retail price of $4.99 $3.99.
Created by Varner Studios, under
license by Sports Illustrated, the
Sports Champions Pewter Figurines were
issued in three series. Each Series
featured a baseball player and another
noted sports figure. Series 1 - Frank
Thomas, Series 2 - Ken Griffey Jr. and
Series 3 - Mickey Mantle. In 1998 Roger
Maris was Issued. Celebrating four
decades of Sports Illustrated covers,
each 3.5" pewter statue is mounted on a
base standing in front of a framed
full-color replica of a classic SI
cover. When issued the Suggested Retail
price was $24.99. |
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