Starting Starting Line Up

One of my goals for 2014 is to add more oddball team sets.  One I specifically mentioned is Starting Line Up.  Kenner included a card with each Starting Line Up figure and it's the cards that I'm after.

The first Starting Line Up figures and cards showed up in 1988 and continued in various incarnations until 2001.  By my count, there are a total of 43 Cubs to collect.  Some years had several cards; others just one or two.

I started my hunt when I found a seller that had a near complete team set from 1989.  Six of the seven Cubs were in the lot and the other Cub was offered by the same seller in an individual auction.  I set the sniper for the two auctions and was lucky enough to win them both.

Here are the six in the lot, which includes two Hall of Famers...

 

 

 

 

...and no, Damon Berryhill is not in the Hall of Fame!

The design of the cards themselves is pretty basic.  You've for the Starting Line Up Logo on the top and a green border.  Some have posed shots while others show game action.

The seventh card in the Cubs set, the one not in the team lot, is of the third Hall of Famer on the 1989 Cubs,

Greg Maddux.  I don't know if the Maddux figure and card were more scarce than the others, but this card commmands a much higher price than all the others.  In fact, I paid more for the Maddux than I did for the lot of six other cards, including Sandberg and Dawson.

In addition to these six, I've got the 1988 cards of Sandberg and Dawson in their player collections.  That gives me eight out of 43.

I'm hoping to fall into team lots for some of the other years, but haven't seen any yet.  In fact, even finding single cards has not been as easy as I hoped.  I can buy most of the cards if I want to buy a new package with the figure.  Finding the cards alone is the tricky part.

I can be patient, and I will be patient....this will be my mantra....for now.