After a 15-year hiatus, a famous sports brand is returning this fall as a team giveaway.
On Oct. 30, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will give away Starting Lineup figurines of quarterback Jameis Winston to anyone who buys a ticket to the team's game against the Oakland Raiders.
So how is a childhood favorite of sports fans of the 1980s and '90s being resurrected for a promotion?
The giveaway is the brainchild of Brian Killingsworth, the Buccaneers' chief marketing officer, who fondly recalls his collection of the figurines, particularly those of Keith Hernandez and Wally Joyner.
Set on developing a groundbreaking promotion, Killingsworth contacted giveaway company Matchup Promotions. Matchup's Jeff Collins discovered that the Starting Lineup brand, whose last figurines were made in 2001 by Hasbro -- after buying out Kenner, which originally produced the line -- was now owned by a Nashville businessman who had not yet done anything with the name.
Collins struck a deal to be the only giveaway company to make Starting Lineup products and went back to Killingsworth. Over the past couple of months, the two perfected the new product: the clear plastic holder packaging with a slightly updated Starting Lineup logo, the card that Starting Lineup figurines came with, and the size and look of the figurine itself.
Single-game tickets went on sale Thursday. The cheapest ticket that can be purchased from the Buccaneers for that game costs $50.
The original idea for the Starting Lineup figurines came from former Cincinnati Bengals punter Pat McInally.
