In 1953, when I was a preteen, the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee, and my younger brother Lee and I became big fans of the team. We knew the entire roster in detail and of course had our favorite players. My hero was young right-fielder Hank Aaron. Lee’s idol was slugging third baseman Eddie Mathews.
In those days, Milwaukee’s ace pitcher was the great lefty Warren Spahn, and at some point, Lee acquired a small hard plastic figurine of Spahn. It was like a G.I. Joe action figure, minus the bendable limbs. Eight inches tall, well molded, neatly painted, durable.
And, if you aren’t too picky, it can be said to bear some resemblance to Warren Spahn.
The Spahn figurine took its place among the toys in the Smith household and was around for years. My sister Betty remembers Warren well. She frequently included him when she had tea parties with her dolls.
Time passed, and we kids grew up. We went out into the world. started careers, got married.
One day, probably when I was in my mid-20s, I got in my car and found the Spahn figurine propped up on the steering wheel. No note, no explanation. Lee never mentioned it. Nor did I.
But some months later, I managed to sneak the figurine into Lee’s house and left it in a kitchen cabinet. Again, neither of us spoke of it.
But it was the beginning of a decades-long ritual in which the figurine quietly changed possession 10 or 15 times, maybe more.
The unspoken goal was to return Warren when enough time had passed — a few months, a year or two — so that your brother had forgotten about it and would not expect it. And still, neither of us spoke of the matter.
I last left Warren at Lee’s house about a decade ago, and I hadn’t thought about it in quite some time. So, when a large package arrived from Lee a few days before my birthday in January, I suspected nothing.
I was totally blindsided when I opened the package and found the Spahn figurine inside multiple boxes and layers of Styrofoam. I did not see it coming.
In truth, I was delighted to see Warren again — so much so that I broke tradition and texted Lee about it. I admitted that he got me good, which pleased him greatly.
The next day, I had a haircut appointment, and I told my stylist the story of the Warren Spahn figurine. “That thing is probably collectible,” she said. “Have you checked online?”
Wow. That should have occurred to me, but never had. So, I took a photo of Warren and did a Google image search.
And I was introduced to the world of figurines manufactured decades ago by Hartland Plastics, Inc. of Hartland, Wisconsin.
Starting in 1939, Hartland Plastics produced a stream of action figures — baseball players, football players, historical figures (General Custer, Wyatt Earp), and characters from TV westerns (Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Matt Dillon).
Here are some of the Hartland baseball figures:
The figurines sold well and quickly became collectible. When Hartland ceased operations in 1978, they became even more in demand.
Today, as far as value is concerned, the figurines don’t exactly rank up there with Fabergé eggs. Most Hartlands are worth $50 to $400, depending on scarcity, popularity, whether the packaging survived, and so on.
The highest price I saw was $1,500 for an uncirculated figurine of Pirates shortstop Dick Groat with original packaging.
But prices and Dick Groat be damned. The real question was, did Hartland manufacture an Eddie Mathews figurine?
Yes. Yes, they did. And I purchased one immediately on eBay.
While I was waiting for Eddie to arrive, I telephoned Lee and casually asked if Warren had been his only figurine. “Did you have others?” I asked. “An Eddie Mathews maybe?”
“I wish,” he said.
Days later, Eddie arrived. This is the figurine.
If you aren’t too picky, it can be said to bear some resemblance to Eddie Mathews.
I took a few photos of Eddie, repackaged him, and mailed him to Lee.
Lee called, and he was highly emotional. Beyond elated. He was uncharacteristically animated and thanked me repeatedly.
So, Lee was majorly pleased, and I had the satisfaction of surprising him. Under the circumstances, I guess the Warren Spahn figurine is permanently mine.
For now.
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