1958-63 Hartland Statues Baseball

During the years 1958 to 1963 the Hartland Plastics Company of Hartland, Wisconsin, produced a series of baseball, football and TV western star plastic statues which have become highly collectible. The statues bear an excellent resemblence (particularly the facial features of the baseball and western characters) to the personalities portrayed. We shall concern ourselves here with the 10 baseball statues; however, mention will be made of the football a… [Read More]

During the years 1958 to 1963 the Hartland Plastics Company of Hartland, Wisconsin, produced a series of baseball, football and TV western star plastic statues which have become highly collectible. The statues bear an excellent resemblence (particularly the facial features of the baseball and western characters) to the personalities portrayed. We shall concern ourselves here with the 10 baseball statues; however, mention will be made of the football and western statues as they too are quite popular. Of the 20 baseball Hartland statues, 18 are full sized (8") replicas of popular major league baseball players. Each is posed in a stance for which he is well known. In addition to the standard-sized baseball statues, two others were produced -- the Little Leaguer and the 4" batter. The 6" Little Leaguer, sometimes called the "batboy", was produced for a short period of time by the Hartland Company unitl legal problems with Little League, Inc., of Williamsport, PA, over the use of the name Little League curtailed production. The 4" batter, which is supposedly part of a miniature set including a golfer, a bowler, and a tennis player, is a nameless replica of a batter attached to a black base. It is quite inferior aesthetically to the larger statues; however, because of its relative scarcity and the fact that it is a Hartland statue portraying a baseball player, it has merited collector attention. Originally, the statues could be purchase at department stores, five and dime stores and similar retail establishments for between $2 - $4 in a box with the picture of the player inside printed on the box. The boxes themselves have also become a sought after collectible. The statues were issued in the order listed in the checklist below. Many of the statues included a removable piece (bat, mask) or a standing aide (toe plate, pitching rubber, base) in addition to the player himself. The bats came in a small and large size and the toe plate is either white or purple. At least three of the statues are known to exist in more than one form. The Mays statue has either an orange or light brown glove. The Aparicio statue comes with or without a toe plate (to aid the figure in standing). The Aaron statue variations are the only one's known where there appears to be a definite change or alteration made to the statue mold. One style has the right foot flat on the surface on which it stood. This style also has the hands configured in a manner to give the impression that the bat is tilted toward's Aaron's head. The other style of Aaron has, in its most stable standing position, the toe of the right foot raised considerably from the surface and has the hands of the of Aaron configured so that the bat is parallel to Aaron's head. The facial color of this variation is noticeably lighter (More brown than black) than the first variation. Additional versions of the Fox and Aparicio statues have been reported; however, the reports can not be confirmed. Supposedly, the red border around the word "Sox" was omitted to save painting time for a "Hurry-up" promotional event at a Chicago ball park. Condition grades for Hartland statues are somewhat different from condition grades for cards. The prime determinants of a statue's condition are boldness and clarity of the the painted parts, number and scarcity of scratches, yellowing, and the ability of the statue to stand by itself. All missing parts (bats, masks, toe plates, etc.) and broken parts (arms, heads, hats) should be descirbed in addition to the condition grade. Repaired statues should be noted as such. An Ex-Mt or better Hartland staute should have boldly painted markings which have shown little fading; very minor, if any, scratches; little of no yellowing; and the ability to stand by itself without the aid of bracing or adhesive additions. Collectibles statues with noticable wear, fading, yellowing and such statues are normally held only as fillers until a better condition replacement can be found. Each st [Collapse]