1987 Sgt. Slaughter Wrestling Figure
Sgt. Slaughter was one of the most popular World Wrestling Federation (WWF) wrestlers of the mid-1980s. His unabashed red, white and blue patriotism caught Hasbro’s eye, and they signed him to a deal in 1985. WWF CEO Vince McMahon took issue with the deal, which was reportedly brokered by Sgt. Slaughter without the WWF’s involvement, so the WWF and Sgt. Slaughter parted ways until 1990. Sgt. Slaughter joined G.I.JOE in 1986 as a drill instructor, and Hasbro released four 3.75″ Sgt. Slaughter action figures from 1986-1989.
The WWF partnered with LJN Toys Ltd. to create rubber toys based on their wrestlers. From 1984 to 1989 LJN created sixty-four unique 8″ WWF Wrestling Superstars figures (and six repaints). Hasbro Direct capitalized on this trend by releasing its own 8.75″ Sgt. Slaughter figure. The engineering kickoff memo was dated June 30, 1986 and referred to the Sgt. Slaughter Wrestling Figure as a 1987 product.
The 1986 3.75″ Sgt. Slaughter was designed by Ron Rudat. The 8.75″ adaption was illustrated by Mark Pennington on June 13, 1986.
Shown above is sculptor Bill Merklein’s record of his work. He photographed every assignment before mailing it. Bill was working at twice the size of the mass-produced figure, which was standard for G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero sculpture work at that time.
The "Is this the end of Sergeant Slaughter?" direct mail offer (188231.00A / J70 / ©1988) was noted as copyright 1988 and expired June 30th, 1989. This is why we consider "Is this the end of Sergeant Slaughter?" to be a 1988 offer.
The Sgt. Slaughter wrestling figure was available for $8.00 + 3 Flag Points. Not only does the Sgt. Slaughter wrestling figure closely resemble the LJN series of wrestling figures, Hasbro Direct photographed Sgt. Slaughter standing victorious over LJN figures for this offer — talk about no holds barred! Click the images below to view them full screen.
The Sgt. Slaughter wrestling figure was available for $8.00 + 3 Flag Points. Not only does the Sgt. Slaughter wrestling figure closely resemble the LJN series of wrestling figures, Hasbro Direct photographed Sgt. Slaughter standing victorious over LJN figures for this offer — talk about no holds barred! Click the images below to view them full screen.
Due to the engineering kickoff memo (above) and the 1987 copyright shown on the figure's leg (below), we consider this to be a 1987 figure that was available through June 30th, 1989 via the "Is this the end of Sergeant Slaughter?" direct mail offer (above).
Figure photographs courtesy of Ken Po. Check out his Toy Kennections channel on YouTube for great toy discussion - figure comparisons, insights, history of toys, collection photos, and reviews.
