Original 9
Ty's strategy was simple, aim for quality with a toy that was simple with few details. Each beanie had a few colors of fabric with a few facial details. In fact the beanie named Spot was first introduced without a spot! (Trying to save money on fabric costs? The world will never know!)
Lets welcome, Legs the Frog, Squealer the Pig, Brownie the Bear ( later renamed to Cubbie the Bear), Flash the Dolphin, Splash the Whale, Patti the Platypus, Chocolate the Moose, Spot the Dog and Pinchers the Lobster! These beanies first appeared in small gift stores in the Chicago, Illinois area in January 1994. They would be the first to mark Ty, Inc. as a company of quality and reasonably priced stuffed toys.
Although, when these "bean filled" toys were first released they did not initially catch on, it didn't take long before they did, and when they did the results were phenomenal! They became an instant hit primarily in 1996 after Ty retired 11 beanies! They were cute, small, affordable and well we will never really understand what made them a phenomenon when compared to other plush toys!
Sadly, today none of the Original 9 Beanies are current, they have all since long retired. Splash and Flash were retired in May of 1997, Legs and Spot followed suit and retired in October of 1997. During 1998 the last 5 of the Original 9 retired, Cubbie retired in January and Patti, Pinchers, and Squealer in May, followed by Chocolate in December.