Why is the on/off/auto switch on both my phonographs locked?

I pulled out my old albums from storage along with 2 phonographs; one bought in the 70's, one in the 80's. They are basically alike. There is a switch that, when the record player is not in use is set on "off" that you normally move to "on" and then "auto" when you want the needle to put itself on the record automatically. That same switch on both record players seems like its locked on the "off" position. There must be some trick that I'm forgetting that will disengage it.