i have a formal hall of famer player collection. if there's an image of a card, that means the player is represented in my collection. i'll update the images as i make posts at cards as i see them. here are the details:
this collection consists of certified, on-card autographs and relics of certain hall of fame (and some non-hall of fame) players that i have a connection to through my formative fandom years, or whose careers i enjoyed following. i really wanted it to include the first class of hall of famers, however, there just don't seem to be any options for walter johnson. so, my collection will settle for four of the first class:
ty cobb - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic
christy mathewson - 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts baseball chronology relic
babe ruth - 2003 topps tribute world series edition world series tribute relic 351/425
honus wagner - 2001 topps tribute relics
it will also include four of the other seven hall of famers who were present at the first hall of fame induction ceremony in 1939:
nap lajoie - 2002 topps tribute milstone materials relic
tris speaker - 2011 topps tribute dual relic green parallel 53/75
eddie collins - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic
george sisler - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic
connie mack, cy young, and grover cleveland alexander were also in attendance that day, but like the big train, they don't have any cards that fit my criteria to chase.
the collection also includes some players that i enjoyed learning about as a young fan:
lou gehrig - 2010 topps tribute relic 96/99
rogers hornsby - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic
jimmie foxx - 2013 topps tribute retired remnants 91/99
mel ott - 2011 topps tribute quad relic 15/99
paul waner - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic
dizzy dean - 2001 topps tribute relic
joe dimaggio - 1993 pinnacle joe dimaggio collector's tin autographs #1, number 0716 of 1800
hank greenberg - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic
zack wheat - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic
bob feller - 2001 topps archives
ted williams - 1992 upper deck baseball heroes autograph 1067/2000
roy campanella - 2001 topps tribute relic
stan musial - 2002 topps team topps legend autograph
satchel paige - 2020 panini national treasures 06/10
yogi berra - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1640/2000
sandy koufax - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1707/2000
roberto clemente - 2001 topps tribute relic
the rest of the players in the collection includes a mix of players that i learned about from either my card collecting or my avid fandom:
ralph kiner - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph
bob lemon - 1994 front row premium all-time greats signature series
ernie banks - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures
eddie mathews - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph
willie mays - 1997 topps willie mays reprints autograph
al kaline - 2001 fleer greats of the game autographs
duke snider - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 144/250
bob gibson - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
hank aaron - 2004 topps originals 1979 topps all-time record holders rbi 03/32
frank robinson - 1995 upper deck autograph
juan marichal - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
brooks robinson - 2001 topps golden anniversary great autograph
don drysdale - 1993 nabisco all-star autographs
harmon killebrew - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures
pee wee reese - 1994 front row all-time greats autograph
lou brock - 2018 topps archives signature series 1989 buyback 53/61
willie mccovey - 2004 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary sigs 46/50
ray dandridge - 2006 uppper deck sp legendary cuts a place in history cut autograph 31/43
jim hunter - 1998 donruss signature series significant signatures 0736/2000
billy williams - 2013 topps museum collection autograph 054/199
willie stargell - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures
johnny bench - 2019 topps definitive collection legendary autograph 09/25
red schoendienst - 2012 panini cooperstown signatures 038/549
carl yastrzemski - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph
joe morgan - 2004 fleer national pastime 2002 fleer greats of the game autograph buyback 43/57
jim palmer - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
rod carew - 2004 topps retired signature autograph
ferguson jenkins - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 154/333
gaylord perry - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph
rollie fingers - 2018 topps archives signature series 1978 topps buyback 1/3
hal newhouser - 1993 front row premium all-time greats autograph
tom seaver - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 44/50
reggie jackson - 2018 topps tier one tier one talent autographs 19/60
steve carlton - 2018 topps five star career year autographs
mike schmidt - 2002 topps archives autoproof 1980 topps buyback autograph 048/147
jim bunning - 2002 topps finest finest moments autograph
nellie fox - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic
phil niekro - 2017 panini donruss recollection collection 1983 donruss buyback autograph 13/33
larry doby - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
don sutton - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
george brett - 2001 topps finest finest moments autograph
nolan ryan - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
robin yount - 2001 upper deck ultimate collection ultimate signatures 112/150
orlando cepeda - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph
carlton fisk - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures
tony perez - 2020 topps archives signature series 1978 topps buyback autograph 60/65
bill mazeroski - 2022 topps archives signature edition 2001 topps 65/76
kirby puckett - 1998 upper deck reto sign of the times autograph
dave winfield - 2003 upper deck sp chirography hall of famers autograph 121/350
ozzie smith - 2019 topps finest finest origins autograph
gary carter - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph collection
eddie murray - 2004 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary sigs 45/50
dennis eckersley - 2017 topps archives signature series 1984 topps buyback 47/99
paul molitor - 2016 topps museum collection archival autographs 021/125
wade boggs - 2005 upper deck baseball heroes autograph red parallel 30/49
ryne sandberg - 2016 topps five star autographs gold parallel 17/50
bruce sutter - 2003 topps all-time fan favorites
tony gwynn - 1997 donruss signature series millennium marks autograph 0702/1000
cal ripken jr. - 2018 topps high tek portratiek autograph 32/75
goose gossage - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph
rickey henderson - 2016 topps tribute certified foundations of greatness autograph 49/50
jim rice - 2005 upper deck past time pennants past time signatures
andre dawson - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph
roberto alomar - 2015 topps high tek pattern 1 grass/waves gold rainbow autograph 50/50
bert blyleven - 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams autograph
ron santo - 2004 topps retired signature autograph
tom glavine - 2019 topps tribute autograph 18/90
greg maddux - 2018 topps luminaries masters of the mound autograph 13/15
frank thomas - 2019 topps tier one autographs 42/70
craig biggio - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 019/333
randy johnson - 2019 topps tek high tek autograph
pedro martinez - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 09/60
john smoltz - 2021 topps clearly authentic autograph 18/99
ken griffey jr - 2003 upper deck game face autograph
mike piazza - 2014 topps five star autograph 35/50
tim raines - 2018 topps tribute tribute autograph green parallel 26/95
alan trammell - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
mariano rivera - 2015 topps finest generations refractor autograph 10/25
ivan rodriguez - 2021 topps tribute tribute to 1982 topps autograph 94/99
vladimir guerrero - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures
trevor hoffman - 2024 topps chrome black base autograph
chipper jones - 2018 topps tier one tier one talent autograph 11/60
jim thome - 2020 topps archives signature series 2012 topps mini buyback autograph 1/1
jack morris - 2004 donruss timelines recollection collection 1986 buyback autograph 23/45
roy halladay - 2017 topps archives signature series 2004 topps buyback 15/23
pete rose* - 2018 panini flawless legendary signatures 15/25
keith hernandez* - 2023 topps archives signature series 1986 topps buyback autograph 07/81
edgar martinez - 2017 topps tribute walk off autograph 17/50
lee smith - 2023 topps archives signature series 1985 topps buyback autograph 14/18
harold baines - 2003 topps retired signature edition autograph
derek jeter - 2017 topps archives 2015 topps high tek buyback autograph 05/10
ted simmons - 2013 panini golden age historic signatures
larry walker - 2021 topps tier one autograph 039/150
gil hodges - 2006 upper deck epic epic materials teal 98/99
jim kaat - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph
minnie minoso - 2001 topps archives reserve rookie reprint autograph
tony oliva - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph
buck o'neil - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph
david ortiz - 2017 topps clearly authentic autograph 02/25
fred mcgriff - 2016 panini pantheon milestone scripts #37/99
scott rolen - 2021 topps clearly authentic red parallel autograph 39/50
adrian beltre - 2019 topps tier one talent autograph 56/70
joe mauer - 2020 topps archives signature series 2015 topps triple threads buyback autograph 1/1
todd helton - 2017 panini flawless greats autograph 13/25
dick allen - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
dave parker - 2004 fleer national pastime 2002 fleer greats autograph buyback 42/61
cc sabathia - 2020 topps tier one certified prime performers autograph 10/80
ichiro suzuki - 2019 topps museum collection archival autograph 02/25
the collection also includes some that are banned or otherwise assumedly ostracized from the hall of fame but that i appreciate nonetheless:
joe jackson* - 2001 upper deck sp legendary cuts sp legendary debut bat card
barry bonds* - 2001 bowman heritage autographs
roger clemens* - 1995 upper deck autograph
rafael palmeiro* - 2016 topps tribute rightful recognition autograph 98/99
manny ramirez* - 2024 topps five star autograph
alex rodriguez* - 1998 upper deck sp authentic chirography autograph
gary sheffield* - 2020 topps chrome black autograph
also included are nine sure-fire hall of famers (in my opinion):
albert pujols* - 2003 topps autograph
miguel cabrera* - 2020 topps chrome black autograph
zack greinke* - 2004 topps team topp blue chips autograph
joey votto* - 2020 topps clearly authentic autograph 36/50
justin verlander* - 2007 upper deck goudey sport royalty autograph
clayton kershaw* - 2015 topps museum collection archival autographs 43/99
max scherzer* - 2020 topps gypsy queen autograph black & white 15/50
mike trout* - 2016 topps strata autograph green 71/75
freddie freeman* - 2018 topps diamond icons diamond autograph purple parallel 06/10
plus one player that i didn't necessarily think was a slam dunk during his playing days but that i think will eventually be enshrined
andruw jones* - 2021 topps chrome black refractor autograph 148/150
and it features a group of "hall of very good" players that have received not quite enough support in recent years but will hopefully reach cooperstown the next time their eras committee meets:
luis tiant* - 2018 topps archives signature series 1979 topps buyback autograph 31/80
tommy john* - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph collection
bobby grich* - 2004 topps retired signature autograph
dwight evans* - 2003 topps team topps legends autograph
lou whitaker* - 2001 topps archives autograph
plus two more "hall of very good" players that i figured to be locks for the hall of fame as i was watching them play and following their careers in the late 1970's and 1980's:
steve garvey* - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
dale murphy* - 2015 topps tribute foundations of greatness autograph 27/89
*not currently in the national baseball hall of fame
