dave winfield is in my hall of famer collection

dave winfield's 1978 topps card is fantastic. it was my introduction to him, and the photo on the front made me instantly recognize him as a badass.  i wasn't (and i'm still not) entirely sure what is going on with the bat he has slung over his shoulder, but i knew he was going to do some damage with it.  and then there was the back of the card.  6'-6"? drafted in june of 1973 and played in the majors in 1973? kick ass!

winfield is in my hall of famer collection as a padre, thanks to this 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers card, numbered 121 of 350

this is the first repeat of a set to be featured in my collection. here's the back:

the only time i saw winfield play in person as a padre was on april 14, 1976. i do not remember the game itself, unfortunately, but winfield homered off of don sutton, and randy jones threw a complete game as the padres beat the dodgers 3-2.  willie mccovey also played in that game for the padres, going 0 for 4.  for the record, all eight dodger hits came courtesy of the infield:  steve garvey and ron cey each had two hits, bill russell had one, and ted sizemore (playing in place of davey lopes that day) had the other two.

i didn't see winfield again until after he joined the angels in 1990. i recall going to a game at the big a in may of 1991, and being 8 years old again with dave winfield and dave parker playing together on the same team, just as they had in the 1979 all-star game - a seminal event in my young fandom. winfield went 3 for 3 in that game, and hit career home run number 384 to boot.  i was back at the big a in september, and while parker was no longer with the team, winfield was there and he jacked career home run number 403 that day.  he didn't have the prettiest swing, but it was powerful.

i was very happy to see dodger pitchers shut winfield down in the 1981 world series, and i was just as happy to see him succeed against charlie liebrandt in the 1992 fall classic for the blue jays. he was retired by the time i moved to minnesota, and he wasn't around the team while i was attending twinsfest and the annual autograph parties, so i've not had a chance to tell him that i was a fan from the earliest days of my baseball fandom.

here's my hall of famer collection as its been documented so far:

babe ruth - 2003 topps tribute world series edition world series tribute relic 351/425

honus wagner - 2001 topps tribute relics

bob feller - 2001 topps archives

jackie robinson - 2004 topps clubhouse collection clubhouse relics

roberto clemente - 2005 donruss greats hall of fame souvenirs relic

warren spahn - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

mickey mantle - 2000 upper deck legends legendary game jerseys relic

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

hank aaron - 2004 topps originals 1979 topps all-time record holders rbi 03/32

harmon killebrew - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures

rollie fingers - 2018 topps archives signature series 1978 topps buyback 1/3

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

dave winfield - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 121/350

bruce sutter - 2003 topps all-time fan favorites

jim rice - 2005 upper deck past time pennants

pete rose* - 2018 panini flawless legendary signatures 15/25

barry bonds* - 2001 bowman heritage autographs

you can find the full list of hall of famers (and some not - yet) that i aim to include in this collection at my want list site.

*not currently a member of the hall of fame