paul molitor is in my hall of famer collection

paul molitor may well be my favorite non-dodger player. he held that title officially after steve garvey's career ended up until the player's strike, but truthfully, i was a fan before 1987 and continued to be a fan until molitor retired after the 1998 season.  he's in my hall of famer collection with this card:

that's an archival autographs card from 2016 topps museum collection.  here's the back:

molitor's rookie card was included in the 1978 topps set (so he and others like him were of great interest to me), and i followed his season through the box scores. i voted for him to be an all-star in 1980, and he made the team.  unfortunately, he was hurt and so yankee willie randolph got the start.  we didn't go to many angels games while i was growing up, so there weren't too many opportunities for me to see him play in person early in his career.  i don't recall the brewers being on the game of the week too often, however there were the occasional angels telecasts, and of course the 1981 and 1982 postseasons, the latter of which i watched with great interest as the brew crew (with don sutton!) were facing off against the angels in the alcs.  molitor played well in both the alcs and the world series, and my fandom was cemented.  

i believe the first time i saw him play in person was on july 4, 1995. the blue jays were at the angels, and molitor was batting second. he wound up going 1 for 4 as the designated hitter as the angels won handily behind chuck finley.  the following year, molitor went home to minnesota to play for the twins, and a year after that, i moved to the land of 10,000 lakes.  

i didn't go to any games at the metrodome in 1997, but i attended a bunch of games in 1998.  as a result, i did see molitor play in person a few times during his final season. one such game was may 8, 1998 which was better known as the game that marked chuck knoblauch's return to minnesota. if i recall correctly, twins manager tom kelly had to implore the crowd to be nice to chuck.  molitor didn't do much in the game, by the way.  i also had tickets to the august 8, 1998 game against the orioles, but i am pretty sure i did not make it to the metrodome that night.  too bad, because molitor went 5 for 5 in that contest.

i believe that molitor was the last active player who appeared in the 1978 topps set, and i actually considered letting my collecting days end at the same time that he retired, which turned out to be following the 1998 season.  however, upper deck came out with the century legends set in 1999, and soon after, all of the card companies began issuing sets with retired players which meant new steve garvey cards to acquire, so i scuttled any idea of slowing down in the hobby.  had molitor retired a year earlier, who knows?

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

dizzy dean - 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

steve carlton - 2018 topps five star career year autographs

mike schmidt - 2002 topps archives autoproof 1980 topps buyback

don sutton - 2001 fleer greats of the game

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

gary carter - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph collection

paul molitor - 2016 topps museum collection archival autographs 021/125

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