joe black, while eulogizing pee wee reese in 1999, noted that "with pee wee, it was number one on his uniform and number one in our hearts". the dodgers had retired that number 1 in 1984 when reese was elected to the hall of fame by the veterans' committee, which paved the way for the card that represents reese in my hall of famer collection:
that is, of course, a card from 2001 topps tribute which featured solely players who had their number retired by one or more team (no steve garvey in the set, unfortunately, even though his was just one of three numbers retired by the padres at the time).
here's the back of the card:
i heard that quote about pee wee repeated by vin scully many times, as it refers to reese's acceptance of jackie robinson as a teammate which was a story told often on the air. unlike some of the other dodger legends, reese was no longer coaching or broadcasting during my early fandom years. he also didn't seem to attend many team events - he lived out east - and so he wasn't quite as visible as his former teammates duke snider or sandy koufax or don drysdale or don newcombe were. as a result, i really only learned about reese from stories told by scully and reading about the history of the dodger franchise and its players.
there was lots to learn about pee wee, as you couldn't look at the franchise leader board without seeing his name. he remains to this day the franchise's all-time leader in runs scored and bases on balls. he is second to zach wheat in hits, and third behind wheat and bill russell in games played as a dodger.
there was lots to learn about pee wee, as you couldn't look at the franchise leader board without seeing his name. he remains to this day the franchise's all-time leader in runs scored and bases on balls. he is second to zach wheat in hits, and third behind wheat and bill russell in games played as a dodger.
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
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
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
willie mays - 1997 topps willie mays reprints autograph
hank aaron - 2004 topps originals 1979 topps all-time record holders rbi 03/32
frank robinson - 1995 upper deck autographs
harmon killebrew - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures
pee wee reese - 2001 topps tribute relics
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
don sutton - 2001 fleer greats of the game
tony perez - 2004 fleer national pastime 2002 fleer greats authentic autograph buyback 30/59
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 past time signatures
andre dawson - 2000 fleer greats of the game autographs
pete rose* - 2018 panini flawless legendary signatures 15/25
pete rose* - 2018 panini flawless legendary signatures 15/25
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
That 2001 Topps Tribute set must have been something else. You have three amazing ones in your HOF collection so far.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've heard of Pee Wee... he probably would have been one of my favorite players had I been around watch baseball in the 50's. By the way... that relic card is sweet. Is the "1" just glued onto that piece of bat or is did Topps laser cut the piece of bat and embed the "1"?
ReplyDeleteOh... almost forgot. Happy New Year!
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