george sisler is in my hall of famer collection

george sisler was among those present when the hall of fame opened in 1939. he was elected to the hall that year, as the card that represents him in my hall of famer collection attests:

that's a 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic.  here's the back:

if it weren't for sisler being in that iconic 1939 hall of fame photo, he probably wouldn't be in my collection.  however, his presence there incited me to learn about him.

i think the fact that he spent most of his career with the browns has hindered his popularity among post-war fans.  i mean, i went to a game at camden yards in 1999 and there was a statue of baltimore native babe ruth, but i didn't see anything about sisler or the browns.  similar to what is going on here in the twin cities, where walter johnson and the old washington senators don't get a lot of attention, but i do know there are some displays at target field recognizing the earlier days of the franchise.  maybe the same is true at camden yards - i just didn't come across it.

sisler did get some attention back in 2004 when ichiro set the record for most hits in a season. it was sisler's record of 257 (set in 1920) that ichiro passed on his way to 262 hits.  anyway, sisler had an incredible start to his career. when the 1922 season ended, sisler had played seven and one-half seasons, and had a .361 average with 1,498 hits and 100 triples, along with 282 stolen bases. he also had an mvp award, which was won in 1922 - a year in which he hit .420 while racking up 246 hits.  he also eclipsed .400 with a .407 average in 1920, making him only the second man (ty cobb is the other) in the american league to top .400 more than once. unfortunately, sisler missed the 1923 season with a severe sinus infection but returned in 1924 and hit .320 over his final seven seasons.

the most interesting thing that i learned about sisler, however, was that he was another of branch rickey's finds.  sisler walked on to rickey's team at the university of michigan and later signed with the browns when rickey was in their front office.  that guy pops up all over the baseball landscape.

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

george sisler - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame 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

frank robinson - 1995 upper deck autographs

harmon killebrew - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures

pee wee reese - 2001 topps tribute relics

jim hunter - 1998 donruss signature series significant signatures 0736/2000

gaylord perry - 2003 topps finest finest moments autographs

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 048/147

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

alan trammell - 2001 fleer greats of the game autographs

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