hank greenberg is in my hall of famer collection

on my 9th birthday, my uncle gave to me a copy of lawrence ritter and donald honig's "the image of their greatness". this book, subtitled "an illustrated history of baseball from 1900 to the present", remains one of my favorite gifts ever received. it was a huge part of my blossoming baseball fandom, as it exposed me to many historically significant players that i had not yet learned about. one of them was hank greenberg, who is in my hall of famer collection with this card:

that is a 2004 topps tribute hall of fame baseball cut signature edition hall of fame tribute relic.  here's the back:

by the time that birthday rolled around, i had endured two consecutive dodger world series losses to the yankees (plus the pirates' victory in 1979), and so my distaste for the bronx bombers was well developed.  as i read through the book, hank greenberg and his detroit tigers were mentioned as having stopped the yankee dynasty in 1934 and 1935, and so i immediately became a fan of hank greenberg.

further reading highlighted his 183 rbi (later updated in 2011 to be 184 rbi) season which he followed with a 58 home run season. oddly enough, he failed to win the mvp in either of those years. he did win two mvp awards in other seasons, along with two world series titles, in a career shortened by three years of military service during world war ii.  greenberg's name also came into my view thanks to his faith. there was often discussion of sandy koufax on dodger broadcasts, including mention of his not playing on yom kippur in 1965. that tale was usually complemented by a notation of greenberg's decision to do the same back in 1934.

greenberg's aforementioned 58-homer season tied jimmie foxx for the most ever hit by a right-handed batter.  this was a fact that i learned from the back of the 1979 topps card celebrating the all-time record holders for home runs.  coincidentally, my baseball fandom began during the season in which george foster hit 52 - the first to pass 50 since willie mays in 1965 - so 58 home runs was a big deal to me.  in fact, greenberg and foxx held the record for right-handed hitters (mark mcgwire tied them in 1997) until 1998 when mcgwire and sammy sosa passed them with their historic season marks.

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 relic

nap lajoie - 2002 topps tribute milestone 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

dizzy dean - 2001 topps tribute relic

hank greenberg - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

bob feller - 2001 topps archives certified autograph

jackie robinson - 2004 topps clubhouse collection clubhouse relic

ted williams - 1992 upper deck baseball heroes autograph 1067/2000

stan musial - 2002 topps team topps legends autograph

yogi berra - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1640/2000

sandy koufax - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1707/2000

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 certified autograph

al kaline - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

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

don drysdale - 1993 nabisco all-star autographs

harmon killebrew - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures

pee wee reese - 2001 topps tribute relic

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

willie stargell - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures 

jim palmer - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

fergie 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

reggie jackson - 2018 topps tier one tier one talent autograph 19/60

steve carlton - 2018 topps five star career year autograph 43/45

mike schmidt - 2002 topps archives autoproof 1980 topps buyback 048/147

phil niekro - 2017 panini donruss recollection collection 1983 donruss buyback autograph 13/33

don sutton - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

carlton fisk - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

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

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

bruce sutter - 2003 topps all-time fan favorites certified autograph

cal ripken jr - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 32/75

jim rice - 2005 upper deck past time pennants past time signatures

andre dawson - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph

bert blyleven - 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams autograph

ron santo - 2004 topps retired signature autograph

greg maddux - 2018 topps luminaries masters of the mound autograph 13/15

pedro martinez - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 09/60

ken griffey jr - 2003 upper deck game face autograph

tim raines - 2018 topps tribute tribute autograph green parallel 26/95

alan trammell - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

roy halladay - 2017 topps archives signature series 2004 topps buyback 15/23

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

barry bonds* - 2001 bowman heritage autographs

roger clemens* - 1995 upper deck autograph

 

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.