robin yount is in my hall of famer collection

i was shocked when i first saw a robin yount card in a pack of 1978 topps and turned it over to see that he had been in the majors since 1974. he's in my hall of famer collection with this card as his entry:

that's a 2001 upper deck ultimate collection ultimate signatures card numbered 112/150.  here's the back:

yount looked so young on that card that he reminded me of some of the older kids in my neighborhood. at any rate, i took an interest in yount fairly early on in my fandom (more on that in a bit) and followed him in the box scores. in 1982, however, i was really taking notice of his game. i was following the american league a bit more closely that year as i bought in to 'billy ball' and rickey henderson, plus the angels (my first favorite american league team) were contending again, and then, late in the season, don sutton was dealt to the brewers, and i was suddenly following the brew crew. 

the brewers had been in first place for a month by the time they made that trade (august 30), but just over a month later, they were tied with the orioles with one game to play - against each other, no less. the game was on abc and future hall of famers jim palmer and don sutton were squaring off. yount set the tone in the top of the 1st when he hit a solo home run off of palmer. by the time the game ended, yount had gone 3 for 4 with 4 runs scored, 2 home runs, a triple, and 2 rbi.  i was happy for him and sutton and the brewers, but was rooting against them in the alcs (to no avail as they beat the halos).

the shortstop yount wound up as the american league mvp that year, and then he won the award again in 1989 while playing an entirely different position (centerfield).  yount went on to tick the boxes of a hall of fame career, surpassing 3000 hits, and when he retired, only four men (pete rose, hank aaron, carl yastrzemski, and ty cobb) had ever stepped to the plate in a major league game more times than yount.

i never saw yount play in person which is a shame. he retired after the 1993 season, and i kid you not the first time i saw the brewers play in person was their third game of the 1994 season (the angels' home opener).  an offseason and three games late, i guess.  that's not to say i never saw yount in person, however. as i alluded to above, there was a reason why i took an interest in him early on.

every year, there was a hot stove dinner in my hometown. i've written about it before, and a couple of times my dad got me a gig serving food during dinner. that meant that after dinner, i was able to hang out and (sheepishly) ask players for autographs. one such dinner took place after the 1979 season, and  robin yount was there. i can still see his face when i handed him my baseball and fuzzy light blue pen. he had a quizzical look which made sense because the pen was covered in a velvet-like material. it was all we had in the junk drawer as i was heading out of the house.

i still have that ball, but the signatures are fairly faded (yount's is pretty much gone), as i kept in on my windowsill for quite some time.  still, it's got some decent autographs on it in addition to yount - gerry hannah (i got his autograph at dodger stadium during the 1979 season), roy howell, pat kelly, rick burleson, bobby bonds, dave laroche, and pete rose.  for the record, pete used the same pen as yount. i wish i still had that pen.

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

lou brock - 2018 topps archives signature series 1989 buyback 53/61

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

willie stargell - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures 

red schoendienst - 2012 panini cooperstown signatures 038/549

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

robin yount - 2001 upper deck ultimate collection ultimate signatures 112/150

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

wade boggs - 2005 upper deck baseball heroes autograph red parallel 30/49

ryne sandberg - 2016 topps five star autographs gold parallel 17/50

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

tony gwynn - 1997 donruss signature series millennium marks autograph 0702/1000

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

mike piazza - 2014 topps five star autograph 35/50

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.