a certified legend

on friday night, ron cey will be inducted into the "legends of dodger baseball" club. this acknowledgement is akin to what many other teams call their "hall of fame" (like the twins). it is a step below number retirement, but still a way to recognize players who were important to the franchise during their careers.

the penguin certainly deserves it, as he left the dodgers as the all-time los angeles dodger leader in home runs to go along with his contributions to four pennants and the 1981 world championship! here is his 2002 topps archives autograph card

that i purchased not too long after i found another auto of his in a bargain box at a card show. some other recent cey additions to my collection include a 2005 playoff prestige xtra bases red parallel

numbered to 150

always nice to see the infield name checked on a baseball card!

last year, dusty baker joined previous legends of dodger baseball inductees don newcombe, steve garvey, fernando valenzuela, maury wills, kirk gibson, orel hershiser, and manny mota. that's a great group, but i would think that there is room for others such as willie davis. the group started in 2019 with three inductees (newk, garvey, and fernando), but it has seen only one inductee in each of the past two seasons.

i haven't been to dodger stadium since baker was inducted, and i am curious to see how both he and cey are represented - are they still using baseball cards or have they retooled the monuments - as well as whether or not fernando is still a part of this group since he had his uniform number retired in 2023. it's a good reason to get out west to the ballpark!

hoyt wilhelm is in my hall of famer collection

i recently sent a hoyt wilhelm card to nick at dime boxes. when i came across the 1969 topps card (with a 1969 topps decal stuck to it) i was trying to picture in my head the wilhelm card that was in my hall of famer collection. when i got home, i realized that hoyt wasn't in my hall of famer collection!

i quickly remedied that, picking up this card for $20 on ebay:

that's a 2002 topps archives certified autograph issue card. here's the back:

i am guessing that i passed on including wilhelm initially because of the lack of certified autograph cards - i think he only has this one and one from 2001 topps archves, neither of which are too appealing to me. his 2001 card is a reprint of his 1952 card (showing him with the giants) and this one is obviously his 1964 card. 2001 topps archives, which focused on rookie and final year cards from the topps library, also featured wilhelm's 1972 card showing him with the dodgers. i would have much rather had that card as an option for this collection, but topps chose his "rookie" card for him to sign instead.

i first learned of wilhelm when i was compiling my topps dodger team set want lists back in the early 1980s. there was a team checklist publication that i came across at the lcs and there at card number 777 was hoyt wilhelm with the rest of the 1972 dodgers. i didn't really know too much about him other than that until three years or so later when he was voted in to cooperstown.

wilhelm finished his career with the dodgers but is not really associated with them, which is something he shares in common with a few other hall of famers such as juan marichal, eddie murray, greg maddux, and rickey henderson. wilhelm was the fist reliever to be voted in to the hall of fame, and was the all-time leader in saves and games pitched when he retired.

i am happy to have him in my collection, and i recognize that i should have picked up this card sooner!

you can see my complete hall of famer collection here. now including hoyt!

mike schmidt is in my hall of famer collection

michael jack schmidt. as kids back in the neighborhood, we enjoyed saying his full name. schmidt is one of the first baseball players i was ever aware of, as i found his 1977 topps card in the first pack of cards that i ever opened. that same year, my dad bought me and my brother our first baseball gloves - rawlings mike schmidt models.  i was therefore a bit of a mike schmidt fan.

don't get me wrong; ron cey was always the guy that i thought should be the starting third baseman in the all-star game, but i recognized that he had stiff competition from pete rose (who got the nod in 1978) and schmidt (who took the honors in 1979, as rose moved to first base).  it's schmidt's 1980 topps card, complete with the all-star banner, that is a piece of my hall of famer collection. to clarify, it's a 2002 topps archives autoproofs 1980 topps buyback 

here's the back:

the cartoon caption is partially obscured, but it says "mike hit double and triple in the 1979 all-star game at seattle".  that would mean that the pitcher with the flop sweat in the cartoon is either nolan ryan (he allowed the triple) or bob stanley (he allowed the double). i suppose it could also be mike clear, who faced schmidt after he was half-way to the cycle in the game.  side note - schmidt's first inning triple scored steve garvey with the first run of the game.

following his retirement, schmidt was a no-brainer first ballot hall of famer, and a member of the all-century team. speaking of his retirement, i was just finishing up my first year of college when i heard the news that schmidt had decided to end his career. even though other players that i followed (such as the entire garvey/cey/russell/lopes infield) had retired previously, schmidt's retirement made me feel old-ish.  from my first pack of cards to my first glove to the three nlcs series against the dodgers, i had come to root for michael jack schmidt.

i am very happy to have his 1980 topps card in my hall of famer collection, as it shows schmidt pretty much as i remember him.

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

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

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

mike schmidt - 2002 topps archives autoproof 1980 topps buyback

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