my retired number collection - 14

this is (appropriately) the 14th post in a series that shares the cards i have in my retired number mini-collection. you can find the links to the previous posts down at the bottom of this post. if you're eager to learn more right now, you can check out the full list of retired numbers along with what this collection will entail over at my want list site.

without further ado, here are the nine people for whom the number 14 has been retired (by ten teams):

gil hodges (retired by the mets in 1973) 1971 topps

gil hodges was the first met to wear number 14. he took his number that he had worn previously as a dodger and wore it as an inaugural member of the national league expansion team in 1962. he later reclaimed the number when he returned to manage the club in 1968. following a losing season that year, he led the amazin' mets to the pennant and world series title in 1969, cementing his place in new york met history and his status as a mets' legend. his 1971 topps card shows off both his number and his striking blue eyes!

hodges had the mets above .500 in each of the next two seasons, but passed away of a heart attack during spring training in 1972. the following year, on june 9, 1973, the team retired his number. the dodgers were in town that day, and it was also old-timers' day in queens, featuring a matchup between former mets and former dodgers, so lots of people with connections to hodges were able to participate. while a couple of mets wore number 14 after hodges retired from his playing career (including a guy who appears later in this post), no met wore it after he took it back in 1968. 

ernie banks (retired by the cubs in 1982) 2018 topps update silver pack 1983 35th anniversary

let's play 2! the cubs retired banks' number on august 22, 1982 making him the first in team history to be so honored. he had retired after the 1971 season and was voted in to the hall of fame on his first ballot in 1977. he was a coach for the cubs for a couple of seasons after he retired and remained affiliated with the club in the years after that, so i am not sure why it took the team so long to recognize banks in this way.

a member of the 500 home run club and a two-time national league mvp, banks is arguably mostly remembered today for never making the postseason during his 19 seasons in the majors. he spent that entire time with the cubs, and eventually became known as "mr. cub". it was more difficult than you might think to find a card showing his number, but i think it turned out ok thanks to 2018 topps update. 

ken boyer (retired by the cardinals in 1984) 1993 action packed

boyer was one of the two players (ron swoboda is the other) who wore number 14 for the mets. boyer wore it for the white sox as well, but when he went to the dodgers at the end of his career he shifted to 45 and let len gabrielson keep the number. for most of his career, however, he wore 14 for the cardinals.

boyer held down the hot corner for the cardinals for 11 years starting in 1955, winning five gold gloves and the 1964 national league mvp award. he was a big part of the cardinals' success that season as they beat the yankees in the world series. boyer became a coach and manager following his playing career, finally taking the helm of the cardinals' major league club in 1978. while many others he led the team until he was replaced by whitey herzog during the 1980 season. 

sadly, boyer passed away in 1982 at the age of 51. at some point after that, the cardinals made the decision to retire his number, making september 1983 callup jim adduci the last cardinal to wear 14. the number was officially retired on may 20, 1984, making boyer the only person in franchise history to have his number retired but not be enshrined in cooperstown.

larry doby (retired by the guardians in 1994) 2005 upper deck mini jersey collection

i really have no idea what this set is or why there is a regular sized card in a set called "mini jersey collection" but it was the only one i could find showing doby in a cleveland uniform with 14 on his back (the number also appears as part of the card design).  doby, of course, was the first black player in the american league (and second in the majors), debuting about two and a half months after robinsion first took the field for the dodgers.

doby joined cleveland from the newark eagles, but struggled in that first season. the next year, he hit over .300 in the regular season and .318 in the fall classic as he helped cleveland win the world series championship. in 1954, he led the american league in home runs and rbi and helped cleveland win the pennant. he left cleveland after the 1955 season, but returned for the 1957 and 1958 campaigns. in his 10 years with the club, he hit 215 home runs and had a 

his number was retired on july 3, 1994 in front of a sellout crowd at jacobs field, and four years later he was enshrine in the hall of fame via the veterans' committee. the retirement of number 14 in cleveland made jesse levis the last player to wear the number.

kent hrbek (retired by the twins in 1995) 1984 topps

twin cities native and fan favorite kent hrbek had his number 14 retired by the club on august 13, 1995. he spent his entire playing career with the twins - a career that ended in august of 1994 with the strike. by the time his number retirement ceremony came about a year later, the twins had started 10 different players at first base.

hrbek, of course, was a big part of the twins' 1987 and 1991 world series championship teams, but he was also the runner up to cal ripken jr in the 1982 american league rookie of the year race, as well as the runner up to guillermo hernandez in the 1984 american league mvp voting. it's just a coincidence that i used his 1984 topps card for this collection, however. during his rookie year, he was a write-in all-star which turned out to be the only way he ever made it to the midsummer classic.

the last twin to wear 14, hrbek was gifted with an assortment of items at the number retirement ceremony. these included golf clubs from the visiting california angels, plus a couple of atvs, a pig, a cow, and a shotgun according to the los angeles times. hrbek is a big outdoors guy who has shown up at several events around the twin cities and greater minnesota. and, while he is not in the hall of fame, he is in the twins' hall of fame, and has a statue outside gate 14 at target field.

jim bunning (retired by the phillies in 2001) 2001 fleer greats of the game

it's appropriate to use this 2001 fleer greats of the game card for bunning, as his number (which had been most recently worn by gary bennett in 2000) was retired by the phillies on april 16, 2001 which was opening day. he was only a phillie for six seasons (over two different stints) but did have some of his best years in philadelphia. his first run with the club lasted from 1964 through 1967. he won 19 games in each of the first three seasons of that run, with a cumulative era of 2.48 during that time. in 1967 he won 17 and (wrongfully) finished second in the cy young voting to mike mccormick. mccormick won 22 games, but trailed bunning in every other pitching category that matters. in fact, bunning led the league in innings pitched, shutouts, and strikeouts, and was second to phil niekro in era.

perhaps the highlight of his phillies tenure was the perfect game he threw on june 21, 1964 (father's day) against the mets in queens, but i would guess overall his biggest accomplishment was being voted in to the hall of fame by the veterans' committee in 1996. his body of work, which included nine seasons with the tigers and two seasons split between the pirates and dodgers, included 2,855 strikeouts. at the time of his retirement, that was the second highest strikeout total of all time! 

jim rice (retired by the red sox in 2009) 1986 fleer

there's no missing rice's number 14 on that 1986 fleer card, and there was no missing rice in the box scores that i perused daily during the 1978 season. he was the american league mvp that season, leading the league in home runs, rbi, and triples! over the course of his 16 season career (all with the red sox), rice piled up 2,452 hits, 382 home runs, and a .298 batting average.

it took rice all 15 years of eligibility on the writers' ballot to make the hall of fame, but he was elected in 2009. as a result, on july 28 of that same year, the red sox (who had kept his number out of circulation since his playing career ended) officially retired his number.

paul konerko (retired by the white sox in 2015) 2008 topps

i think 2008 topps works for some teams better than others, and the white sox are a team that it definitely works for. anyway, former dodger prospect paul konerko found a home on the south side of chicago after short stints as a dodger and a red. he spent 16 seasons playing for the white sox, during which time he hit 432 home runs and drove in 1,383 runs. in 2005, he hit 40 home runs for the second straight season and helped the white sox to the pennant and world series championship. he was the mvp of the alcs and hit a grand slam in game 2 of the world series.

he retired at the end of the 2014 season, and the club retired his number on may 23, 2015 making him the last to wear the number. while he is not a hall of famer (he was one ballot and done), he is a big presence in white sox history. in the entire run of the franchise, only luke appling appeared in more games for the white sox. he is also second (to frank thomas) among all white sox players in home runs, rbi, and total bases.

pete rose (retired by the reds in 2016) 1979 topps

you can smell the action on this 1979 topps card of the all-time hit king with his swing complete, back foot pivoting, mouth open and number 14 showing below his left arm. every time i see a 1979 topps card i am taken back to opening packs with my neighborhood friends. i have memories of opening packs from 1978 as well, but for some reason (maybe the fact that the 1979 set is more colorful?) the '79 memories seem stronger.

anyway, the reds finally retired rose's number in a ceremony on june 26, 2016 that also saw him inducted into the team's hall of fame. that is probably the only baseball hall of fame he has a chance for thanks to his betting on baseball while managing the club in the late 1980's. still, he owns the all-time records for games played and hits and was considered a lock for cooperstown until the betting allegations hit. the only person to wear number 14 for the reds following rose's dismissal as their manager in 1989 was his son, pete rose jr, who had a short stint with the club in 1997.

gil hodges (retired by the dodgers in 2022) 2002 topps tribute

gil hodges bookends this post, thanks to his status of being the first and the most recent person for whom number 14 was retired. the dodgers have a well known policy of not retiring numbers for players or managers who are not in cooperstown (with the only exception at the time of hodges' number retirement being jim gilliam) and so hodges, despite his presence as a key member of the brooklyn era boys of summer did not have his number on display next to teammates gilliam, pee wee reese, duke snider, jackie robinson, sandy koufax, roy campanella, and don drysdale, plus manager walter alston. no, hodges had to wait until june 4, 2022 to be so honored.

the dodgers announced plans to retire his number shortly after he was voted in to the hall of fame as a player by the golden eras committee late in 2021 for enshrinement in 2022. the ceremony took place prior to a game against the visiting mets which is a nice reversal of the mets' retirement ceremony mentioned at the top of this post.

hodges hit 361 home runs and drove in 1,254 runs as a dodger. he was an eight-time all-star as the club's first baseman, and led them to world series titles in brooklyn (1955) and los angeles (1959). in the latter series, he hit .391 and his home run in the bottom of the eighth inning was the difference in the pivotal game 4.

it took a long time for hodges to be voted in to the hall of fame, and the dodgers did not keep his number out of circulation like they did for fernando valenzuela (who, in 2023, became the second non-hall of famer to have his number retired by the dodgers) and so a litany of players wore number 14 over the years. the most notable was mike scioscia, but the last was fan favorite kiké hernandez in 2020. that means the last time a dodger wore number 14, they were celebrating a world series title which is a pretty good way to go out.

i am tracking a few things as we go, even though the information is already available elsewhere.

retired numbers by team (through the 14 posts so far):

yankees - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

giants - 3, 4, 11

pirates - 1, 4, 8, 9, 11

guardians - 3, 5, 14

red sox - 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 14

phillies - 1, 14

cardinals - 1, 2, 6, 9, 10, 14

reds - 1, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14

braves - 3, 6, 10

astros - 5, 7

mets - 14

orioles - 4, 5, 8

dodgers - 1, 2, 4, 14

twins - 3, 6, 7, 10, 14

white sox - 2, 3, 4, 9, 11, 14

brewers - 1, 4

tigers - 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 11

cubs - 10, 14

royals - 5, 10

padres - 6

athletics - 9

angels - 11

expos - 8, 10

rangers - 7, 10

major league baseball

rays - 12

diamondbacks

blue jays

rockies

mariners - 11

nationals - 11

retired number frequency:

1 - retired by 9 teams

2 - retired by 5 teams

3 - retired by 7 teams

4 - retired by 8 teams

5 - retired by 7 teams

6 - retired by 7 teams

7 - retired by 4 teams

8 - retired by 6 teams (retired by yankees for two players)

9 - retired by 6 teams

10 - retired by 9 teams (retired by expos for two players)

11 - retired by 8 teams

12 - retired by 1 team

13 - retired by 1 team

14 - retired by 10 teams (retired by mets and dodgers for same person)

unnumbered players - 12 players recognized by 4 teams

running total of unique hall of famers (including those without numbers): 81

running total of non-hall of famers: 20

my retired number collection - gimme 5!

this is the sixth post in a series that shares the cards i have in my retired number mini-collection. you can find the links to the previous posts down at the bottom of this post. if you're eager to learn more right now, you can check out the full list of retired numbers along with what this collection will entail over at my want list site.

without further ado, here are the seven people for whom the number 5 has been retired:

5 joe dimaggio (retired by the yankees in 1952) 2001 upper deck pinstripe exclusives

joltin' joe was the third yankee to have his number retired when the club honored him on april 18, 1952 - their first home opener following his retirement from the game. dimaggio, of course, is best remembered by casual baseball fans for his 56-game hit streak but he was one of the best all-around players of his generation. he played in only 13 seasons (three years were spent in military service) but appeared in 10 world series, winning nine. he retired with a .325 lifetime batting average, and only hit below .300 twice. three times he was the american league's most valuable player, and he finished second twice. he was a teammate of both lou gehrig and mickey mantle, which kind of blows my mind.

i think the card that i chose to represent dimaggio in this collection is a great choice, with the number 5 centered as he completes his swing. i just now learned that dimaggio was given number 9 when he first came up with the yankees, but switched to 5 starting in his sophomore year. the last yankee to wear that number, he was also a first ballot hall of famer, entering the hall in 1955. 

5 lou boudreau (retired by the guardians in 1970) 2001 upper deck sp legendary cuts

boudreau was a shortstop who played most of his career in cleveland, beginning in 1938. he finished his playing career with two seasons with the red sox in 1951 and 1952. in between, he also managed cleveland as a player manager from 1942 through 1950. in 1948, he was named the american league's most valuable player while guiding the club to the pennant and the world series championship. he was elected to the hall of fame as a player in 1970, which was ten years after his managerial career ended.

number 5 was retired by the indians franchise on july 9 of that same year. the 2001 sp legendary cuts care above was the best one i could find showing boudreau's number.

5 brooks robinson (retired by the orioles in  1978) 2002 fleer greats of the game

there's no problem seeing robinson's number on that 2002 fleer greats of the game card, that's for sure! the orioles retired the number on april 14, 1978 which, as it was with the yankees and dimaggio, was the first home opener for the orioles following robinson's retirement. robinson had played for the orioles for 23 years, including partial seasons in 1955 and 1977, and led the club to four pennants and two world series championships.

he was best known for his glove, winning the gold glove a record 16 consecutive seasons - a feat that jim kaat matched a couple of years after robinson had achieved it. he was also the 1964 american league mvp and the mvp of the world series in 1970. he entered the hall of fame in 1983 on the first ballot with 92% of the vote and was obviously the last oriole to wear number 5.

5 hank greenberg (retired by the tigers in 1983) 2002 topps tribute

i am thankful for the photographer who took this photo of greenberg and also to topps for using it on that 2002 topps tribute card. most photos of greenberg in uniform show him from the front, and so his number is not visible at all. anyway, the tigers were late to the number retirement game and didn't get to greenberg's number 5 until june 12, 1983. by that time, greenberg had been retired for almost 36 years, and had been in the hall of fame for 30.

like dimaggio, greenberg spent three years in the military which reduced his career to just 13 years although it was really only nine full seasons. during that time, he led the american league in home runs four times (hitting 58 in 1938 to tie jimmie foxx for the most (at that time) by a right-handed hitter) and rbi four times as well, maxing out at 184 in 1937 which was one short of lou gehrig's league record. he won two american league mvp awards, and two world series titles with detroit, but was nowhere near the last tiger to wear number 5. that honor goes to howard johnson who wore it in 1982. as i said, the tigers were late to the number retirement game.

5 johnny bench (retired by the reds in 1984) 1982 donruss

1982 donruss is not the fanciest of sets, but i had a dupe and it shows bench's number 5 pretty well so here we are. the reds had at one time retired number 5 for willard hershberger, a player who committed suicide while with the team in 1940. they eventually put the number back in circulation, and bench became the last red to wear it prior to its final retirement on august 11, 1984.

bench was the 1968 rookie of the year in the national league, and a two-time most valuable player. he was part of the "big red machine" in the 1970's, leading the team to back-to-back world series titles in 1975 and 1976, the latter of which he was named mvp. he is considered by many to be the greatest catcher in baseball history, and his first ballot induction in to the hall of fame in 1989 with 96.4% of the vote is a good indication of that widely held opinion. i just watched the yogi berra documentary on netflix and recognize that berra also has a claim to that title, and i will let historians who are better suited for the debate to hash it out.

5 george brett (retired by the royals in  1994) 1986 fleer all-star team

one of the first insert sets i ever found in packs, this 1986 fleer all-star team card of george brett is bold and i like it very much. it gives a great look at his number, too. the royals retired number 5 for brett on may 14, 1994 following his retirement at the end of the 1993 season. while not the first number retired by the franchise, he was the first player to be honored in that way by royals. over the course of his 20-plus year career, brett amassed 3,154 hits, three batting titles, an mvp award, and led the club to the first two pennants and first world series championship in club history.

brett was the fifth and last royal to wear number 5, and in 1999 he was inducted in to the hall of fame on the first ballot.

5 jeff bagwell (retired by the astros in 2007) 2002 upper deck diamond connection

bagwell was around for three different uniforms worn by the astros, and the 2002 upper deck diamond connection card i am using for this collection shows the third iteration. it's a largely forgettable uniform, but the card shows the number 5 displayed well. as you might expect, bagwell was the last astro to wear the number.

bagwell was the 1991 national league rookie of the year - the last non-dodger to win that award until 1997. he was also the 1994 national league mvp and an offensive force for pretty much the entirety of his career. he hit 449 home runs, drove in 1,529 runs, and scored 1,517 times. he also stole 202 bases which puts him in a small group of players to have over 400 homers and 200 steals. he is also a two-time member of the 30/30 club which sort of blows my mind since i think of him as more of a slugger.

injuries impacted his career over the last couple of seasons, but he was able to help the astros get to the world series in 2005 where he made the final appearance of his career. bagwell didn't formally retire, however, until after the 2006 season, and the club retired his number 5 on august 26, 2007 - about ten years before he was inducted in to the hall of fame.

[edit - the mets retired number 5 for david wright in 2025. this retirement is not reflected in the tracking below]

i should have noted that the marlins had retired number 5 in 1993 for their executive carl barger (joe d was his favorite player) who passed away before the team's inaugural season. they unretired it in 2012 and it is currently worn by jon berti.

i am tracking a few things as we go, even though the information is already available elsewhere.

retired numbers by team (through the five posts so far):

yankees - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

giants - 3, 4

pirates - 1, 4

guardians - 3, 5

red sox - 1, 4

phillies - 1

cardinals - 1, 2

reds - 1, 5

braves - 3

astros - 5

mets

orioles - 4, 5

dodgers - 1, 2, 4

twins - 3

white sox - 2, 3, 4

brewers - 1, 4

tigers - 1, 2, 3, 5

cubs

royals - 5

padres

athletics

angels

expos

rangers

major league baseball

rays

diamondbacks

blue jays

rockies

mariners

retired number frequency:

1 - retired by 9 teams

2 - retired by 5 teams

3 - retired by 7 teams

4 - retired by 8 teams

5 - retired by 7 teams

unnumbered players - 12 players recognized by 4 teams

running total of unique hall of famers (including those without numbers): 43

running total of non-hall of famers: 5

my retired number collection - these are the unnumbered

this is the second post in a series that shares the cards i have in my retired number mini-collection. here's the first post if you wish to catch up and read a bit about the background for this endeavor. also keep in mind that there's a full list of retired numbers along with what this collection will entail over at my want list site.

if you're ready, let's take a look at the folks honored by a handful of franchises even though there is no specific jersey number associated with them.

"ny" christy mathewson (honored by the giants in 1986) - 2010 topps vintage legends collection

the giants added a placard with "ny" under mathewson's name to their outfield wall on august 17, 1986. mathewson is a first class hall of famer whose 373 wins are still the third most in history.

"ny" john mcgraw (honored by the giants in 1986) - 2004 topps tribute

the giants honored mcgraw in the same way as mathewson on the same day. he was the club's manager for over 30 years, winning 10 pennants and three world series. he was, of course, the reason that there was no world series in 1904 (the year he won his first pennant) but was convinced to play in 1905 and captured his first world series title as a result. he was elected to the hall of fame in 1937.

"sl" rogers hornsby (honored by the cardinals in 1997) - 1999 upper deck century legends

according to baseball reference, rogers hornsby wore numbers 4 and 6 for the cardinals during his career, but the team recognized him sans number in 1997. he was inducted in to the hall of fame in 1942 after a playing career that included six batting titles and two triple crowns. both triple crowns and five of those batting titles came as a cardinal.

"p" grover cleveland alexander (honored by the phillies in 2001) - 1999 upper deck century legends

the phillies used the 1915 style "p" to honor alexander who is tied with mathewson for third place all-time in wins with 373. 190 of those wins came while alexander was a phillie, for whom he led the league in wins 5 times and achieved the pitching triple crown three times. alexander was elected to the hall of fame in1938.

 

"p" chuck klein (honored by the phillies in 2001) - 2002 topps tribute

klein wore a variety of numbers late in his career, but the phillies chose to honor him with an old english style "p" instead of a number in 2001. you can see a number on his back on the above card - it would be either 26 or 29, neither of which he wore in 1933 when he achieved the triple crown with 28 homers, 120 rbi, and a .368 batting average. that marked his sixth and final season as a phillie to start his career, although he returned to the club twice later in his career. klein was the national league mvp in 1932, but finished second to carl hubbell in 1933. he was elected to the hall of fame in 1980.

"cobb" ty cobb (honored by the tigers) - 2009 topps tribute blue

when comerica park opened, ty cobb's last name was displayed on the brick wall beyond left-centerfield next to the retired numbers of hank greenbert, charlie gehringer, hal newhouser, and al kaline. since he played before numbers were used, this makes sense that he would be honored by the franchise in this manner. cobb retired as the all-time leader in hits and stolen bases, won 12 batting titles, a triple crown, and has the highest career batting average in history at .366. he was a first class hall of famer and considered by many to be the greatest hitter of all-time.

"crawford" sam crawford (honored by the tigers) - 2002 topps tribute

crawford's last name showed up on the brick wall beyond right-centerfield at comerica park, along with the players below (and announcer ernie harwell). crawford began his career with three seasons in cincinnati but spent the next 15 years with the tigers. he is the all-time leader in triples with 309, and he led the league in that category six times, four as a tiger. he is the only player in history to have more than 300 triples. he was inducted in the hall of fame in 1957.

"cochrane" mickey cochrane (honored by the tigers) - 2003 fleer flair greats

cochrane played for the tigers the final four years of his career, winning the american league mvp in 1934, his first year with the club. he was also the team's manager during that time, and guided the club to pennants in '34 and 1935, taking home the world series title in '35 for the franchise's first championship. he was the first catcher elected to the hall of fame when he made it in 1947, and he was also the person that mickey mantle was named after even though cochrane himself was not named mickey. he did wear number 3 for the tigers once they adopted numbers, but only his name appears on the comerica park wall.

"heilmann" harry heilmann (honored by the tigers) - 2002 topps tribute

heilmann won four batting titles in the 1920's for the tigers, with his .403 average in 1923 marking a career best. following his retirement, he became a broadcaster for the tigers and stayed in that role for 17 years up until his death in july of 1951. he was voted in to the hall of fame the following year, but ty cobb told him on his deathbed that he had been voted in, so even though cobb was a year early in his prediction, heilmann passed away knowing he was a hall of famer.

 

"jennings" hughie jennings (honored by the tigers) - 1993 conlon tsn

jennings managed the tigers for 14 seasons, from 1907 through 1920. he won pennants in each of his first three seasons with the club, but no more after that. he was elected to the hall of fame as a player in 1945, and although he inserted himself in to the lineup a handful of times while with the tigers as their manager, his hall of fame status as a player is not based on what he did in detroit. i wonder if his managerial record was taken in to account by the veteran's committee when they cast their votes that year.

 

"kell" george kell (honored by the tigers) - 2003 fleer flair greats

kell played in the 1940's and 1950's but wore a couple of different numbers as a tiger, so they chose to honor him by name only - perhaps because his affiliation with the team extended beyond his playing career. he spent just seven of his 15 seasons as a tiger, winning the american league batting title in 1949 with a .343 average that just narrowly surpassed ted williams' average that year. after he retired following the 1957 season, kell went in to broadcasting and announced tiger games until he retired for good in 1997.

"manush" heinie manush (honored by the tigers) - 2003 topps gallery hall of fame edition artist proof

manush began his career with the tigers in 1923. he played for them through the 1927 season, winning a batting title in 1926 by hitting .378 giving the tigers an outfield (manush, cobb, and heilmann) replete with batting titles. he finished his career with a .320 average, over 2,500 hits, and a hall of fame induction in 1964. most of his post-career cards show him with the senators which makes sense as he was a part of their 1933 world series team, so i was glad to have this tiger card in my collection even though it appears to show a number on his back - something that he didn't have as a tiger.

honoring pre-number players is something that i've always thought that the dodgers should have done for zach wheat. i think a "b" medallion would look great with the retired numbers and microphones on the left field club level facade at dodger stadium.

i am going to track a few things as we go, even though the information is already available elsewhere.

retired numbers by team (shown in chronological order of their first number retirement):

yankees - 4

giants - 4

pirates - 4

guardians 

red sox - 4

phillies

cardinals

reds

braves

astros

mets

orioles - 4

dodgers - 4

twins

white sox - 4

brewers - 4

tigers

cubs

royals

padres

athletics

angels

expos

rangers

major league baseball

rays

diamondbacks

blue jays

rockies

mariners

retired number frequency:

4 - retired by 8 teams

unnumbered players - honored by 4 teams

running total of unique hall of famers (including those without numbers): 20

running total of non-hall of famers (including those without numbers):

nellie fox is in my hall of famer collection

nellie fox is in my hall of famer collection with this card as his entry:

that's a 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic with a nice vintage white sox pinstripe. here's the back:

i am pretty sure that the last line of that text regarding fox's uniform number is leftover text from 2001 topps tribute, which focused on retired numbers.

fox was on my radar for a couple of reasons as a collector and athlete. first, i somehow obtained his 1960 topps card fairly early on in my collecting days - probably around 1980 or so. it was the first card i owned from the colorful, horizontal set, and so i did some research in to fox's career. i remember seeing that he had put up some decent numbers - over 2,600 hits - and was the mvp of the american league in 1959, the year the dodgers beat the white sox in the world series.

fast forward four years to 1984 or so, and i was firmly entrenched at second base on my babe ruth and high school teams. i had previously played shortstop and pitched, and i still pitched once in a while, but my arm was giving out. i could still throw strikes, but i didn't throw as hard as i should have. anyway, as a second baseman, i was tuned in to guys like steve sax and ryne sandberg at the time, and fox was back in the news as he was at the end of his eligibility for hall of fame voting. i was hoping he would be elected, but he fell two votes short.  

fox was ultimately voted in to the hall by the veteran's committee for enshrinement in 1997, and i was pleased. today, with advanced metrics, i see that fox maybe is more of a "hall of very good" player, but i am the first to admit that i am not a "small hall" believer. i think fox is where he belongs.

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

lou gehrig - 2010 topps tribute relic 96/99

rogers hornsby - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

jimmie foxx - 2013 topps tribute retired remnants relic 91/99

mel ott - 2011 topps tribute quad relic 15/99

paul waner - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic

dizzy dean - 2001 topps tribute relic

hank greenberg - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

zack wheat - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials 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

roy campanella - 2001 topps tribute relic

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

ralph kiner - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph

ernie banks - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

eddie mathews - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph

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

juan marichal - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

brooks robinson - 2001 topps golden anniversary great 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

willie mccovey - 2004 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary sigs 46/50

ray dandridge - 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts a place in history cut autograph 31/43

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

billy williams - 2013 topps museum collection autograph 054/199

willie stargell - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures 

johnny bench - 2019 topps definitive collection legendary autograph 09/25

red schoendienst - 2012 panini cooperstown signatures 038/549

carl yastrzemski - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph

joe morgan - 2001 upper deck hall of famers cooperstown collection signature jersey

jim palmer - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

rod carew - 2004 topps retired signature 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

tom seaver - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 44/50

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

nellie fox - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic

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

don sutton - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

george brett - 2001 topps finest finest moments 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

kirby puckett - 1998 upper deck retro sign of the times autograph

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

goose gossage - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph

rickey henderson - 2016 topps tribute certified foundations of greatness autograph 49/50

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

andre dawson - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph

roberto alomar - 2015 topps high tek pattern 1 grass/waves gold rainbow autograph 50/50

bert blyleven - 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams autograph

ron santo - 2004 topps retired signature autograph

tom glavine - 2019 topps tribute autograph 18/90

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

frank thomas - 2019 topps tier one autographs 42/70

craig biggio - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 019/333

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

vladimir guerrero - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures

jim thome - 2020 topps archives signature series 2012 topps mini 1/1

jack morris - 2004 donruss timelines recollection collection 1986 buyback autograph 23/45

alan trammell - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

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

ted simmons - 2013 panini golden age historic signatures

larry walker - 1997 donruss signature series authentic signature

joe jackson* - 2001 upper deck sp legendary cuts sp legendary debut bat card

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

barry bonds* - 2001 bowman heritage autographs

roger clemens* - 1995 upper deck autograph

 

alex rodriguez* - 1998 upper deck sp authentic chirography autograph

*not currently in the national baseball hall of fame

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.