gary carter was a big part of my early card collecting and general baseball fandom. even though i have a sweet spot autographed card that i pulled from a pack in the early 2000's, i wanted something a bit more expo-esque for my hall of famer collection. as a result, here's a 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph collection card as carter's entry in my hall of famer collection:
here's the back:
carter was behind the plate during the 1979 all-star game when graig nettles singled to right in the bottom of the eighth inning. brian downing was on second base and the game was tied. dave parker unleashed a rocket to nail downing at home, and carter's tag was perfect - he kind of pushed downing's hands away from home plate. for an 8-year old national league fan, it was awesome and became a seminal moment in my fandom. that play, of course, lived on for a while during the "this week in baseball" closing credits montage.
the following year, i was in desperate need of carter's 1980 topps card to complete my set. my need bled over in to 1981, and i think i even wrote topps a letter about needing that card. i finally obtained it at the lcs, and when i first saw the photo i thought that maybe it was from the 1979 all-star game (it wasn't).
i continued to follow carter's career as he tried to beat the dodgers in the 1981 playoffs, and as he started the game-winning rally in game 6 of the 1986 world series with two outs and nobody on base in the bottom of the 10th. that kinda made me mad, to be honest. i also got mad at carter in 1988 when he drove in the tying and winning runs in the 9th inning of game 1 of the nlcs to beat orel hershiser and the dodgers. i was doubly mad that time because my dad had told me earlier in the week that he had obtained tickets to game 1 of the world series through the dodgers' ticket lottery, but they had to beat the mets to get there. i was worried, but it all worked out in the end.
i had witnessed the mets face hershiser in person earlier in the 1988 season when some friends and i drove down to catch the eastern division powerhouse at dodger stadium, but we were treated to mackey sasser behind the plate instead of carter. as a result, i never did see carter play in person against the dodgers. i did, however, see his first ever at bat as a dodger. i was at the ravine on april 12, 1991 - opening day - and got to see carter ground out in a pinch-hitting appearance. a couple of years later, i saw him at a promotional appearance in orange county. my friend and i didn't stand in line, but did walk by to get a look at the kid. i was 8 years old again for a moment.
babe ruth - 2003 topps tribute world series edition world series tribute relic 351/425
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
honus wagner - 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
willie mays - 1997 topps willie mays reprints autograph
hank aaron - 2004 topps originals 1979 topps all-time record holders rbi 03/32
harmon killebrew - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures
rollie fingers - 2018 topps archives signature series 1978 topps buyback 1/3
steve carlton - 2018 topps five star career year autographs
mike schmidt - 2002 topps archives autoproof 1980 topps buyback
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
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
*not currently a member of the hall of fame
