barry bonds* is in my hall of famer collection

i first saw barry bonds play when i was in high school. my baseball coach took a bunch of us to watch a college game that featured the arizona state sun devils and the son of bobby bonds.  i knew about bobby, thanks to my card collecting, and had even obtained an in-person autograph from him at a hot stove dinner one year.  i did not know anything about barry at that time, although he was dominating at that level. my coach pointed him out to us as he was running in from the outfield. i don't recall what he did at the plate, unfortunately, but i do recall that the leadoff hitter for the ucsb gauchos struck out five times that game.

a year or so later, i recall watching a dodger broadcast where the pregame show focused on what was about to become the major league debut of barry bonds. if i recall correctly, bobby was late getting to the stadium, but joined the broadcast crew in the booth at some point early in the game.  barry went 0 for 5 that night, but picked up his first big league hit against the dodgers the next day.  he hit his first big league home run a few days later, and he was on his way to becoming one of the all-time greats.

even though he is not in the national baseball hall of fame, i have added him to my hall of famer collection, and his entry is this 2001 bowman heritage autographs card:

here's the back:

i next saw bonds play in person in 2003. it was at pacbell park, or at&t or whatever it was at that time, and he was firmly entrenched as a polarizing figure in the game. dodger rookie edwin jackson was pitching, and he hit bonds with a pitch his first time up, then walked him intentionally the next time.  third time, he struck bonds out with the tying run on second to preserve a 1-0 lead. in bonds' last at bat of the game, dodger reliever tom martin struck him out for good measure. the dodgers later went on to build a 5-0 lead that they would hold, and if i am being honest with myself, i would have liked to have seen bonds crank one in a losing effort.  but, at the time, it was a close game and i was happy to see the dodger pitchers not give up the lead.

bonds went on to break both home run records - mark mcgwire's season record and hank aaron's career mark - but the asterisk due to 'the cream' and 'the clear' looms large over his legacy.  i don't feel cheated by bonds; he and his career were a part of my fandom, and i don't have to judge. i am just happy to have this card as part of my collection. for the record, this is the first graded card to be entered in to the collection, and i am going to keep it slabbed.

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

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