dennis eckersley is in my hall of famer collection

dennis eckersley was an indian on his 1978 topps card, which is how i first saw him. however, he spent the 1978 season with the red sox, and i certainly followed his exploits that season through box scores and the sunday league leader tables in the los angeles times.  so, it's fitting to me to have this card represent him in my hall of famer collection:

that's eckersley's 1984 topps card, signed and sealed from the 2017 topps archives signature series release. here's the back:

you can see that eckersley was 20-8 in 1978 for the red sox in what would be his finest season as a starting pitcher.

the red sox dealt eckersley to the cubs during the 1984 season, a season in which i had acquired cubs fever thanks to ron cey, ryne sandberg (who was a new favorite non-dodger of mine), plus the in-season acquisitions of former dodger rick sutcliffe and later on, davey lopes. eckersley's 1984 topps traded and fleer update cards were appreciated by me during the offseason, even as lopes was left out of those sets.  i was torn during the 1984 nlcs, but truthfully would have been happy with either the cubs or steve garvey and the padres advancing to the world series. eckersley started and lost game 3 of the series, and the padres earned the right to get trounced by the tigers.

i am fairly certain that i only saw eckersley pitch in person once. it just so happened that it was on october 15, 1988, so i got to see him allow a two-out walk to mike davis and then a walk-off home run to kirk gibson.  i even got a photo of eck walking off the mound from my seat in the right field pavilion that night.  still, i respect the talent, and eckersley's successful transition from starter to closer certainly resulted in a hall of fame worthy career.

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 relics

george sisler - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

dizzy dean - 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

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

bob gibson - 2001 fleer greats of the game autographs

hank aaron - 2004 topps originals 1979 topps all-time record holders rbi 03/32

frank robinson - 1995 upper deck autographs

harmon killebrew - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures

pee wee reese - 2001 topps tribute relics

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

gaylord perry - 2003 topps finest finest moments autographs

rollie fingers - 2018 topps archives signature series 1978 topps buyback 1/3

reggie jackson - 2018 topps tier one tier one talent autographs 19/60

steve carlton - 2018 topps five star career year autographs

mike schmidt - 2002 topps archives autoproof 1980 topps buyback 048/147

don sutton - 2001 fleer greats of the game

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

gary carter - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph collection

dennis eckersley - 2017 topps archives signature series 1984 topps buyback 47/99

paul molitor - 2016 topps museum collection archival autographs 021/125

bruce sutter - 2003 topps all-time fan favorites

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

andre dawson - 2000 fleer greats of the game autographs

alan trammell - 2001 fleer greats of the game autographs

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