don drysdale is in my hall of famer collection

don drysdale passed away in 1993, well before card companies began inserting autographed cards in to their packs. thankfully, i still have an on-card autograph of big d to put in to my hall of famer collection:

that is a 1993 nabisco all-stars autograph card. here's the back:

and here's the coa:

nabisco created these cards as part of a mail-in promotion (2 proofs of purchase plus $5 and you could choose a signed card from ernie banks, phil niekro, jim hunter, brooks robinson, or drysdale), and with the promotion of these cards running right about the time of drysdale's passing in july of 1993 while with the dodgers in montreal, his card was in high demand.

my dad saw drysdale pitch a few times and was able to put an image of drysdale the pitcher in my mind, basically affirming the stories i had heard of the tall, hard throwing pitcher with the glare and arm span that is perfectly captured on the above card.  the first drysdale card i ever owned was from the 1982 kmart box set, and while i thought it was weird that they included a few highlights cards (such as the drysdale) in what was an mvp based set, i wasn't complaining.

however, i knew drysdale first as an angels' broadcaster as he was part of the crew that presented games on ktla in the late 1970s. i soon learned of his career with the dodgers and recognized him on a re-run of 'the brady bunch'. he joined abc as a broadcaster of 'monday night baseball' and later became a dodger broadcaster following the retirement of jerry doggett.

as a result, most of my recollections of drysdale feature him as an announcer. i specifically recall thinking how great it was that drysdale was on hand as a broadcaster when orel hershiser broke his scoreless inning streak at the end of the 1988 season, and i enjoyed seeing him show up on the back of ramon martinez's 1991 score card holding a microphone. i only recently found out that drysdale was working a radio broadcast of the 1988 world series (must have been a regional broadcast as jack buck and bill white were doing the national radio gig), and heard his call of gibson's game 1 home run. on a sadder note, i distinctly remember watching the dodger telecast from montreal on july 3, 1993 on ktla and hearing scully announce that drysdale had passed away. it was surreal and a moment that has stuck with me for over 26 years.

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

tris speaker - 2011 topps tribute dual relic green parallel 53/75

george sisler - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

dizzy dean - 2001 topps tribute 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

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

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

don drysdale - 1993 nabisco all-star autographs

 

harmon killebrew - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures

pee wee reese - 2001 topps tribute relic

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

willie stargell - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures 

jim palmer - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

gaylord perry - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph

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

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

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

don sutton - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

carlton fisk - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

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

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

bruce sutter - 2003 topps all-time fan favorites certified autograph

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

andre dawson - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph

bert blyleven - 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams autograph

pedro martinez - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 09/60

tim raines - 2018 topps tribute tribute autograph green parallel 26/95

alan trammell - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

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

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