jim palmer is in my hall of famer collection

i wanted to be sure to have a card for jim palmer that showed him in his later years for my hall of famer collection, and i settled on this card:

that is, of course, a 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph card. i have a few cards from this set in this collection.  here's the back:

my first encounter with palmer was through his 1978 topps card. that card bore the all-star shield, and so i considered him to be don sutton's american league counterpart. i took a liking to palmer as a result, and followed his performance through the sunday los angeles times and their weekly stats and leaderboard section of the sports page.

palmer once again started the all-star game in 1978 (sutton did not), and i was at the same time pleased and disappointed with his performance. palmer had two scoreless innings under his belt, having allowed just one hit and a walk (to steve garvey of all people), but things fell apart in the third. he gave up a single and three more walks (including a bases-loaded base on balls to greg luzinski) before garvey ended his night with a two-run single. the national league wound up winning the game, with garvey netting the mvp award, so it was a good night by my standards despite palmer's performance.

although i never saw him pitch in person, i continued to follow palmer's career, which included hearing him on abc baseball broadcasts, watching him pitch in the 1979 and 1983 postseasons, and seeing him in his underwear in jockey ads in sports illustrated. i learned that he had beat sandy koufax in koufax's last big league start (game 2 of the 1966 world series), that he had won as many cy young awards as koufax (and tom seaver), and that he had won 20 games in a season more times in the post-war era than anyone not named warren spahn. i was happy that he was able to pitch (although it was only in relief) in the 1983 world series, and disappointed when his career came to an unceremonious end during the following season - 36 years ago today. i was further disappointed when no cards were made for him in 1985, thus denying me a final tribute card for my collection.  however, i was pleased in 1990 when he was elected to the hall of fame in his first year of eligibility, and hopeful when he attempted a comeback in 1991 - if for no other reason than it meant that he might get a final tribute card after all. along those lines, i'll be hoping that he gets the 1985 topps treatment in series 2 this year.

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

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

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