i knew of nap lajoie for about 25 years before i knew how to pronounce his last name. he's in my hall of famer collection with this card as his entry:
it's a 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic. here's the back:
in my head i pronounced his last name "la joy". then, when ken burns' "baseball" hit the airwaves, there was a song featured that audiblized his name "lah-zhu-way". i didn't take french in high school.
as the card states, lajoie did, in fact, get his 3,000th hit in 1914, his last season with the indians. he ended that season with 3,001 hits to be exact. or, at least that's what his stats on baseball reference say today. who knows how many hits he had at the end of that season back in the day. i am guessing that's why the card is not more specific as to the date of lajoie's historic hit. in fact, there is a discrepancy between baseball reference (3,243) and mlb.com (3,252) as to just how many hits he has. still, he has more than 3,000, and sits between albert pujols and eddie murray in 14th place all-time.
in 1936, lajoie fell 24 votes short of being a member of the first hall of fame class. he garnered more votes than cy young, tris speaker, lou gehrig, and a host of other all-time greats. he was elected on the second ballot, and so was in attendance when the hall opened its doors in 1939, and is featured in the famous photograph taken that day. that is what sealed his spot in my collection.
here's my hall of famer collection as its been documented so far:as the card states, lajoie did, in fact, get his 3,000th hit in 1914, his last season with the indians. he ended that season with 3,001 hits to be exact. or, at least that's what his stats on baseball reference say today. who knows how many hits he had at the end of that season back in the day. i am guessing that's why the card is not more specific as to the date of lajoie's historic hit. in fact, there is a discrepancy between baseball reference (3,243) and mlb.com (3,252) as to just how many hits he has. still, he has more than 3,000, and sits between albert pujols and eddie murray in 14th place all-time.
in 1936, lajoie fell 24 votes short of being a member of the first hall of fame class. he garnered more votes than cy young, tris speaker, lou gehrig, and a host of other all-time greats. he was elected on the second ballot, and so was in attendance when the hall opened its doors in 1939, and is featured in the famous photograph taken that day. that is what sealed his spot in my collection.
babe ruth - 2003 topps tribute world series edition world series tribute relic 351/425
honus wagner - 2001 topps tribute relic
nap lajoie - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic
tris speaker - 2011 topps tribute dual relic green parallel 53/75
eddie collins - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic
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
yogi berra - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1640/2000
roberto clemente - 2005 donruss greats hall of fame souvenirs relic
willie mays - 1997 topps willie mays reprints certified 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
fergie jenkins - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 154/333
gaylord perry - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph
gaylord perry - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph
rollie fingers - 2018 topps archives signature series 1978 topps buyback 1/3
hal newhouser - 1993 front row premium all-time greats autograph
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
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
cal ripken jr - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 32/75
jim rice - 2005 upper deck past time pennants past time signatures
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
greg maddux - 2018 topps luminaries masters of the mound autograph 13/15
pedro martinez - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 09/60
ken griffey jr - 2003 upper deck game face autograph
bert blyleven - 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams autograph
greg maddux - 2018 topps luminaries masters of the mound autograph 13/15
pedro martinez - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 09/60
ken griffey jr - 2003 upper deck game face autograph
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
roger clemens* - 1995 upper deck autograph
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.
Another awesome card. There's a very good chance that I learned how to pronounce his name from the Ken Burns documentary too.
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