rod carew is in my hall of famer collection

one of my favorite non-dodgers during the first several years of my baseball fandom was rod carew. he is in my hall of famer collection, represented by this 2004 topps retired signature card:

it's a beaut.  here's the back:

rod carew was a twin on his two cards in the 1978 topps set, which was the first time i saw cards of his. the all-star shield on his base card meant that i spent a lot of time looking at and studying that particular card, so carew as a twin is not a strange sight to me. however, when carew landed with the angels prior to the 1979 season, my fandom got turned up a notch.  as a result, my hall of famer collection features him as a halo.

it did take me a while to find a card that featured him as an angel with an on-card signature that dated from before his heart attack in 2015 (which resulted in a shakier signature as well as the elimination or reduction of the pen trail coming off of the "w" in subsequent years), but patience paid off and i found a magnificent specimen. of course, the perfect card for this collection would be a buyback auto of his 1979 o-pee-chee card, as that was a prized possession for me in the summer of '79.

as mentioned up above, i first knew carew as a twin, but i spent a lot of time following the 1979 angels and their quest for their first postseason appearance. carew, who had been traded to california prior to the season, was up to his usual tricks early in the season, and was hitting around .350 when he went on the disabled list in june. he missed the all-star game, which disappointed me, but came back soon thereafter to help the halos reach the alcs for the fist time.

i went to my first angels game in 1979, and so got to see carew in action in person for the first time. it was a game against the blue jays on august 19, and carew went 0 for 3 with 2 walks. i was there more for don baylor, but it was bobby grich who provided the offensive firepower that evening. i went to another angel game while carew was active - it was against the a's in 1982 - but i don't recall any specifics of that game, other than rickey henderson stole a base and billy martin argued with the umpires.

carew's batting stance was a favorite of mine to mimic during wiffle ball games in the front yard as a kid, and i was pleased to find him spending a good deal of time with the twins after i moved to minnesota.  as such, i was able to get his autograph a time or two at twins fest or the old autograph parties they used to have, and also let him know that i was a fan.

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

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

hank greenberg - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame 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

stan musial - 2002 topps team topps legends autograph

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

lou brock - 2018 topps archives signature series 1989 buyback 53/61

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

willie stargell - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures 

red schoendienst - 2012 panini cooperstown signatures 038/549

jim palmer - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

rod carew - 2004 topps retired signature autograph

fergie jenkins - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 154/333

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

robin yount - 2001 upper deck ultimate collection ultimate signatures 112/150

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

wade boggs - 2005 upper deck baseball heroes autograph red parallel 30/49

ryne sandberg - 2016 topps five star autographs gold parallel 17/50

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

tony gwynn - 1997 donruss signature series millennium marks autograph 0702/1000

cal ripken jr - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 32/75

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

ron santo - 2004 topps retired signature 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

mike piazza - 2014 topps five star autograph 35/50

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

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.