that's a 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures card. here's the back:
i've mentioned many times before that i caught cubs fever in 1984. i had been following ryne sandberg and ron cey in their northside adventures beginning in 1983, but for a fan of baseball in general, the 1984 cubbies were a great story. much like with the "billy ball" a's a couple of years earlier, i decided to complete the topps cubs team sets from previous years, although i figured i would just go back to 1970 with the cubs, rather than 1965 as i was doing with the a's. i soon became aware that there were a couple of ernie banks cards that i would have to acquire to achieve this feat.
as luck would have it, i found a copy of his 1971 topps card fairly early on in my quest. it's such a great card, although i was confused by his position being listed as first base, as my understanding had been that he was a shortstop. the reason for that was due to my extensive studying of the book "the image of their greatness" which i have mentioned many times before. it was a birthday present from my uncle on my ninth birthday, and although banks only received three mentions in the book, one of them was a full page photo with this caption:
"ernie banks, the premier power hitter among shortstops. perhaps the most popular man ever to play for the chicago cubs, banks had a lifetime total of 512 home runs. he was voted the national league's most valuable player in 1958 and 1959."
i knew from the 1979 topps set that banks had a lot of rbi (he was featured on the back of the all-time record holders rbi card), but i think that was the first time i had seen his home run total (he just missed being featured on the all-time record holders home run card). i knew that was one more home run than mel ott hit, and if he was the premier power hitting shortstop and the most popular cub, then i figured he must have been great.
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
mel ott - 2011 topps tribute quad relic 15/99
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
sandy koufax - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1707/2000
roberto clemente - 2005 donruss greats hall of fame souvenirs relic
mickey mantle - 2000 upper deck legends legendary game jerseys relic
ernie banks - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures
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
johnny bench - 2019 topps definitive collection legendary autograph 09/25
red schoendienst - 2012 panini cooperstown signatures 038/549
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
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
tom seaver - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 44/50
reggie jackson - 2018 topps tier one tier one talent autograph 19/60
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
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
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
ryne sandberg - 2016 topps five star autographs gold parallel 17/50
tony gwynn - 1997 donruss signature series millennium marks autograph 0702/1000
cal ripken jr - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 32/75
goose gossage - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph
jim rice - 2005 upper deck past time pennants past time signatures
cal ripken jr - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 32/75
goose gossage - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph
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
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
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
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.
Love, love, love that set. Sure wish I had been able to watch Banks play.
ReplyDeleteI remember you saying a while ago that you were in the market for one of his signatures... looks like you found yourself a good one!
ReplyDelete