that's a 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic with a nice vintage white sox pinstripe. here's the back:
i am pretty sure that the last line of that text regarding fox's uniform number is leftover text from 2001 topps tribute, which focused on retired numbers.
fox was on my radar for a couple of reasons as a collector and athlete. first, i somehow obtained his 1960 topps card fairly early on in my collecting days - probably around 1980 or so. it was the first card i owned from the colorful, horizontal set, and so i did some research in to fox's career. i remember seeing that he had put up some decent numbers - over 2,600 hits - and was the mvp of the american league in 1959, the year the dodgers beat the white sox in the world series.
fast forward four years to 1984 or so, and i was firmly entrenched at second base on my babe ruth and high school teams. i had previously played shortstop and pitched, and i still pitched once in a while, but my arm was giving out. i could still throw strikes, but i didn't throw as hard as i should have. anyway, as a second baseman, i was tuned in to guys like steve sax and ryne sandberg at the time, and fox was back in the news as he was at the end of his eligibility for hall of fame voting. i was hoping he would be elected, but he fell two votes short.
fox was ultimately voted in to the hall by the veteran's committee for enshrinement in 1997, and i was pleased. today, with advanced metrics, i see that fox maybe is more of a "hall of very good" player, but i am the first to admit that i am not a "small hall" believer. i think fox is where he belongs.
here's my hall of famer collection as its been documented so far:
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
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
willie mays - 1997 topps willie mays reprints certified autograph
pee wee reese - 2001 topps tribute relic
willie mccovey - 2004 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary sigs 46/50
carlton fisk - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures
tony perez - 2004 fleer national pastime 2002 fleer greats authentic autograph buyback 30/59
ozzie smith - 2019 topps finest finest origins autograph
gary carter - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph collection
vladimir guerrero - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures
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
lou gehrig - 2010 topps tribute relic 96/99
rogers hornsby - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic
jimmie foxx - 2013 topps tribute retired remnants relic 91/99
mel ott - 2011 topps tribute quad relic 15/99
paul waner - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic
dizzy dean - 2001 topps tribute relic
hank greenberg - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic
zack wheat - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials 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
roy campanella - 2001 topps tribute relic
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
ralph kiner - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph
ernie banks - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures
eddie mathews - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game 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
juan marichal - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
brooks robinson - 2001 topps golden anniversary great 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
willie mccovey - 2004 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary sigs 46/50
ray dandridge - 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts a place in history cut autograph 31/43
jim hunter - 1998 donruss signature series significant signatures 0736/2000
billy williams - 2013 topps museum collection autograph 054/199
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
carl yastrzemski - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph
joe morgan - 2001 upper deck hall of famers cooperstown collection signature jersey
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
nellie fox - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic
phil niekro - 2017 panini donruss recollection collection 1983 donruss buyback autograph 13/33
don sutton - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
george brett - 2001 topps finest finest moments autograph
robin yount - 2001 upper deck ultimate collection ultimate signatures 112/150
carlton fisk - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures
kirby puckett - 1998 upper deck retro sign of the times autograph
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
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
andre dawson - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph
roberto alomar - 2015 topps high tek pattern 1 grass/waves gold rainbow autograph 50/50
roberto alomar - 2015 topps high tek pattern 1 grass/waves gold rainbow autograph 50/50
bert blyleven - 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams autograph
ron santo - 2004 topps retired signature autograph
tom glavine - 2019 topps tribute autograph 18/90
tom glavine - 2019 topps tribute autograph 18/90
greg maddux - 2018 topps luminaries masters of the mound autograph 13/15
frank thomas - 2019 topps tier one autographs 42/70
frank thomas - 2019 topps tier one autographs 42/70
craig biggio - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 019/333
pedro martinez - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 09/60
ken griffey jr - 2003 upper deck game face autograph
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
vladimir guerrero - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures
jim thome - 2020 topps archives signature series 2012 topps mini 1/1
jack morris - 2004 donruss timelines recollection collection 1986 buyback autograph 23/45
alan trammell - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph
roy halladay - 2017 topps archives signature series 2004 topps buyback 15/23
roy halladay - 2017 topps archives signature series 2004 topps buyback 15/23
larry walker - 1997 donruss signature series authentic signature
joe jackson* - 2001 upper deck sp legendary cuts sp legendary debut bat card
pete rose* - 2018 panini flawless legendary signatures 15/25
roger clemens* - 1995 upper deck autograph
barry bonds* - 2001 bowman heritage autographs
roger clemens* - 1995 upper deck autograph
alex rodriguez* - 1998 upper deck sp authentic chirography autograph
*not currently in the national baseball hall of fame
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.
The stitching pattern on that pinstripe looks VERY different from those on modern uniforms. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteI don't have an auto or relic of Nellie, but I'm happy to say I have his '56 Topps.
those old wool uniforms are a treat to see on relic cards for sure. his '56 topps card is a nice one to have.
DeleteI played second base too. I think I was the only left-handed second baseman in our league.
ReplyDeletethat's cool. how old were you when you stopped playing second? we had a lefty catcher through babe ruth. i don't recall seeing lefty infielders (other than first basemen) past the lower levels of little league.
DeleteI think up through majors...so until around 5th grade. After that, I was in the outfield and first base. Here's another side story about being a lefty... I got to play 3rd base for one inning during the all-star game (the one where you play the other little leagues in the area). Anyways... they tried to bunt on me, but I got him out. It's one of a handful of individual plays I remember from my LL days.
Deletethat's awesome. i enjoy hearing about strategic backfires like that. i remember in high school, an opposing team intentionally walked one of our bigger guys to get to the smaller player. the smaller player was leading the team in home runs and promptly hit another.
DeleteRelics with visible stitching are always interesting. I remember looking at his numbers when I got back into card collecting, and wondering if they were enough to have warranted his enshrinement. 10+ years later and I'm still not sure?
ReplyDeletethere may have been some crony-ism with his induction, but i am ok with it. however, fox being in the hall means that guys like bobby grich and lou whitaker should probably be in, too.
Delete