Last Topps (base set) Card of Every Hall of Famer Who Has a Topps Cardby Vvvergeer - 126 cards (Last updated on Jan 23, 2024) |
This is my collection of the last Topps card of every Hall of Fame player who has a regular (base set) Topps card. I couldn't afford all the rookie cards and if I got into other companies, it'd be too intimidating. But I love this collection all the same. With this method, there are admittedly a lot of players in unfamiliar jerseys, but the cards also have more complete career stats than rookie cards, which is more relevant to HOF status. They are in order of year of induction. Enjoy.
12. 1973 Topps #50 Roberto Clemente
One of the few in this list that I just bought in a pack when it actually came out.
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13. 1969 Topps #500 Mickey Mantle
I had a decent 1961 Mantle, but it took until my 50th birthday present to finally get this one. And it's a beauty. So cool.
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14. 1967 Topps #5 Whitey Ford
Another guy who I thought played circa 1910 before I learned a little.
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15. 1953 Topps #191 Ralph Kiner
Ok, I added this one on April 3, 2015. Man what a brilliant, albeit short, career. I wonder if, had he retired after only 9 years, they still would have put him in the Hall. Just the expensive ones to get now...
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16. 1966 Topps #530 Robin Roberts
Never heard of him before this collection got started. Got this as a gift in December 2014.
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17. 1958 Topps #2 Bob Lemon
Picked this up off eBay. Knew him more as a coach than player.
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18. 1971 Topps #525 Ernie Banks
Getting all the Banks cards is one of my other collecting goals now. I'm not doing too badly, but the 1950s will kill me.
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19. 1968 Topps #58 Ed Mathews
Vaguely knew who he was, but he retired a couple years before I got into the sport.
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20. 1973 Topps #305 Willie Mays
Of course, the worst of the "wrong" jerseys, but I'm proud to have a few Mays cards. This certainly isn't my favorite.
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Comments
Great concept! I like that you specifically chose the last cards partly due to the complete (or close to it, anyway) stats on the back. (I'm a big fan of stats!) If I didn't have so many other plans and projects I'm working on, I would probably steal your idea for my NBA collection! :) Are the players here in any particular order? I don't know much about baseball, so I was wondering if they were in order of being elected to the HOF, random, your ranking of how much you like them, or something I hadn't even considered.
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I loved looking through your collection. I echo Billy, great idea! Don't forget, the three managers going in the Hall this year were also players. Torre's last card would have been a 76 or 77? Bobby Cox played a couple of years for the Yankees and probably had a card. I'm pretty sure LaRussa's last card as a player was 1968. (I was looking through my 68 set a couple of weeks ago. That was the only way I knew that.) Being a Royals fan, I know Whitety Herzog had cards when he was a player. Tommy Lasorda was a pitcher for the Dodgers, but I don't remember ever seeing a card of his. Anyway, great idea. Thanks for sharing..
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THATS VERY COOL, GREAT COLLECTION !!
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Thanks guys.
Answers: They're in order of induction date, which is cool because older cards get mixed in with newer ones.
As for managers, I'm sticking with players who were inducted as players. Some managers played, but that's not how they got in the Hall.
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I have to wonder why Johnny Bench and Carl Yastrzemski weren't on the 1984 set. They played over 100 games in 1983.
Nice list, btw.
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This was an absolute blast to look through and read the comments on each card. VERY well done!
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Nice collection, enjoyed looking thru it!
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Nice list, I'll be getting some of these for my own collection now, thanks for the ideas.
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Thanks for sharing. This was interesting and fun! Best of luck!
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Very nice collection. I have a few of the later cards such as Molitor, Brett, etc. I enjoy the full stats on back as well. As someone said above re the Bench card, sometimes what you think would be the last issue, is not. And sometimes they'll issue one a couple of years after the last actual year.
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Yes, Banny, as my comments on some of the cards indicate, sometimes it was hard to declare what the "last" card was. I tried my best to stick with regular issue cards of them as players. But Fox and Berra were both player-coaches, and Campanella had a special card issued after his accident. I used my judgment and will have to content myself with the results. Just need 5 more….
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Great set! I enjoyed looking through it!
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Truly enjoyed your list. I collect all of the HoF players and managers. Never thought of concentrating on one particular card of each player. Makes for an interesting binder. I do include the managers because in baseball, the managers are truly part of the game on the field.
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Thanks sandyrusty. I completely agree about managers, but they pose all sorts of difficulties for this collection, as I've constructed it. Topps is totally inconsistent about actual manager cards, so that doesn't really work. Many managers didn't play in the majors, so that leaves huge gaps. A manager can get in the HOF before retiring as a manager, I think, so there might not be a last card yet, even though they're in. And it feels disconnected to have, say, Tony LaRussa's last Topps card as a player. He didn't get in as a player; it's essentially unrelated. But he's got manager cards since that card, so it's just kind of weird. And how to deal with HOFers who then managed? Bob Lemon. Red Schoendienst. Ryne Sandberg. Too complicated if you're a bit anal, like myself.
There are problems even with just the players, as I pointed out in some of my comments for the cards. The very fact that "last card year" does not equal "last playing year" undermines the whole thing. In fact "last card year" should be the year AFTER the last playing year, but that's a whole 'nother post.
Anyway, I go on too long. Thanks again. Happy collecting.
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Nice post.
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This was enjoyable to look through again, and to read your captions.
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Thanks, Billy. Thing is, I didn't actually mean to edit it. I clicked in the wrong list, then hit save, bringing it back to the top. I guess it's timely, what with the induction ceremonies last week.
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Griffey would've been unanimous if voters could vote for more than 10 players. The 10 vote limit has no use. GET RID OF IT!
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Eh. I disagree. On all counts. Griffey still wouldn't've been unanimous because there are still a few voters who think if the Babe wasn't unanimous, no one should be. And I like the 10 vote limit. I'm not feeling like there are bunch guys being left out of the hall nowadays. I like that it's tough. And I don't think there are too many years when there are 10 guys who deserve it. I wish more overlooked old timers would get in, though.
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Aargh! Willie Mays does not look good in a Mets uniform! Of course, I never saw him as part of the New York Giants, so there goes my purist point of view. Also, neither Craig Biggio nor Nolan Ryan are the first Astros inducted in the Hall of Fame. It's Robin Roberts! Mere technicalities. | ||
Depends on how you look at it. Robin Roberts did play (23 games) for the Astros during his career but was inducted as a Philly. The first Astro inducted as an Astro was Biggio. | ||
Just revisited your list. Yesterday, I almost pulled the trigger on the '57 Campanella, and listened to an interview from 1989 with him that is currently on YouTube to learn a little more about him from his own point of view. Right now, it's between the '57 Topps Campanella, or the more expensive '53 Topps.....I think you've chosen the right card, that's how baseball fans would want to remember him. | ||
Thanks, Joeyd. I didn't actually mean to have this list featured again. I was just looking at my other lists and realized this one was closed, so I opened it. Anyway, I do love the '53 Topps. Go with that, if you can afford it. v3 | ||
Topps Traded did a card for Jack Morris with the Indians in 1994, with the smaller series and strike there was no 1995 Topps retirement base set card. Collector's Choice did a nice 1997 Tribute card for Trammell with full career stats. Glad both made the Hall of Fame, Ted Simmons was one vote short of making this list, not sure when his last card is. | ||
Thanks. Yeah, that’s why I stuck to base sets. First, I don’t collect traded or updates, etc. Second, if I went outside of base sets, I’d drive myself crazy. There are enough judgment calls as it is. | ||
Maybe it's described somewhere in the comments above, but how do you determine the order of cards for players inducted in the same year? Jack Morris vs. Alan Trammell (?). Jones vs. Guerrero vs. Thome vs. Hoffman (% of ballot?) | ||
Pretty random. | ||
You mentioned the “arm around the shoulder” scene from 42 with Pee Wee and Jackie. I’m pretty sure that scene in the movie lasted longer than a statue depicting the moment has been standing outside the Brooklyn Cyclones’ (Mets Single A Short Season minors) home stadium! ;) OE: Info on said statue that was unveiled back in 2005 http://www.offbeat.group.shef.ac.uk/statues/STUS_Reese_Robinson.htm
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Fergie and Harmon would qualify for “right team, wrong uni!” In terms of players who you picture in either earlier, or later (i.e. Frank Thomas pre White Sox monochrome and pinstripes) day uni styles. Hmmm, maybe I should do that as a list 🤔😉 | ||
Have you taken the time to figure which sets AREN'T represented? Without looking again, I don't remember a 1952. Obviously the newest years aren't. I wonder which in-between years have no cards, and if their sets might have a borderline guy who gets in eventually. | ||
Switz, Nope. No discretion and no projections. I see who gets into the Hall and I find their last Topps base card. I’d love it if some older dudes got in, so I could hunt their cards and see those cards stand out among their modern counterparts on my display of these. The 1972 Ron Santo is as close as I get. But maybe Gil Hodges will get in or Maury Wills. Don’t know if there are any (almost) greats whose last card is a 1952.
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Great list, BTW. You inspired me to do the same - I had quite the time on eBay tracking some of these down... I still remember fist-pumping when I had a seller accept my offer for the '53 Satchel Paige - that one completed my collection. Plus... It's Satchel Paige! (FWIW, that 1951 Topps Bobby Doerr is not an easy find!) Looking forward to adding to the album my '14 Halladay & Mariano, and the '04 E-Martinez in a few weeks..... | ||
Also, for the poster above (Switz), in my quick run through I have zero cards representing: I can also see 2013 being vacant for awhile - my back-of-the-book scan has Andruw Jones as the biggest name whose card run ended there. | ||
Love this concept, I am trying to get all the cards listed. I think Rich Gossage's last card is actually #215 from the 1992 topps set. I stumbled upon it when I was going though my collection to see what cards I already have. | ||
Great read. Gives me great ideas. Red Sox and Cubs are my favorite teams. Love your comments. Born in 83 collecting most of my life. My cards are mostly late 70s to late 80s. Back home I have boxes of ones from the 90s. | ||
Find it a bit charming that there is a "never played for them" card in here with Alomar as a Spring Training Devil Ray. He was released before camp broke, and that was it for Alomar's career. | ||
Thank you so much for doing this list. I love it and I love that you immediately update it. I agree with nearly everything you post about each player. A job well done and certainly a worthwhile collection to be had. Definitely a fun binder to build. | ||
Sorry---Halladay is a Jay, not a Phillie. | ||
Halladay is a Jay and a Phillie. I’m not saying him being a Phillie on his last card means he was more Phillie than Jay. I’m just saying that Halladay had a long and storied career as Phillie, so I have no problem with his last card being in that uniform. Not like Alomar as a Ray... | ||
Thanks for making this list. Great idea and I really like your commentary. | ||
I really enjoy this list a lot. It's so cool! | ||
Thanks (again) for this invaluable resource. I always look forward to checking back here whenever there is a new inductee.
two questions: you mention a display shelf. If you don't mind me asking, do you have a specific shelf that you like (and where did you get it?) also... what are we collectors going to do when Fanatics takes over the baseball card market??? | ||
Okay, so here me out - would Wladimir Balentien's 2021 Topps NPB card be eligible for this list once he makes the NPB Hall seeing as it is an NPB issue? | ||
Loved looking at this list. Thanks for your stories! | ||
I had heard of this idea and I love it. For those of us that could not begin to assemble rookie card collection of HOFs, it is a great idea along with being able to check their career stats. Maybe consider the 1976 All Time Great cards for Ruth, Cobb, Hornsby, etc... their lifetime stats are all there. | ||
This is awesome! |