Last month... Collecting Cutch asked his readers who would make their Mount Rushmores of non-hall of famers for their favorite team. I responded to his question in the comment section, but figured I might as well document it on my blog as well.
Oakland A's fans might not have a lot to look forward to this season... but we've had a rich history filled with plenty of fan favorites who will never have a plaque in Cooperstown. It took a few minutes, but I settled on two fan favorites from The Swingin' A's era and two guys from my youth.
Let's kick things off with my favorite of the four: Bert Campaneris.
2002 Topps Archives Autographs #TAA-BC
Campy was quick, versatile, and scored a lot of runs. Speaking of being versatile, back in 1965... he was the first MLB player to play all 9 positions in a single game. He's also the franchise leader in games played, hits, and dWAR. Had I been born a decade earlier, there's a chance he'd be my all-time favorite player.
I'd put Joe Rudi into Thomas Jefferson's position...
2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites Autographs #FFA-JRU
A quick look at his career reveals that he played for the Oakland A's for over a decade and was part of all three World Series titles in the 70's. He was a 3x AL All-Star, a 3x Gold Glove Award winner, and came very close to winning two AL MVP Awards.
1999 Fleer SI Greats of the Game #52
But his catch at the wall in the 1972 World Series was the deciding factor in adding him to this Mt. Rushmore over guys like Gene Tenace and Sal Bando.
Sliding into Teddy Roosevelt's spot is Dave Stewart...
2004 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites Autographs #FFA-DS
My favorite era of Oakland A's baseball is the late 80's... when the A's were one of the best teams in baseball. Stew was their staff ace going 64-32 with a 3.04 ERA and 33 complete games from 1988 to 1990. He was also the 1989 World Series MVP the year the A's won it all. He was the only no-brainer for this post.
And rounding out my Mount Rushmore of Oakland's A's (non hall of famers) is gonna be Carney Lansford.
2012 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #FFA-CL
Playing with guys like Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, and Rickey Henderson... it's easy to fly under card collectors' radar. But A's fans appreciated his consistency at the plate and at the hot corner... as well as his ability to lead his teammates by example.
Speaking of flying under card collectors' radar... one of my favorite things to collect these days are the Topps Archives autographs, because their checklist is focused on fan favorites that aren't necessarily Cooperstown bound.
Thank you Collecting Cutch for inspiring this post and allowing me to share a few of my favorite Archives autographs and my Mount Rushmore of Unsung Heroes.
Happy Thursday and sayonara!
17 comments:
Good idea for a post, and love those cards.
Great choices! (And cards too!)
Love the Carney Lansford pick. Somehow I had kind of forgotten him a little, but he was great.
Good picks only quibble is I would take Vida Blue over Stew.
Yeah, definitely needs Vida Blue! He was a terrific pitcher when I was first watching baseball.
The whole idea of a Mount Rushmore of non-Hall of Famers does seem kind of odd to me. A Mt. Rushmore of Oakland A's needs Rickey and Reggie.
Great picks. Carney has a beautiful auto!
I'm surprised you didn't mention steals for Campy.
Rudi - Modesto guy.
Stewart - Phillies legend.
those are good choices for sure. for the dodgers i would suggest don newcombe, maury wills, steve garvey, and fernando valenzuela.
Lansford will always be a Boston Red Sock.
This is an interesting idea. However, I have to look into different parameters. Do I look at non-Cooperstown or do I also exclude those in the Canadian HOF?
Excluding the latter severely limits, as Stieb, Fernandez and Olerud are in.
Ah, OK, I did post my Campy collection ~ https://thecollectivemind.blogspot.com/2020/05/campy-was-in-every-set-too.html
Wanna see Vida Blue too?
I like the Rushmore post idea too. Maybe I should do that and start showing my player collections of guys from the 60's & 70's...
Solid post today, Fuji! I guessed two of the four correctly, Campy and Rudi, both of whom I collect too.
This is a great list, Fuji! Love that Joe Rudi Sports Illustrated card. Feels like a really good and fitting photo of him.
Love Archives autos....although there is only ONE Campy ;)
Hmm ... that's a tough choice! I don't know who I'd put on the Mt Rushmore of my favorite team! Might have to think about that one.
Yankees Mount Rushless:
Scott Brosius
Ramiro Mendoza
Orlando Hernandez
Shane Spencer
Honorable Mention goes to George Costanza
the diamond king - i think lansford flew under a lot of radars outside of the bay area. but he was really important to those world series teams back in the day
sg488 & brett alan - vida blue is a great choice. i went with stew because i remember him playing for the a's. i might have seen blue pitch with oakland, but don't remember it
sumomenkoman - yeah. you can actually tell whose signature it is
elliptical man - i'm sure i'll mention steals in my next campy post
gcrl - the dodgers would be fun to do. i'd definitely have fernando and nomo on my mt. rushmore. i'd have to sit down and come up with two more
night owl - i remember lansford in boston, but mainly bc he won a batting title with them. he'll always be an athletic to me
mike matson - lol. i guess you'd have to reach out to collecting cutch for the official rules. as long as you have stieb on your list, it's a-okay with me :D
gca - your campy collection is awesome! and i'd totally be down to see your vida blue pc as well. the more vintage card posts, the better
jon - thanks jon! at some point i actually need to start targeting both of those guys. right now, i just grab their cards when i stumble across good deals
the snorting bull - that photo is perfectly timed. it looks like he's stuck to the wall
greg zakwin - lol. not according to a's fans
mollie dalton - if you build it, we will come and check it out
xavier higgins - not familiar with ramiro mendoza, but i recognize the other guys. costanza is a hall of famer in my book. as for my yankee's mt. rushmore... guidry and willie randolph would be on there. i'd need to think about my other two players
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