Better Late Than Never

Hall of fame discussions can sometimes draw a line between fans and collectors.  Tomorrow... Gil Hodges will finally be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  I'm sure there are those who would argue against his induction.  If not, why did it take over 50 years for the people in Cooperstown to put up his plaque?

Personally, I only started advocating for him recently after reading a few articles and blog posts.  In fact when I wrote about my favorite Hall of Very Good players back in 2017, I completely left his name out of the post.  A lot of that has to do with the fact that he passed away a few months before I was born.  That being said, I've been familiar with his name for as long as I've been collecting cards, so I knew he wasn't your run-of-the-mill common.

In 2020 I conducted some research and discovered that he was the only MLB player to receive 50% or more votes from the BBWAA in a single year (from 1936 to 2015) who didn't get inducted.  The crazy thing is, he reached the 50% mark a whopping eleven times.  This information opened my eyes to his career accomplishments.

That's why I have no problem standing on the side of the line that's very happy to see Hodges get his due.  Unfortunately, my collection is lacking when it comes to his cardboard.  Here's what I was able to dig up...

1950 Bowman #112

When I opened up my vintage binders, I was hoping to find several of his cards.  In reality, I only had two. 

This one represents the oldest.  The other is from his days as the New York Mets manager:

1972 Topps #465

I actually have two copies of this card.  One in my binder and the other is in my complete set.

The back of the card states "Gil hopes for a repeat of 1969 results when Mets were World Champs."  Sadly he passed away on Easter Sunday before the 1972 season started.  Yogi Berra took over as manager that season.

1987 Hygrade Baseball's All-Time Greats #NNO

I have one lone 9-pocket page dedicated to Hodges in my oddballs and inserts binder.  There are only two slots filled.  This card is one of them.

It mentions that he was "one of the top home run hitters in the National League" and "belted more home runs than any other right-handed batter during the decade of the '50s."  Not too shabby, right?

The other card isn't actually an oddball or insert, but it's really shiny...

2001 Topps Archives Reserve #32

My scanner doesn't do this card any justice.  When tilted at the right angle, the refracting light is strong.

This card is just one more reason I need to show card backs more love.  If I didn't scan it, I never would have known that Hodges used to sell clothing in the winter.

The final two cards have been featured before on my blog, but they're worth showing off again:

2001 SP Legendary Cuts Game Jersey #J-GH

It features a well-cropped posed photo of Hodges... as well as a slice of a jersey supposedly worn by him in an official MLB game.  At least that's what the back says...

Whether or not it's legit, at least Upper Deck wrote up a respectable COA.

The other memorabilia card that I own is a bat card of his...

2005 Donruss Champions Impressions Materials #168

Donruss also takes the time to assure collectors that their slices of memorabilia were also used in an official MLB game:

Legit or not, both of these COA's beats 99% of the stuff Topps and Panini has printed on the back of their memorabilia cards over the past decade.

Although I don't have any plans to start a Gil Hodges PC, I am hoping to one day add his 1956 Topps card to my collection.  If that day ever comes, I promise to show it off here.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!