The Essential Baseball Cards of the Game's Newest Immortals
After much anticipation, speculation, compilation, there is at last jubilation. Baseball is welcoming a new class of immortals to its ranks. "Wait, what!" you exclaim, wondering if Commissioner Manfred somehow fast-tracked Shoeless Joe Jackson and Pete Rose straight into Cooperstown's hallowed plaque gallery.
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In fact, nothing could be further from the truth...at least as of today. Rather, the baseball immortality in this case comes not from the National Baseball Hall of Fame but from an organization called the Baseball Reliquary, which since 1999 has been electing baseball heroes to its loftily named Shrine of the Eternals. As the Shrine's inaugural class of Dock Ellis, Curt Flood, and Bill Veeck might suggest, standards for election differ somewhat from those of the Hall, happily embracing the irreverent and offbeat. The voters themselves differ as well. Anyone who joins the Reliquary for a very small fee receives a tee shirt and a ballot.
Following a vote by its membership, the Baseball Reliquary today announced the addition of four new entrants to its Shrine of the Eternals, with induction scheduled for November 16 at Whittier College in the Los Angeles area. Without further ado, here are baseball's latest immortals, along with a key card collectors might consider grabbing before the inevitable "Whittier bump" sends these card values into the stratosphere.
Kirk Gibson
Though the fiercely competitive Gibson never played in a single All-Star Game, he may well have had the two most dramatic plate appearances of the 1980s. Whatever the baseball intelligentsia has to say about clutch hitting, fans in Detroit and Los Angeles (not to mention San Diego and Oakland) know there's no scarier hitter at the plate than Kirk Gibson when the lights are the brightest and the game's best reliever is on the mound.
Collectors looking to celebrate with Gibson can certainly scoop up his 1981 Topps or Fleer rookie cards, neither of which breaks the bank. However, in keeping with the Reliquary's counterculture edge, a more fitting card might be Gibson's 1989 O-Pee-Chee-only World Series card. In what might come as a surprise to collectors, the World Series subset was a Canadian exclusive in 1989, the result being that the card has remained virtually unknown (until now!) to many U.S. collectors.
W.P. Kinsella
Before you head to Baseball Reference, a word to the wise. Kinsella is entering the Shrine not as a player but as a writer. While you may or may not have read any of his books or stories, there is one nearly every baseball fan is familiar with: "Shoeless Joe Comes to Iowa," inspiration for the movie "Field of Dreams."
According to Trading Card Database, the Canadian author has only a single card, making the choice of his essential cardboard quite easy. That said, collectors may find an autographed book of his even more satisfying.
Felipe Alou
Major League Baseball's first Dominican star, Felipe Alou, is about as close as they come to a baseball lifer. His playing career spanned from 1958-1974, but he was also a manager for 14 seasons and a coach for four others. Famously, he is also part of one of the game's most successful baseball families.
While Alou's rookie card in the 1959 Topps set is a must-have for some collectors, the Reliquary is not about conformity. (If it were, they'd have the same exact inductees as Cooperstown.) A better fit for the occasion comes from the ultimate underground card company of the 1970s, SSPC. Better known for their much larger set in 1976, the company issued a 42-card set in 1975 that wrapped up its checklist with a card of all three Alou brothers. Just be warned. This is a very tough card. If a back up is needed, how about a 1967 Topps Batting Leader card featuring Felipe, his brother Matty, and fellow Dominican Rico Carty!
Ron LeFlore
If LeVar Burton plays you in a movie, you've got to have an incredible story. Such was the case with convict-turned-ballplayer Ron LeFlore, whose amazing journey from the penitentiary to the big leagues was told in "One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story." Despite playing only nine seasons in the majors, LeFlore stole 455 bases, including a high of 97 in 1980. LeFlore's rookie card is out of the 1975 Topps set, but his Essential card comes two years later.
A card you can buy for a dollar may not seem very Essential to some collectors, but sometimes the real value is in the story the card tells. From hard time in the pen to earning the starting nod in the All-Star Game. If that's not a great reminder that just about anything is possible, really what is?!
Jason A. Schwartz is a collectibles expert whose work can be found regularly at SABR Baseball Cards, Hobby News Daily, and 1939Bruins.com. His collection of Hank Aaron baseball cards and memorabilia is currently on exhibit at the Atlanta History Center, and his collectibles-themed artwork is on display at the Honus Wagner Museum and PNC Park.