So, back on July 26th when the newest members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame received their proper induction in Cooperstown, New York, I was obviously in some type of a pack (crack) ripping haze and I completely out on writing anything about it. HOF inductions are one of my favorite things and this years crop which included Joe Gordon, Jim Rice and the “Greatest Basestealer Ever” Rickey Henderson was a pretty good one. There were a few guys on the ballot that I feel got the snub, but that is part of what makes it fun and keeps you interested. I had been planning on having a Hall of Fame related contest and I still am. Better late than never, right? My last contest was All Star themed and I gave away some relic cards, all featuring players who were All Stars at some point in their careers. This contest will be HOF-themed and the give away will all feature all Hall of Fame players (guys who played in many AS games). It will be a winner takes all deal. Every autograph, card, magazine, postcard, etc. that is scanned on this post is a part of the prize. The winner will get a flat rate Priority mailer filled with all of these goodies and a few bonuses, too. The rule number one in this contest is that you must follow this blog to enter. You can’t enter and then follow some day; you must follow it first and then enter. I will keep the contest open until August 30, 2009 to allow as many folks as possible to enter. It is limited to one entry per follower, but if you post this contest on your own blog, I will give you a bonus entry, but you have to let me know. All entries will be typed on a piece of paper, cut and folded by me, placed into a hat and drawn by the lovely (and impartial) Esther Gin N Juice.
She will be blindfolded, there will be no shenanigans! The key prizes here are probably the autographs. I have had all 3 of these since the mid 1980s; they were all signed in person at various card shows in Connecticut. My allowance afforded me the autograph ticket, but rarely bought the 8X10, hence the index cards. To keep this post shorter than most, I will trust that you, the loyal Troll reader, will research these amazing players on your own. First is:
George Kell,
a 10 X All Star and owner of a career .306 batting average, he was inducted in 1983. Next, Bobby Doerr, a 9-time All Star and
Hall of Famer class of 1986.
The final autograph is of Lou Boudreau. He was a 7-time All Star and the MVP in 1948.
He was in the HOF class of 1970. The winner will receive at least two addtional (non HOF) index card autos.
This is the only carry over from the last contest.
I don’t know why I didn’t work out a trade for this, but it’s still hanging around, so it will join this contest. It is a 2009 Topps patch card of Reggie Jackson, HOF 1993.
Now some more cards… There are about 30 (not all are scanned) of them; most are inserts from Topps sets of the past 3 years.
2008 Topps card #7, Mickey Mantle, HOF 1974.
2009 Topps Legends of the Game, LLG-15, Ty Cobb, HOF 1936
2009 Topps Career Best Legends, LGCB-RC, Roy Campanella, HOF 1969.
2008 Upper Deck Yankee Stadium Legacy, YSL 1559, Joe Gordon, HOF 2009.
2009 Upper Deck 20th Anniversary, #1258, Orlando Cepeda, HOF 1999
2008 Goudey, No.46, Sparky Anderson, HOF 2000.
2009 Topps Heritage, BF2, Bill Mazeroski, HOF 2001.
2009 Topps Heritage, BF8, Ernie Banks, HOF 1977.
A trio of Walter “Big Train” Johnson from the 2009 Topps set. HOF 1936
1998 Skybox Thunder, #165, Wade Boggs, HOF 2005 (wow, this card sticks out like a sore thumb).
2007 Topps, TW1, Ted Williams (batting 1.000 that day, he is good!), HOF 1966.
2008 Goudey, No.135, Dennis Eckersley, HOF 2004.
2008 Topps Heritage, BF7, Brooks Robinson, HOF 1983.
2008 Topps Heritage BF2, Luis Aparacio, HOF 1984.
2007 Topps Heritage, FB8, Jim Bunning, HOF 1996.
2007 Topps Heritage, FB9, Richie Ashburn, HOF 1995.
2007 Topps Heritage, FB1, Al Kaline, HOF 1980.
2007 Topps Heritage, FB4, Warren Spahn, HOF 1973.
1994 Ted Williams, #111, Bullet Joe Rogan, HOF 1998.
2007 Topps, DS15, Hoyt Wilhelm, HOF 1985.
1994 Ted Williams, #103, Leon Day, HOF 1995.
There will probably be others, but I am tired of scanning. There is other stuff in the prize envelope, too. A few HOF postcard plaques,
a Sports Illustrated from 7/28/97 Proclaiming Tony Gwynn as “The Best Hitter Since Ted Williams”.
Also a Sporting News HOF program from 1988 featuring Willie Stargell on the cover.
To enter you have to become a voter for the Hall of Fame election, Blogosphere version… Let me explain, and then I will make the first comment slash entry as a sample…
1. You must follow the blog to enter.
2. To enter, you must choose your selections for the Hall of Fame, Class of 2010. You may select up to 5 players. The first ballot players will be listed below.
3. The winner of the contest will be drawn from a hat on September 1, 2009.
4. The votes for the Hall of Fame will be tallied up and the top-five vote getters will be declared Collective Troll Hall of Famers Class of 2009 and a half!
The following players will be on the ballot for the first time in 2010: Roberto Alomar, Barry Larkin, Robin Ventura, Edgar Martinez, Fred McGriff, Kevin Appier, Ellis Burks, Ray Lankford, Pat Hentgen, Todd Zeile, Eric Karros, Mark McLemore, Andres Galarraga, Fernando Vina, Mike Jackson, Shane Reynolds, Dave Burba, David Segui, Andy Ashby.
Voters can choose anyone who meets the retired eligibility. Banned or suspended players can receive votes if you so choose, so yes, you may vote for Pete Rose. You can pick players off that ballot or go old school veteran’s committee style with players like Gil Hodges, Allie Reynolds, Mickey Vernon, Joe Torre, etc. That’s it. On the comment, list your name and location. Your favorite player OR team. Your 5 votes for the Hall of Fame and anything you wanna say. If this post gets clogged with too many comments (and I hope it does!) I will start a fresh post that you may enter on. Remember, the contest runs till 8-30-2009. It is winner take all. The winner will receive everything listed on this post and then some more stuff. You must follow this blog to enter. If you post a link on your own blog, you get a bonus entry. Oh, and well you are here, please check out this blog, perhaps read some of my posts, that would be cool and would build up some good contest Karma. Good luck. Oh, as another bonus, the first 10 people who vote (other than me) will get a bonus chance (on top of the link bonus) so get typing! Oh, there is one more free contest that you are not gonna wanna miss out now, Allen and Ginter madness and giveaways, tell him the Troll sent you!
http://cardcache.blogspot.com/2009/08/2009-allen-ginter-giveaway-complete.html#comments Go Rays! Troll out.
apply the blindfold and pick from the 62 different folded pieces of paper. 
The papers were shaken and stirred and then a winner was chosen…It was …
Please imagine a drum roll or something dramatic as I tell you who the winner chose on his HOF ballot. The winning entrant selected Joe Jackson and Pete Rose who both got in. Dale Murphy, who despite some threats from Captain Canuck didn’t even crack the 10 and admitted steroid user and home run hitter extraordinaire Mark McGwire, who surprising to me received only one other vote. His final vote was for former Birmingham Black Baron’s shortstop Artie Wilson. Artie had a spectacular, yet short Negro League career, followed up by a spectacular but short career in the PCL followed by a one year stint with the Giants. The winner (if he is reading this) probably already realizes that it is him and if you didn’t vote for these guys, you know you didn’t win either, but I am still trying to draw this thing out. Anyway, without further adieu, the winner is Rod from Portland, Oregon, the proprietor of the Padrographs blog!
If you didn't win, don't blame Esther! This was fun. Go Rays! Troll out.
The Royals, A's, Mariners, Reds, Astros, Rangers, Mets (no team logo card), Cubs and The Expos. Don't forget that you need to e-mail me your mailing address and it's nice if you follow the blog, too.
