Orioles Hall of Fame Week- Unpossible Hall of Famers

If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that every Friday is "Unpossible Autograph Friday" a play on words (borrowed from Ralph Wiggum of "The Simpsons" fame) highlighting autographs of deceased players. Today I'm featuring the three Hall of Famers who played with the Orioles during their career and have passed away. None of the three were inducted to the Hall as O's or are necessarily remembered for their years in Birdland, but they did play for them, so it ties in to my HOF week.

I've written about these first two players a few times, so click the links if you want to see what I've already covered.

Robin was nice enough to sign my TTM request about a year ago and I wrote about him again when he passed away this past May. He is the only HOFer in my collection who personalized anything to me. 

 

I got Roberts' signed HOF plaque card from a dealer at the National who hadn't raised the price on it since Robin passed away so I got a relative steal. 

 

My dad hooked me up with this Hoyt Wilhelm autograph for Christmas in 2009. (The write-up about Hoyt is half way down the linked post) 

I found this Wilhelm signed HOF plaque card at a flea market a few months back. I've made the argument a few times that I think Hoyt should have entered the Hall wearing a White Sox or Orioles hat over that of the NY Giants, but the decision obviously wasn't up to me.

 

This card is the only new image on this post, and Kell is the only player I haven't really covered before, so now you get something besides blurbs and links to my other posts. 

George was a excellent contact hitter who hit over .300 for his career, led the A.L. in hits and doubles twice in 1950 & '51 and won the 1949 batting title, denying Ted Williams his third Triple Crown. He was also a great defender at third base and led the league in fielding percentage at the position five times. He was a ten-time All-Star and also received MVP votes eight times. He played with the Philadelphia A's, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago White Sox before wrapping up his career with two seasons in Baltimore in 1956 & '57. 

He came short of making the Hall of Fame fifteen times via the writer's vote but was elected in 1983 by the Veteran's Committee. After his playing career ended, George went on to find success in the broadcast booth and had nearly a forty year career behind the mic, including almost thirty years calling Tigers' games with Al Kaline.

 

You might have spotted this Kell plaque card in the same post as the Wilhelm plaque.  

Obligatory contest plug- You can enter through Sunday for the chance to win a signed Earl Weaver card. If you've already entered, I would suggest that you check the entries post to see if you've been earning any bonus entries. Some of you have figured out how to do it and are really pulling away from the pack.

Have I Mentioned That I Like Signed HOF Plaque Cards?

It's definitely a secondary collection to my Orioles autographs, but as it's becoming increasingly harder to find new Orioles autographs that I don't already have and/or can afford, I occasionally turn my attention to these signed HOF plaques. I don't have a lot of financial resources that I can use for my collecting to begin with, so I don't think I will ever have them all, especially the more famous players or those who have been dead for many years, but I will pick up a cheap signed HOF plaque card here and there when the price is right. 

Recently, I added two deceased former Orioles who didn't enter the Hall as Orioles, but were tied to the team nonetheless. 

 

I picked this Wilhelm up from a trusted dealer at a local flea market last weekend. He's got a number of other signed plaque cards, and the prices are all reasonable, but I added Hoyt this time around since he played for the O's. He chose to wear a Giants cap on his plaque although he played for the White Sox for more years; in my opinion, the best stretch of his career came during his five season stint with the O's.

 

I came across this Kell autograph on ebay, and at only five bucks for a PSA encapsulated signature, the price was most definitely right. George spent the final two seasons of his Hall of Fame career playing for the Orioles, but the seven seasons he spent with the Tigers were certainly the best stretch of his career, so it makes sense that he chose to wear a Tigers cap. 

If anyone has any of these plaque cards to trade, let me know and I hope we can work something out!