A NEW HALL OF FAMER ENTERS THE COLLECTION, First Goal of 2015 Complete!!!!

Last year was a great year for my collection.  I completed my first 2014 Goal within a week and day of making my list by adding a Goose Gossage Pirates autograph.  This year, I followed suit and completed my first 2015 Goal within a few weeks of the new year.

Following the same pattern as last year, I sought out a new Hall of Fame autograph to add to the collection.  There's a long list of Pirates in the Hall of Fame that I currently don't have, but 1961 inductee Max Carey can now be crossed off that list.

Max Carey never received more than 51% of the votes for Hall of Fame eligibility during his 15 years post retirement.  However 3 years after his last year of eligibility he was inducted in by the Veteran's Committee.  The fleet footed outfielder won the Stolen Base crown 10 times while a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates and still ranks 9th All-Time.

Carey finished his 19 year career with a .285 batting average, 2664 hits, and a patent for sliding pads to protect your legs and hips when sliding.  His numbers don't jump off the page, but during a ten year stretch he was one of the best in the game patrolling the outfield.

I've seen Carey autographs sell for as much as $200 in the past and I was very happy to win this auction with a best offer in the $50 range.  Obviously getting sticker autos or on card autos of many of the Pirates in the Hall of Fame besides Bill Mazeroski and the recently deceased Ralph Kiner are going to be tough to come by so I don't mind a cut auto when available.  However, I do have one rule for cut autos and that is it must show an image of the player.  I don't care if the logos have been cut out or it's unlicensed, but I want to see an image of the player.