Dave Winfield Cachets In on Induction Day 2001 (then things get hairy...)

     Another week, another cachet commemorating the induction of Dave Winfield into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This is the sixth cachet for Winfield's HoF induction, with apparently no end in sight.   It has been 10 years since his induction, and I'm still finding new commemorative cachets dedicated to this one event.  For 30-something collectors, the art here probably looks a bit familiar, as it is the same giant-hatted, beaked depiction of Winfield that appeared on his 1987 Donruss Diamond King card, courtesy of artist Dick Perez, the man who basically put Donruss on the map in the early 1980s.  This rendition was perhaps a subtle shot at Winfield's 1983 Toronto Seagull Incident, or perhaps not.  You be the judge.

    This image would be used three times in 1987, in the main Donruss set, in the Super Diamond Kings set (note the slightly different cropping of the photo in the Super, as well as the completely different formatting on the back):

     And in the 1987 Leaf set (with the text on the reverse in both English and federally legislated French):

     Wait...what's that?  Is that a hair?

     It would appear we have a possible new variation discovery here.  I just checked and the hair is actually on the card, it was not just one of a billion stray cat hairs that I'm forever cleaning off my scanner.  It would appear the hair is only on the regular 1987 Donruss version of the card.  But a check of my voluminous box of Winfield duplicates reveals there are actually two versions of this card, both With Hair and Sans Hair (I found about 4 with the hair and about 12 without):

      And because everyone else was doing it, in 2001, Donruss saw the need to trot the card out again (without the hair) in it's Donruss Diamond Kings Reprints sets in honor of it's 20th anniversary:

Hometown Hero Station Hall of Fame cover

     I picked this one up awhile ago and forgot to post anything for it.  I'd seen several copies on eBay for awhile, but finally found one at a price I liked (under $10) and pulled the trigger.  This is another Hall of Fame Induction Day cover, this time in a series with Kirby Puckett, called Hometown Hero Station.  This is another full size #10 envelope with the art printed directly on the card.

     As I mentioned, there is also a similar cover for Kirby Puckett and I've also seen a Roger Maris cover from this Hometown Hero Station series from 1999, so there may be more out there.  Unlike others, I don't think this would qualify as a true "first day cover" as it doesn't feature a USPS cancellation over the stamp.  Looking back at the other covers from Photo File, it would appear none of them have postal cancellation, just the "induction pictoral cancellation" which would be the stitches and National Baseball Hall of Fame mark.

Going Postal on Induction Day 2001

       I caught these late last week on eBay, and fortunately, no other Winfield collectors were looking (or cared, is more likely the case) and managed to knock something off my cachet want list as well as pick up one I didn't even know existed.   I didn't expect them to be full size #10 envelopes (does anyone know of somewhere that makes 2-pocket sheets that are split vertically?), but it definitely allows for better detail.  These feature the complete Hall of Fame Class of 2001, Dave Winfield, Kirby Puckett, veterans committee selection Bill Mazeroski and great Negro League pitcher Hilton Smith.

       The first fits with the other Photo File cachets, and I think completes the set.  The second is on heavier, glossy paper and features beautiful work by Kendal Bevil, a fairly prolific artist of first day covers, and even includes a certificate of authenticity.

       Last week, I was stretching my eBay queries a bit, trying to find different stuff than the usual and came across a lot of four 4x6 photos including photos of Thurman Munson, Reggie Jackson, Billy Martin (with Oakland) and Dave Winfield (with San Diego).  The Munson & Jackson pics looked like copies of their photos from the 1977 Yankees Photo Album, but the Winfield was a photo I'd not seen before, so I figured the lot was worth the $4 or so (incl. s&h).  Smile for the camera, Dave!

"And they give ya cache, which is almost as good as money!"

Filled in a gap in the colección de cachet last week with this one:

As further testament to this being a wide open field for player collectors, with not a whole lot of competition, this went for a whopping $1.99 +$1.50s&h.  Though, at the same time, I missed two of the 1991 Gateway 400HR cachets due to my strict $10 or less bidding strategy for autographed stuff.  I'm hoping it exists unsigned as I don't really care much about autographs anymore.

Something that caught my eye, though, is that both the 1985 & 1987 Gold Glove cachets show Winnie at the plate or on the bases, yet his 1986 Z Silk 100 RBI's cover shows him fielding.  Go figure.  Though I suppose it's not too far out of kilter since Gold Glove awards almost always go to great hitters.  Outside Ozzie Smith, you never saw them awarded to all-field, no-hit players no matter how great a defender they were.

Colorful, silky and with quite the cachet of "cool".

       Once in awhile a non-card item catches the eye of the ever vigilant player collector.  Whether it be a can of RC Cola,  embroidered patch, various and sundry idols and graven images or a stamped and cancelled commemorative silk cachet.  'Tis the latter that brings together two of the most prominent forces in the collectible universe, that of baseball and stamps.  Though first day covers featuring baseball players have been around since at least the late 1960s (and probably a bit earlier), the field was hollow and incomplete until 1979 when the Gateway Stamp Company, one of the most prominent issuers of said novelties did put forth the first featuring one Dave Winfield:

      Renata Galasso, who had issued several sets of baseball legends sets with TCMA, entered the arena, issuing covers for various players and occasions from 1982-1984.  One of those commemorated the American League batting race of 1984 that saw the lead decided on the very last game of the season:

      'Z' Silk, often featuring artwork by Susan Rini, produced silk cachets and similar pieces from at least 1984-1997.  With the high quality of Rini's paintings, one almost has to wonder why none of the baseball card manufacturers worked with her for the various Diamond King sets considering how spotty some of Dick Perez's work was in the 1980s (such as the beak he gave Dave Winfield on his 1987 Diamond King card).  There were a lot of covers issued for Freehold, NJ collectibles shows:

      They marked every All-Star Game from 1985-1988:

     Gold Gloves:

      Milestones such as his 300th career home run:

      200th home run as a Yankee:

       5th straight season of 100 or more RBI (if Rickey Henderson hadn't missed 1/3rd of the 1987 season for injuries, Winfield would have ended up with seven straight seasons from 1982-1988, he only missed it by 3 RBI in 1987):

      And even just an impressive 1987 Opening Day:

      Colorano, who had been issuing covers since the early 1970s, captured the event of Dave's 400th career home run (Gateway did as well, I just haven't found it yet):

      Photo File, Major League Baseball's primary photograph licensee, has dispensed with the silk and gone to printing the photos directly on the envelope paper for their Hall of Fame Induction Day covers.  I presume a cover was issued for each of Dave's teams, but thus far, I've only see them for San Diego, New York and Minnesota (though the Hometown Hero Station cover for Minnesota may be something completely unrelated):

       They've added a great extra bit of color to my Dave Winfield collection, and at what I would consider fairly reasonable prices.  Even including the signed 1979 cachet, I've managed not to pay more than $10 for any of them.

       For more ecstatic philatelic fun, be sure to visit these blogs and sites for a wider look at the world of baseball first day covers:
Rickey Henderson Collectibles
The Pete Rose Baseball Collection

Or check eBay, maybe there are a few of your favorite player or team.

Cachets and First Day Covers on eBay