1987 Hall of Fame
Congratulations! You've been waiting for what seems like an eternity and finally you got the phone call: you're going to the Hall of Fame! Now comes the whirlwind of interviews, TV spots and well wishes from everyone. Time to make plans for the following summer to hit up the Hall for your induction ceremony. But before you write that speech, or look for where the heck Cooperstown even is on a map, the Hall has one very important question for you: What logo do you want on your plaque?
When someone is elected to the Hall of Fame, they get a nifty plaque with their face and list of accomplishments. If that person was a player (or Manager) that image of their face will always include them wearing a baseball hat. For some people, the choice is automatic; either their entire career took place on one team, or the vast majority of their success was in one place. For example, Mariano Rivera only ever pitched for the Yankees, so there was no question that an interlocking NY would be featured on his plaque. Meanwhile, Ozzie Smith actually started his career with the San Diego Padres, but obviously his HoF resume was built based on his time with the St. Louis Cardinals, so that choice was as much of a no brainer as if he only ever played in St. Louis. But what about guys where they had measurable success in multiple places?
Through the 20th century, the Hall of Fame actually had no problem letting a person have complete control over what logo went on their plaque. That policy changed a bit in the 2000s, and we'll get into that in due time, but as for 1987, the options for the incoming class were still wide open. For Billy Williams, he easily chose the Chicago Cubs, where all his great years took place. But what about Catfish Hunter? He tasted lots of success with the Oakland Athletics during their Swingin' A's dynasty, but he also joined up with the New York Yankees and took part in their back-to-back titles as well. When the time came to choose a logo, Hunter chose a 3rd option: no logo. He cited his respect and admiration for both the Yankees and Athletics, as well as both the owners he played for and felt he couldn't elevate one over the other.
...As for which team I chose to depict Hunter with in his HoF card, I chose the Athletics. You can say I did it because of the extra World Series title he had with Oakland, in addition to his Cy Young award and Perfect Game, and those are valid reasons...but the truth is I felt there are way more HoF options with the Yankees, so I'll throw the Athletics a bone and give them Hunter.
