Cooperstown Calling

1996 Ultra Baseball Call to the Hall
10 of 10. Frank Thomas

It’s funny looking back at the cards that claim to have future Hall of Fame inductees. During the mid-1990s there were your sure-fire candidates like Griffey, Maddux, Ripken and Gwynn. There were also the then sure-fire names that have since been defamed by alleged steroid use like Clemens and Bonds. Then there’s the Albert Belle and Mo Vaughn group – the guys who started out strong and fizzled early due to injuries and getting fat.

Although his career is clearly in decline, Frank Thomas is still a sure-fire first-ballot inductee. Don’t believe me? Check out the career numbers.

There have been several insert sets based on Hall of Fame predictions. This is probably my favorite. Call to the Hall comes from 1996 Ultra Baseball Series 2. Inserted at a rate of 1:24 packs, the checklist is a good one with half the checklist having already made it and the other half just playing the waiting game. What I like about this Thomas card isn’t so much in the technology. Other than foil lettering, there’s no fancy printing techniques. Rather, I like the old school feel of the painted illustration. It’s unfortunate the artist isn’t named. They do a great job capturing the fun-loving appeal Thomas had at this point in his career. He might not have been “The Kid” that Griffey was, but at his peak Thomas mixed youth, power, fun and focus into one scarily dominant package.