2015 Panini Cooperstown Induction Autographs Goose Gossage

I saw this card from 2015 Panini Cooperstown over on the Cardboard Icons blog and I had to go out and get a copy for myself. They were readily available on eBay, so it didn't take long for one to show up in my mailbox. I don't know that I ever watched Rich 'Goose' Gossage pitch, but I saw plenty of his baseball cards and he always seemed like the very embodiment of a major league ball player, right down to the interesting nickname and the intimidating facial hair. He smiled quite a bit in the posed photos, but in all of his in-game pictures he looked like he was made of fire and tobacco. The photo on this card features him in a more lighthearted scene, posing with a Hall of Fame jersey-wearing stuffed goose. The on-card autograph just adds that much more to this card, vaulting right up among the favorite autographs in my collection.

I really need to go back and add some of his base cards to my collection. I bet I could scoop up a full run of them without breaking the bank. In reading more about him I see that he is pretty big on the 'unwritten rules of the game,' which is an attitude I complain about quite a bit, especially in relation to the Braves and Yankees who seem like big wet balls of butt-hurt every time someone does something they don't like. I don't know that I like excessive showboating, but I don't mind the occasional bat flip, an end-zone celebration after a touchdown, or an excited punch at the air after making a big play. There is a place for that kind of stuff in my world,  I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that point. One thing I can say, though, is that Goose Gossage is one of my favorite players to see on a piece of cardboard, even if I haven't yet gone out of my way to chase down many of his cards.