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One of the greatest athletes ever to play professional baseball, Dave Winfield never spent a moment in the minor leagues. The 6’6″ stud played forward on the University of Minnesota’s 1971-72 Big Ten championship basketball team. The following year Winfield averaged 10.5 points and 6.1 rebounds.

On the diamond he went 9-1 with a 2.74 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 82 innings. He also hit .385 with 33 RBI in 130 at bats. The Most Outstanding Player in the College World Series, Winfield struck out 29 in 17 1/3 innings. At he plate he went 7-for-15.

His collegiate baseball career included three All Big Ten selections and two All American nods. In 2006 he was part of the College Baseball Hall of Fame’s inaugural class and the first Black player to be inducted.

Winfield was then drafted by teams in the ABA and NBA and NFL. San Diego selected him in the fourth round of the ’73 MLB draft. Winfield went straight from the Golden Gophers to the show, hitting .277 in 56 games with the Padres.

Shown here is a publicity questionnaire filled out by the Hall of Fame outfielder. Notice the stamped date of June 23, 1973 just 8 days after his big league debut.

Vintage pieces from the earliest days of his professional career are rare.

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Dave Winfield tallied 465 home runs and 3,110 hits during his 22-year big league career. That puts him in select company.

Only 13 other men have reached both the 400-HR and 3,000 hit plateaus. The players include Hank Aaron, Stan Musial, Willie Mays, Carl Yastrzemski, Eddie Murray, Cal Ripken, Rafael Palmeiro, Alex Rodriguez, Adrian Beltre, Albert Pujols, and Miguel Cabrera.

Winfield played on both costs, in San Diego with the Padres, and in New York with the Yankees. In the days before interleague play, Winfield was popular in both the NL and AL. He played 8 seasons in the Senior Circuit and 14 years in the Junior Circuit.

Many fans had Sports Illustrated posters as youngsters. Here Dave Winfield signed a contract to have his likeness appear on those posters. Dated 2/14/87 this contract has Winfield’s signature at the bottom.

One of the most gifted athletes in baseball history, Winfield was drafted fourth overall by the Padres and also by teams in four other league – the NFL, ABA, NBA. An All Star for 12 straight years from 1977-1988, Winfield was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2001.

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Here’s a Dave Winfield story rarely heard. Near the end of his career in 1994 Winfield was traded from the Twins to the Indians for a player to be named later. Because of the strike that year he did not play that season for the Indians and no player was named in exchange.

To settle the trade the Cleveland executives treated Minnesota front office men to an extravagant dinner. The trade is officially listed as a trade for cash but Winfield might be the only player in baseball history traded for a dinner tab.

In the collection is this lineup card from his lone season with the Indians.

Signed by Cleveland skipper Mike Hargrove, the card has Winfield hitting 8th as the team’s designated hitter. Winfield went 1-for-3 with a single and walk. That base hit was the 3,106th of his career. The Hall of Fame would tally just five more safeties before retiring from the game.

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Rusty Meacham played eight professional seasons, parts of six in the big leagues. When asked to reflect on his most memorable moment in the Major Leagues, Meacham wrote about facing Dave Winfield.

“My most memorable moments in baseball are two. The first is facing Dave Winfield in his final at bat as a big leaguer, in Jacob’s Field Cleveland. He grounded to second and never played again…”

Imagine what a figure Winfield must’ve been for Meacham to choose that moment. The pitcher didn’t select his big league debut, first win, or other personal achievements. Instead he thought of facing a Hall of Famer and member of the 3,000-hit and 400-homer clubs.