Gaylord Perry’s finest season came his 1972 Cy Young campaign. The spitballer posted career bests in wins (24) and ERA (1.92).

That season he represented the American League in the All Star game for his first time. Perry was less than successful. He entered the game in the bottom of the 6th with his team up 1-0. After recording two quick outs he ran into trouble.

Centerfielder Cesar Cedeno slapped a single to left. That brought up the Braves’ Henry Aaron. Playing in front of his hometown Atlanta fans, Aaron hit the ball over the fence to give the NL a 2-1 lead. The fans went wild and gave him a 5-minute standing ovation.

Aaron holds the record for most All Star selections with 25. He played in 24 of those games to share the mark with Stan Musial and Willie Mays. The homer off of Perry was Aaron’s final long ball in All Star competition.

In the collection is a congratulatory letter to Aaron written by NL president Chub Feeney. The Senior Circuit chief invites the Hammer to the mid-Summer Classic.

Gaylord Perry had a long and storied career. In thirteen seasons he won 15 or more games. In five seasons he won at least 20.

Perry broke in with the Giants in 1962 and spent a decade in San Francisco. In November of 1971 he was traded to the Indians. Perry responded with his finest season. The spitballer posted career bests in wins (24), and ERA (1.92). He was rewarded with the Cy Young Award.

Six years later in 1978, Perry went 21-6 with a 2.73 ERA for Padres. When he received the Cy Young, Perry became the first pitcher to earn the honor in each league.

In the collection is this handwritten letter signed at the bottom by the Hall of Fame pitcher.

When Gaylord Perry struck out Joe Simpson on October 1, 1978, he became the third man in baseball history to strike out 3,000 batters. The first hurler to reach the milestone was Walter Johnson in 1923. Baseball then waited more than a half-century for Bob Gibson to notch his 3,000th K in 1974.

Perry pitched another five seasons before retiring with with 3,534 strikeouts. Today he stands 8th on the all-time list. Only Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Steve Carlton, Bert Blyleven, Tom Seaver, and Don Sutton have more.

Shown here is Bob Gibson’s 1974 players contract with the Cardinals. That’s the season that Gibby recorded his 3,000th strikeout. For more on Gibson, click here.

Gaylord Perry earned his second Cy Young Award in 1978 for the San Diego Padres. Of his 21 victories, 5 were complete game efforts including two shutouts. Of his remaining 16 wins Rollie Fingers recorded the save nine times.

Eight of the nine games that Perry won and Fingers saved were scoreless efforts by the reliever. The sole game in which Fingers allowed a runner to score was a four-inning relief effort on June 10th. Only Bill Buckner’s two-out 9th inning RBI double blemished Fingers’ efforts.

Overall Fingers allowed the single run in 13 2/3 inning pitched in the Perry victories. That translates to an 0.66 earned run average.

Shown here is a 1984 Donruss baseball card autograph by the pair. On the back it reads, ” ‘I could have never won the award without Rollie Fingers,’ said Perry modestly. And he was right. For in that season the game’s premier relief pitcher saved 37 games for the Padres to tie the National League record.”

When Gaylord Perry won his 300th game on May 6, 1982 he became the first pitcher to reach the milestone since Early Wynn in 1963.

In the time between the two pitchers reached the plateau, the 3,000-hit club nearly doubled, going from 8-15 members. The 500-homer club went form four members to twelve.

Many believed Perry would reach the mark earlier. After winning 21 games as the 1978 Cy Young Award with the Padres, Perry was only 34 wins away from the magic 300 plateau.

He struggled getting there, never again winning as more than 12 games per season while going 47-59 over his final five seasons.

On a cool Seattle evening on May 6, 1982, Perry took the mound against the Yankees. The spitballer tossed his only complete game victory of the year and entered the exclusive club.

Shown here is an autographed ticket from his 300th win at the Kingdome.

Twenty-four men have won at least 300 games while 19 have struck out at least 3,000. When Gaylord Perry notched his 300th win on May 6, 1982, he joined Walter Johnson as the second man to reach both milestones. Today the 300-win/3,000 strikeout club boasts ten members.

Perry ended his career with 314 wins and 3,635 Ks’. He stands 17th on the all-time wins list and 8th on baseball’s strikeout leaderboard.

Shown here is a handwritten letter from the first hurler to notch 300-wins and 3,000-strikeouts. Walter Johnson penned this on September 4, 1935 to Hall of Fame executive Ford Frick thanking him for a lifetime pass to all big league games.

Imagine being a 17-year big league veteran who won 215 games and not being the best pitcher in your own family. Such is the plight of Jim Perry.

Gaylord’s older brother by three years, Jim was a two-time 20-game winner and three-time All Star.

The Perry brothers combined to post 529 victories at baseball’s highest level. Among brother combos, their win total is surpassed only by 221-game winner Joe Niekro and his brother, Hall of Fame hurler Phil. The Perrys are the only sibling combination to each win the Cy Young Award.

Shown here is a pair of Topps baseball cards signed by the elder Perry brother.

Gaylord Perry’s illustrious 22-year big league career included 314 wins and 3,534 strikeouts. The first to earn the Cy Young Award in both leagues, Perry’s achievements make him a no-doubt Hall of Famer.

Despite his stellar resume, the writers made Perry wait for until his third year on the writers ballot for election.

Shown here is an invitation to his induction on July 21, 1991. The writers selected Perry along with Rod Carew and Fergie Jenkins. The three were joined by Veterans Committee picks Tony Lazzeri and Bill Veeck.

Carew signed the back of this invitation and inscribed a nice note to the scout who signed him to his first pro contract. That invitation can be seen on Carew’s page by clicking here.