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One of the most effective closers in the history of the game, Rollie Fingers achieved individual and team success. During his 17-year career, Fingers earned 341 saves, leading the league three times.

The reliever pitched in the postseason 6 times and helped three teams capture the World Series title. Fingers’ Oakland Athletics reached the American League Championship Series five consecutive years starting in 1971. They won it all three straight seasons from ’72-’74.

In the Fall Classic Fingers was magnificent.

In ’72 he pitched in six of the seven games and posted a sparkling 1.74 ERA while striking out 11 batters in 10 1/3 innings. The next season his ERA was a miniscule 0.66 in the Fall Classic in 13 2/3 frames.

Then in 1974 he reached the pinnacle of his career. His team won their third World Series crown with Fingers earning one win and two saves in their four victories. For his efforts he was named the MVP.

On the collection is this letter from signed by baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn. Baseball’s chief writes about the sport’s biggest stage.

“The World Series is the premier event of American Sports.

“No other event has been able to capture it’s special appeal or match its magnificent history.”

Kuhn later writes of the 1971 seven-game thriller. His final sentence alludes to the first of Fingers’ championships.

“To our loyal fans, I dedicate the 1972 World Series.”

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When Rollie Fingers left Oakland after 9 seasons and signed with the San Diego Padres he had no problem transitioning from the American League to the Senior Circuit. In each of Rollie Fingers’ first two seasons after leaving the A’s he led the big leagues in saves.

In 1977 he recorded 35 of them and pitched to a stingy 2.99 ERA. The following year he was even better. He again led the majors in saves, this time raising his save total to by two and lowering his ERA by nearly half a run.

Fingers also played a supporting role in helping teammate Gaylord Perry become the first man to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues. Perry earned 21 wins that season. Five of them were complete games, two of the shutout variety. Of Perry’s 16 other victories, Fingers saved nine.

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.”

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Rollie Fingers is best remembered for his time with the Athletics. He pitched in Oakland from 1968-1976. During that time he earned three World Series rings. The Fall Classic greatness was punctuated when the reliever was named the World Series MVP in ’74.

It’s easy to forget that Fingers was great after leaving Charlie Finley’s team. He was outstanding in a four-year stint with the Padres from 1977-1980. Fingers led the league in saves and received votes in MVP balloting in each of his first two seasons in America’s Finest City. An All Star in ’78, Fingers set a career high in saves.

On December 8, 1980 Fingers was part of an 11-player trade with the Cardinals. Four days later St. Louis flipped him to Milwaukee in a 7-player deal that included Hall of Fame catcher Ted Simmons. With the swap Brewers GM Harry Dalton laid the foundation for the franchise’s first postseason appearance.

Fingers posted a stingy 1.04 ERA, leading the league in saves and earning the Cy Young and MVP awards in ’81. Simmons made the All Star team for the 7th time. The Brew Crew captivated their city in making the playoffs for the first time.

Fingers enjoyed his final All Star campaign in ’82. Through the end of August he had 29 saves and a 2.60 ERA. Then on September 2nd he suffered a torn muscle in his pitching arm. The injury sidelined him for all of the 1983 season.

Shown here is a 1983 Topps Super Veteran card signed by Rollie Fingers.

The pitcher came back in 1984 and pitched to the tune of a 1.04 ERA in 30 games. He pitched one more season in ’85 before calling it quits at age 39.

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Rollie Fingers was a dominant reliever of his era. The seven-time All Star led the league in saves three times, had 20 or more ten times and finished with 341 overall. After the required 5-year wait, he appeared on the writers ballot for the Hall of Fame. Sixty-five and seven-tenths percent of the scribes voted for him in his first year. The following year that number rose to 81.2% and Fingers gained his plaque.

The writers also elected three-time Cy Young Award winner Tom Seaver with a then-record 98.8% of the vote. Back-to-back MVP and 207-game winner Hal Newhouser and the respected Bill McGowan who umpired for 30 seasons were the choices by the Veterans Committee choices.

The four men were inducted on a sunny afternoon on Sunday, August 2, 1992. Shown here is an invitation to the ceremony. Newhouser’s signature appears at the bottom of the invitation.

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Rollie Fingers had quite a career. A 7-time All Star, Cy Young and MVP Award winning pitcher, he was also a three-time World Series champ and Fall Classic MVP.

He finished his career as one of baseball’s most respected relievers. In 1992 baseball writers voted him into Cooperstown

In this handwritten letter Fingers writes what it means to him to be in the Hall of Fame.

The handwritten letter reads in part, “I sit at induction ceremonies with Koufax, Gibson, Ford, Feller, Mays, Robinson, all players I idolized as a kid and now to have my name in the same sentence as these players is something you can’t explain. Being honored as a Hall of Famer means you were the best at what you did and that your dreams came true.”