2022 National Pickup - Travis Jackson Signed Baseball

Hall of Famer #165 was added to my collection at the National as part of two big pickups. I had been keeping an eye on Travis Jackson baseballs for a long time and I found this one lower than what I had seen elsewhere. The signature is great, as is the ball.

Jackson (b. 1903 - d. 1987) played in the majors from 1922 to 1936 for the Giants.  He had 1,768 hits, 135 home runs and a .291 batting average.  He was an All Star in 1934 and his best finish in the NL MVP race was 4th, also in 1934.  He won the World Series with the Giants in 1933.  Jackson was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1982 via the Veterans Committee.

A quick glance at Jackson's stats definitely make you wonder why he is in the Hall of Fame.  It turns out, he was regarded as the best shortstop of his era.  That makes a lot more sense; his career fielding percentage is .952 and his career defensive WAR 31st all time.  Injuries kept him off of the field for a good chunk of his career, otherwise, his offensive stats may have been higher.

In all, I am very happy that I added this Hall of Famer to my collection, even though no one knows who he is when I talk about him.