Tony O’s Hall of Fame Election a Meaningful Moment for Even Youngest of Twins Fans

[Theo Tollefson]

Tony Oliva's Hall of Fame Induction is a meaningful moment for Twins fans of every generation. Theo Tollefson shares how it is a meaningful moment for him even though he was too young to see the Twins great both play and coach for the Twins. 

Tony Oliva is finally a Hall of Famer, something Minnesota Twins fans have been waiting to see officially since 1982. By the time I was born, Oliva’s best chance of getting into the hall of fame was the same way he got in this last week, through the veteran’s committee vote. I was born too late to see Oliva play, let alone even coach for the Twins. However, like many Twins fans of all ages, his Baseball Hall of Fame election is a meaningful moment for us all. 

2006 was the year when I really began to grasp what Major League Baseball was. Seven years old, just completing first grade the spring before, and the Minnesota Twins were fielding one of their best teams in franchise history to that point. It was either an early Friday or Saturday evening in mid-August outside the Metrodome when the Twins were hosting a pregame autograph session with one of the franchise legends, Tony Oliva.

My mom rushed ourselves over into the autograph line while my sister and dad headed inside the Dome for the game. I wasn’t fully aware of what was happening at the time, only that my dad had pointed out the autograph line to us and knew it would be a good story to have my first pro athlete autograph ever be Oliva. My family and I arrived unprepared with autograph material that day, so the best thing to have Oliva sign was my kiddie sized glove that I had used for the first two seasons of t-ball. 

As my mom and I stood in line waiting, the clock was winding down on the time left available to get Oliva’s autograph. Then when there were only a few people left in front of us, two older boys in their teens cut in front of us to get Oliva’s autograph. Tony-O noticed this and refused to sign anything for them for doing so. Then just as he was deciding to stop signing altogether, get up, and head into the Dome to watch the game, my mom asked politely if he could sign one more just for me, as I had never received an autograph before. 

Oliva’s response to that was, “Okay. One more.” 

He became the first to sign my glove, the first of many Twins legends to do so. Following that, I rushed into the Dome with my mom to meet up with the rest of my family to share the good news and show off the autograph. 

Since that day, like so many other Twins fans' experiences with Tony O, they have always been positive. Whether it's been an encounter at the State Fair, TwinsFest, or passing ways in a random location throughout the Twin Cities. It’s always been good to be in Oliva’s presence. 

Now as I have already mentioned, I was born too late to watch any part of Tony Oliva’s career while it happened. Thanks to being a kid who grew up with the internet, it was easy  to find the highlight footage compiled by MLB-affiliated websites and YouTube to understand just how talented Oliva was in his day when my dad, uncle and grandpa talked about him. 

Like so many other Twins fans would say, Oliva is a Top 5 Twins player of all time. (Also on my list would be  two of his former teammates, Rod Carew and Harmon Killebrew, as well as Kirby Puckett and Joe Mauer.) Only one of these top five has not been elected to be in Cooperstown, and hopefully in two years' time, Mauer’s Hall of Fame case will get him in. 

When it comes to Tony Oliva’s legacy in Twins history, he will always be enshrined as one of the best both on and off the field in Twins Territory. For those of us who were born in the 70s or later, our memories of Oliva will always be that of his community engagement throughout the decades. For this Twins fan, the encounters with Oliva will be memories of a leader, a giver, and a first autograph experience that will be enshrined in my memory forever. 

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[mikelink45]

Nicely done.  I like your top five -  you might need a pitcher, but for bats I would take all five.  As someone half a century older I can tell you that it was a pleasure to see all of them play.  Your remembrance reminds me of the perspective that we each have as the game becomes part of our personality and thus the players we just missed become legends and the players we start with become our standards of comparison.  Kaat, Blyleven, Santana, Morris, Nathan are my Pitching five and thus the current use of pitchers is just not what I like to see.  You will have a different standard to work with, but no matter the age, those early years of our own fandom are filled with great players and stories. 

[Karbo]

I am old enough to have seen Tony O play out his entire career, and he was great. He could hit for power, average, was clutch, and before the knee injury could run. In the field he was also great. Good range, would get great jumps, I honestly don't remember him ever just dropping a ball, and he had a cannon of an arm. There is a reason he is in the Twins Hall, and because he is such a nice guy. Tony O, You are loved by so many in Twins territory!!

[Longdistancetwins]

I had the opposite perspective.  I was a far-away Twins fan in the days well before the Internet. Tony-O was my favorite player, but I really didn’t know if he was a good guy or not.  I was devastated by his knee injury (he was having a career year when it happened, which is saying a lot for him).  But I had no idea that he remained so engaged with the team until the Internet age.  That continues to delight me:  that he is loved for his character and personality as well as for what he did in the 1960s and 1970s.  

[Rosterman]

I would stop by and see Tony every year at the Minnesota State Fair. He would always kid about me having too many of his autographs, and I would say that keep finding new images for him to sign.

 

He loved posing for photos with kids...and fans. 

 

But my favorite is seeing him out on the wiffle ball diamond, pitching to kids who have no idea who he is, while adoring parents took pictures.

 

I hope the Twins have treated him really well for all opf his ambassador duties and his stay in Minnesota, which has been his life in baseball!

 

And gald he can now be a Hall of Famer with all that will bring to him and his family's future!

 

 

[TopGunn#22]

Tony-O was my first favorite Twin and is still my first !  I think I'll be traveling to Cooperstown, NY for the July 22 induction.

MikeLink, I don't include Morris in my top Twins arms because even though it was the "MOST MEMORABLE" season, I put Jim Jerry in there instead.  1969 20-game winner, 1970 A.L. Cy Young winner and several other "solid" Twins seasons.  Morris belongs in a "special" category of Twins one-season wonders (and he would be far and away #1 in that category).

[Theo Tollefson]

4 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Nicely done.  I like your top five -  you might need a pitcher, but for bats I would take all five.  As someone half a century older I can tell you that it was a pleasure to see all of them play.  Your remembrance reminds me of the perspective that we each have as the game becomes part of our personality and thus the players we just missed become legends and the players we start with become our standards of comparison.  

Thanks for the feedback! You're certainly right on the legends I missed out on becoming the standard modern day players, I use a lot of legends from the 60s and 70s for that standard. Considering we're still going to be in a lockout with MLB for a while, I may just have to write my own top five hitters and pitchers in franchise history piece. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Nice article. I enjoyed reading it. My first autographs were at Washington's Griffith Stadium in 1954 or 1955 with my grandfather and my brother. We were visiting our grandparents in D.C. and my brother and I had just discovered baseball, We actually rode the trolley to the ball park from 36th St NW (near the National Cathedral, where my grandparents lived). The Tigers were in town. The Senators lost,, thus starting a life-long journey for me as a Senators/Twins' fan who had to become accustomed to my team losing. Whose autographs did my brother and I get at that game, you may be thinking. You will never guess. We were sitting in front of some famous people: I remember Mrs. Clint Courtney, the wife of "Scrap Iron" . Yes we got the autographs of some of the Washington Senators players wives.  They told us they had never been asked for their autographs before. It was a thrill for the wives and for two little boys from North Carolina  at our first major league game.

[mikelink45]

5 hours ago, TopGunn#22 said:

Tony-O was my first favorite Twin and is still my first !  I think I'll be traveling to Cooperstown, NY for the July 22 induction.

MikeLink, I don't include Morris in my top Twins arms because even though it was the "MOST MEMORABLE" season, I put Jim Jerry in there instead.  1969 20-game winner, 1970 A.L. Cy Young winner and several other "solid" Twins seasons.  Morris belongs in a "special" category of Twins one-season wonders (and he would be far and away #1 in that category).

I understand - Perry was wonderful and deserves to be on the list, but I was there for that special game and thus it overwhelms all other pitching memories. 

[Doctor Gast]

TonyO is my 1st and only favorite MLB player and always will be. He was a wonder to watch because he always gave his all. No matter diving for a ball, taking an extra base or hitting the ball. He's been always loyal to this club and spent his life as a Twin. 

I remember when I told him he was my favorite player, he said I was his favorite fan, which made my day. He was always cordial with his fans, I haven't heard a bad word about him from anyone. He really deserves to be there.

[IndianaTwin]

I'm in the in-between generation, but he's always been my favorite as well.

I was five during his last great season in 1971, so I don't remember that. And though his last decent season came in 1975, when I was nine, he had the game-winning homer every day when I was throwing the tennis ball against the side of the house. 

[PDX Twin]

Could one compare Tony to Willie Mays? They had the same kind of flair on and off the field and I think that if Tony had stayed healthy their overall performance would have been similar. (But of course Mays started his career in New York with a World Series championship, so had legendary status from the very beginning.)

I think I remember that Tony's real name was Pedro and that Tony was his brother, whose passport he used to get to the U.S. Is that correct or did my memory make this up?

[Longdistancetwins]

1 hour ago, PDX Twin said:

Could one compare Tony to Willie Mays? They had the same kind of flair on and off the field and I think that if Tony had stayed healthy their overall performance would have been similar. (But of course Mays started his career in New York with a World Series championship, so had legendary status from the very beginning.)

I think I remember that Tony's real name was Pedro and that Tony was his brother, whose passport he used to get to the U.S. Is that correct or did my memory make this up?

Not to speak ill of those who are gone, but, from what I’ve heard Willie did not have Tony’s charm and kindness off the field.  

[IndianaTwin]

44 minutes ago, Longdistancetwins said:

Not to speak ill of those who are gone, but, from what I’ve heard Willie did not have Tony’s charm and kindness off the field.  

Willie isn't gone, however. ?

[Gene Larkin Fan Club]

My Twitter profile pic is of me with Mr. Oliva at Target Field from a few years back.  I was just grabbing a sandwich from the Tony Oliva Cuban Sandwich stand and he happened to be standing near there.  My buddy grabbed my phone and said, "you gotta ask for a picture."  He happily and graciously put his arm on my shoulder and smiled his infectious for a random photo.  I felt like a kid at his first ballgame.  I never got to see him play, but my Dad had tons of stories.  What a special person; a true legend.  Couldn't be happier for his induction!