Accessioning Tony Gwynn's Artifacts

Artifacts from Tony Gwynn's 3,000th hit prior to being accessioned

Monday, August 16, 1999 — On Monday morning, members of the Collections Department staff at the Hall of Fame prepare to accession the various artifacts from Tony Gwynn's 3,000th hit. Accessioning, the formal process by which an artifact is placed in the collection at the Hall of Fame, is critical. The process allows the Museum to add artifacts to its collection in an organized and efficient manner. The Museum has over 35,000 three-dimensional artifacts in its collection, as well as over 130,000 baseball cards. The collection at the Hall of Fame Library numbers over 2.6 million items. Without a formal accessioning process, it would be nearly impossible to keep track of or gain access to these artifacts, whether they are in storage or on display.

Other artifacts from Tony Gwynn's stellar career that are at the Hall of Fame include:

• his cap from the 1998 World Series
• his bat and shoes used during the 1997 season when he won his National League record-tying eighth batting title
• his batting helmet from the 1995 season
• his home jersey and a bat from the 1994 season
• the bat he used to hit a home run in the April 13, 1987, game in which the Padres set a record by having their first three players of the game hit home runs

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