From the archives: New Hall of Famer Craig Biggio
Posted on July 21, 2015
Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros sits in the dugout during a game against the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California in 1999. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
Former Houston Astros great Craig Biggio will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York on Sunday afternoon. This is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a big league ballplayer, and it will surely be a day Biggio, his family and friends, and Astros fans will never forget. I will be watching the ceremony on television as I can’t get enough of anything Hall of Fame related, and I love to hear what guys like Biggio have to say in their speeches. Biggio’s career spanned from 1988 through the 2007 season, and although I did not shoot him during his early years as a catcher I photographed him many times when he came through San Francisco playing second base wearing assorted colors as the National League team from Houston (then) went through many uniform changes during his time with the club. I thought it would be fun to take a look through my searchable online archive containing over 80,000 baseball images dating back to 1987 and see what came back when I typed in “Craig Biggio.” Let’s take a look!
Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros watches batting practice before a game against the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California in 1994. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros walks off the field during a game against the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California in 1995. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros and teammate Jeff Bagwell talk during a game against the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California in 1995. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros in action during a game against the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California in 1995. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros in action during a game against the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California on April 7, 1998. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros sits on a tractor during batting practice before a game against the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California in 1999. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros watches from the dugout during a game against the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California in 1999. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
All of the above pictures were shot during the 1990’s at Candlestick Park, and all of them were shot on color slide film. It’s funny, but back then I never had a specific assignment to shoot Biggio. He was never regarded as a superduperstar that had to be shot all day, every day during his stops in San Francisco. He was a good player, but one of many. Back then the only time I really had a specific Astro to shoot was when we did a huge story at Sports Illustrated about pitcher Jose Lima in 1999. Never in a million years did I think the little second baseman with the yellow sunburst on his hat would be enshrined in Cooperstown back then. I wish I did- I would have shot more pictures of him!
Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros bats during a game against the San Francisco Giants at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco, California in 2001. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros plays defense at second base during a game against the San Francisco Giants at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco, California in 2001. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros bats during a game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California in 2005. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros bats during a game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California in 2005. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros watches batting practice before a game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California in 2005. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros takes batting practice before a game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California in 2005. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros watches from the dugout a game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California in 2006. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
Congrats to Craig Biggio on this huge honor. It is becoming more and more cool for me to see guys who I have shot getting elected into the Hall of Fame. It is even cooler when I have some nice old pictures of them on chrome in my archive!
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