In front of what will likely be the largest Induction Ceremony crowd in at least five years, the Hall of Fame will welcome two new members on Sunday.

Third baseman Wade Boggs and second baseman Ryne Sandberg will join the fraternity of baseball's elite beginning at 1:30 p.m. on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center. Also to be honored are baseball writer and ESPN analyst Peter Gammons, who will receive the annual J.G Taylor Spink Award for meritorious contributions to baseball writing, and the longtime voice of the San Diego Padres, Jerry Coleman, who will be presented with the 2005 Ford C. Frick award for major contributions to baseball broadcasting.

Hall of Fame spokesman Brad Horn said Tuesday the Hall is projecting crowds of 20-25,000 for the Induction.

"We have two players with national appeal and a record 52 Hall of Famers planning to attend, which combined with Friday's rededication ceremony sets the stage for a great Induction Weekend," Horn said.

Following is an in-depth look at the careers of Boggs and Sandberg.

Wade Boggs was born June 15, 1958 in Omaha, Nebraska, but his family moved to Tampa, Florida before his freshman year in high school, where he became a star in both baseball and football.

His father, Winfield, was a fast pitch softball pitcher and helped Boggs pattern the inside-out swing he would later use to win five American League batting titles and 3,000 hits.

After getting drafted by the Red Sox in the seventh round of the 1976 free agent draft, Boggs went to Single A ball in Elmira, New York.

His first manager, Dick Berardino, wrote in an evaluation of Boggs that "he was a definite Triple A prospect, but only a marginal major leaguer."

That type of evaluation haunted Boggs for five and a half minor league seasons, when he continued to hit for a high average (setting 17 minor league hitting records in 1981) but still couldn't get Red Sox management to give him a full-time major league job.

"They told me since I didn't hit for power that I might not get a shot," Boggs said in a conference call last Thursday. "It was discouraging but now I just refer to it as five and a half seasons of seasoning."

Said Winfield Boggs: "Wade remembers everyone who ever doubted him."

Once Boston gave him a full-time starting job at third base in 1982, after 662 minor league games, Boggs made sure the job was his for good.

He batted .349 for the second half of the '82 season, and led the American League with a .361 average in his first full season in 1983.

From 1985-88 Boggs won four straight batting titles, including a .368 average and 240 hits in '85, arguably his best season. Boggs got his first taste of the World Series in 1986 against the Mets, when Boston blew series leads of 2-0 and 3-2 to lose a heartbreaking seven game series.

After hitting just .259 in 1992, Boggs signed with the hated New York Yankees, and like Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk before him, left Boston in a bitter feud with management.

With the Yankees, Boggs won his first two Gold Glove Awards, and finally got an elusive World Series ring in 1996 against the Atlanta Braves, memorably riding around Yankee stadium on a horse after the deciding Game Six.

Boggs them moved on to play for Tampa Bay for two years, collecting his 3,000th hit in 1999.

Boggs may be as well known for his superstitions as he is for hitting line drives. He ate chicken before every game, took batting practice and ran wind sprints at the same time before every game, and had a variety of other rituals he performed religiously.

"My father was a military man and I was just used to routine and doing things the same way every day and at the same time every day," Boggs said. "It was just something that helped me prepare for the game."

Boggs had his detractors, as he had a reputation for being selfish and consumed with his own statistics, and his extramarital affair with Margo Adams in the late 1980s, which became very public, threatened to tarnish his career.

But when Boggs became eligible for the Hall of Fame this year, the baseball writers left no doubt that Boggs was a first ballot Hall of Famer, naming him on 91 percent of the ballot.

"Wade was a consummate professional, and he is very representative of the best players of his generation," Horn said.

Ryne Sandberg

Ryne Sandberg was named after a baseball player and turned out to be one of the best second baseman in major league history, revolutionizing a position that was not known for offensive production.

Sandberg was named an All-America starting quarterback by Parade magazine after his senior year in Spokane, Washington, and signed a letter of intent to play quarterback for Washington State.

But after getting drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies, Sandberg decided to give baseball a shot instead.

In 1982, after spending three years in the Phillies minor league system, he was involved in one of the most infamous trades in Philadelphia history.

The Phillies traded shortstop Larry Bowa and Sandberg to the Chicago Cubs for shortstop Ivan DeJesus.

Two years later, Sandberg was the National League Most Valuable Player after hitting 19 home runs, driving in 84 runs and stealing 32 bases while winning a Gold Glove at second base.

Before that 1984 season, Sandberg's manager, Jim Frey, told him to try and hit for power more often.

"He told me if the count was 2-0 or 3-1 to turn on the ball and try to drive it," Sandberg said. "I owe him a great deal, he's really the one who taught me to hit for power."

Sandberg asked Frey to be his "presenter" at the Induction Ceremony, but later found out that's not the way the Hall of Fame conducts their ceremony. But Frey will be in attendance.

During that 1984 season, Sandberg had what has since been named "The Sandberg Game" against the St. Louis Cardinals and relief ace Bruce Sutter on June 23, 1984.

With the Cubs trailing, 9-8 in the bottom of the ninth, Sandberg his a solo home run to tie the game, then added another two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th to tie the score again at 11-11 in a game the Cubs eventually won, 12-11. Sandberg finished 5-6 with seven runs batted in.

"That game was the turning point in my career, and people still come up to me and talk about that wherever I go," Sandberg said.

The Cubs were one win away from the World Series at the end of that 1984 campaign, jumping ahead of the San Diego Padres two games to none, before seeing the Padres win three straight at home.

"My goal was always to get to the World Series and get to the World Series with the Cubs, but it just didn't happen," Sandberg said. "But getting elected to the Hall of Fame puts some closure on my career and quite and exclamation point."

Said Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog of Sandberg: "He's the best ballplayer I've ever seen. He's Baby Ruth."

Added Cubs general manager Dallas Green, who pulled off the trade for Sandberg: "He's the cleanest cut professional and one of the greatest leaders-Ryno provided leadership without ever having to say a word."

Sandberg had his best offensive season in 1990, hitting 40 home runs and driving in 100 while stealing 25 bases, and stole a career-high 54 bases in 1985, but he is probably most known for his fielding.

Sandberg won nine consecutive Gold Glove awards from 1984-1993, and ranks first among all second baseman with a .989 lifetime fielding percentage. He failed to garner enough votes for election in his first two years of eligibility for the Hall of Fame, but received 76.5 percent of the vote this year. Seventy five percent is needed for election.

"I never thought of myself as a Hall of Famer and I couldn't be more pleased and honored to be going in this year," Sandberg said. "I've been described as the kind of player that you come to appreciate over a 162 game season because of all the little things I did well, and I'd be very comfortable with that legacy."