The Lucky 39 –
Hall of Fame
Picks:
Some Great Ones
–
And Some
Questions
By
John B Holway
Wilson
|
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After waiting for up to half a century, some of North America’s greatest
ballplayers at last stand on the doorstep of the Hall of
Fame.
Jud Wilson, whose .367 lifetime average makes him the Ty Cobb of the Negro
Leagues, tops an outstanding list of black stars, who have been nominated
by a special committee to enter the hallowed Hall next
July.
Mule Suttles, black baseball’s third-ranking home run slugger, who
might have broken Babe Ruth’s 60-mark if he'd been given the chance,
will no longer have to stand outside knocking on the
door. Mule’s longest drive,
a measured 598 feet in Havana,
was a full 100 feet longer than
Barry Bonds’ longest.
William Bell and Ray Brown, who won almost as many games as Satchel Paige
but lost a lot less, should get their plaques at long last.
Biz Mackey, called by many the best defensive catcher who ever lived,
should join Johnny Bench and Mickey Cochrane looking down from the wall of
champions.
Cuba’s Cristobal Torriente and the smooth shortstop, Dick Lundy,
will surely join them.
Owners Cum Posey and July Wilkinson, who built two of the most powerful
dynasties the game has ever seen, are also on the ballot and should be elected
with ease.
The five-man committee did a splendid job recognizing these and many more
giants of the game.
But it also made some curious choices, naming sentimental favorites that
pushed more qualified men off the
ballot. This was a sad waste
of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
First, let’s look at the good
news. The top eight position
players nominated filled in the last missing blanks in the list of black
stars before Jackie Robinson.
NEGRO LEAGUE
BATTING LEADERS
Over 2,000 at bats
Hall of Famers
Nominated
Hall of Fame
Ab
Ba
psn
combined*
Study
Jud
Wilson
4037
.367
if
.350
John
Beckwith
2257
.354 c,
ss
.349 .349 among HR
leaders
Josh
Gibson
2857
.353
c
.358
.359
Turkey
Stearnes
3795
.351
cf
.346 .345
(tops in HR)
Oscar
Charleston
4949
.349
cf,1b,p
.349
.348
Bullet
Rogan
2088
.347
p,of,2b
.350 .338
(2nd in pitching wins)
Pop
Lloyd
3144
.344
ss,1b
.347
.343
Mule
Suttles
3202
.343 of,1b
.334 #3
in HR
Buck
Leonard
2178
.343
1b
.336 .320
Cristobal
Torriente
2761
.341 of,
p
.343 22-11
as pitcher
Cool Papa Bell 4757 .326 cf,p .337 .317
George
Scales 2804
.326
if
.311 among
top 10 in HR
Fats
Jenkins
2555 .325
of
.324 .325
speed
Biz
Mackey
3998
.320
c,ss
.327 great
defense
Red
Parnell
2307
.319
of
.312
© 2006 John B Holway. May not be used without permission of the copyright holder.
Dick Lundy 3008 .306 ss .306 .306 great defense
Vic Harris 2583 .306 of, mgr speed, great manager
Dewey Creacy 3328 .302 3b top 10 in HR
Willie
Wells
3910
.301
ss
.311
.319
Oliver Marcelle 2494 .298 3b .306 great defense
Newt
Allen
3914
.295
2b
.292
Sam
Bankhead
2212
.292
ss,cf,p
.316 1st
black mgr in minors
Judy
Johnson
3721
.284 3b
.292 .293
Red Parnell’s .319 average is not Hall of Fame calibre, yet he
took a possible slot away from the fiery team leader, Vic
Harris.
Under 2,000 at bat
When the committee named men with under ten years service,
it opened the door to controversy.
With a few exceptions, such as pitcher Addie Joss, the Hall sets a
ten-year minimum.
In a shocking violation of the rule, the committee named the popular
Minnie Minoso, who played only two seasons in the black leagues before moving
to the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White
Sox. It was an obvious ploy
to put Minnie in the Hall when his .296 big league average had kept him out
for years.
This may be the most egregiously poor choice in the 70-year history
of Hall of Fame voting, which has been tainted by many other examples of
favoritism. Even if the larger
voting committee rejects him in (unlikely), Minnie has taken one of 39 valuable
spaces away from some other candidate, who earned it more than he
did.
The committee, which rewarded Minoso’s two-year .293 average,
turned its back on Chino Smith’s six-year .420, Artie Wilson’s
.378, Pancho Coimbre’s .367 Heavy Johnson’s .365,
etc.
HOF
Ab BA psn years combined Study
Chino Smith 902 .420 of 6 .388
Larry
Doby
581
.384 2b
4
.292
.307
Artie
Wilson
859
.378
ss
5
.369
Dobey Moore 1759 .371 ss 7 .361 .344
Bob
Boyd
226
.369 1b
3
Pancho Coimbre 496 .367 of 4 .356
Heavy Johnson 1728 .365 of 7 .364
Rap Dixon 1847 .361 of .341
Lazaro Salazar 691 .361 1b, p 6
Monte
Irvin
1063
.356
ss
8
.296
.358
Jimmy Austin 718 .352 ss 4
Tetelo Vargas 537 .352 of 8 .297
Charlie Blackwell 1941 .348 of .332
Willard
Brown
1488
.344 ss,
of
.351
top 10 in HRs
Sam
Jethroe
1390
.341
of
7
.300
Ray
Dandridge
1034
.338
3b,2b
8
.324
.315
Huck Rile 1336 .337 if, p .335 49-30 as pitcher
Alejandro
Oms
1321
.329
of
.338
.320
Bill Wright 1412 .326 of .342
Ed Wesley 1814 .320 1b .324 among top ten in HR
italics -- played in major leagues
Rev
Cannady
1861
.315
ss,2b
John
Donaldson
922
.313 p,of
TJ Young
1023
.307
c
Jim
Taylor
1145
.298 3b
.300
Buck O'Neil
1123
.297
1b
8
3 years in Navy
Sammy T Hughes 1620 .294 2b .297
Minnie
Minoso
291
.293
of
2
.296
Bill Perkins 1533 .290 c .309
Pelayo
Chacon
1388
.290 ss
.276 father
of Elio
Martin
Dihigo
1901
.280 all
psns
.292
.307
Ed Wesley seems to be particularly victimized.
Donaldson spent several years with white semipro teams, where historian
Phil Dixon reports he compiled an impressive strikeout
record.
I suspect that Candy Jim Taylor was nominated in order to have three Taylor
brothers in the Hall. Manager
C.I. is legitimate and deserves to be
elected. However, Ben’s
lifetime .309 is low for a first
baseman. And Candy’s
credentials are even more suspect.
Pre-1920
The committee was selected because it had just completed a major
statistical study of the 1920-48 era.
In fact, the nominations were held up until that was
finished. But the Hall ignored its own rationale for waiting, when
it instructed the group to nominate men from the pre-1920 era
also.
Dick Clark and I had done the stats for the Macmillan Encyclopedia, but
Clark’s fellow committee members apparently didn't consult
them.
My conclusion is that the newspaper record is too skimpy to be
meaningful. And when adequate
statistics do exist, they don't confirm the
reputations. I concede that
the dead-ball era depressed Negro League batting statistics more than
whites’, but I recommended that the choices be limited to owners and
managers.
Doc Wiley 319 .320 c .320
Louis
Santop
1120
.311 c
.298 power unconfirmed
Ben
Taylor
2974
.309 1b
good defense
Spot
Poles
577
.305
of
.317 great speed
Grant
Johnson
293
.294
2b
.323
Pete
Hill
1818
.276
of
.289
Frank
Grant
minor league data only
Bud Fowler minor league data only
Sol
White
pioneer executive
C.I.
Taylor
mgr
Poles was the early Cool Papa Bell.
He and Hill both hit well against white big
leaguers. Poles was 21-for-42,
Hill 27-for-73 (.370).
First base
At first base the popular and well-loved Buck O'Neil, 94 years old, was
nominated, though an unsentimental look at the numbers shows that Edgar Wesley
and others were unfairly passed over.
Lazaro
Salazar
691
.361 1b,
p
Ed Wesley 1814 .331 1b among HR leaders
Tank Carr 2769 .319 1b
Jim West 2744 .297 1b great defense
Buck O'Neil
1123
.297
1b
3 years in Navy
Mackey
