Entire HOF listings with 1st ballots

[sucka free]

Here is a link of the hall of famers through 1998...I'm not sure what "OT" stands for.  "VC" stands for veterans committe.  Interesting note...Jolting Joe wasn't a 1st ballot, amazing!  But Kirby Puckett was?


http://www.bostonbaseball.com/whitesox/halloffame.html

[ericdavisfan]

That was an interesting list.  I never realized that some of those guys weren't 1st ballot HOF'ers...Like Harmon Killebrew, Cy Young (though I thought he was in the 1st class?!?), Joltin' Joe

Curious

[sucka free]

I am at a total loss of Diamiggo not being a first ballot.  He was voted by the same sports writers in 1969 as "the greatest living player".  Lets just say that the HOF isn't a perfect system.

[vgp100]

Maybe that's not completely accurate. I saw Steve Carlton wasn't a first ballot pick, but I really thought he was.

[Gantry]

There's gotta be something wrong with that list.  DiMaggio is tough enough to believe but I cannot believe that Rogers Hornsby didn't get on in his first ballot.  Must have been something odd going on back then, perhaps becaue they were electing people from previous eras in...

[Gantry]

Also note that DiMaggio only had a four year gap between when he retired and when he got in.  Most all the first timers have a six year gap.  We need to find a better page...

[Gantry]

Wow, guess it's true!

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/hall_of_fame/first_ballot_ap/

[sucka free]

I was very skeptical when I first saw that page and did some checking on my own.  I didn't come across that espn article, but something simillar to it.  I think they had a much higher level back then to get inducted OR not everyone voted.  Either way, hornsby and dimaggio are outragous!  Nice article link gantry

[Gantry]

After further review, it looks like sportswriters decided to be dicks
after the HOF's first year.  Nobody between 1937 & 1961 was elected to
the HOF on their first ballot.  Jackie Robinson broke the streak in
1962...

[sucka free]

I think it might have had something to do with preserving babe ruth's legacy....then the old writers either died or retired and a new breed took over the voting and started getting it right....I'm not sure if this is an accurate theory, but its what I have been told.  Still, baseball has a pretty interesting and storied history, unlike other professional sports.

RBI Rocks by the way

[ericdavisfan]

Good research men!  I had no idea that some of the heroes of yesterday were denied 1st ballot status.  It's kind of sad that Puckett was 1st ballot and some of those other guys weren't.  Oh well, once in the Hall...always in the Hall!

[Vitb6]

Those are solid articles.  What is amazing is that Babe Ruth only got 95% of the votes!!!  WTF were the other 5% thinking?  They must have been smoking some mean shit.  Either that or Babe must have slept with their wives.  QUESTION- so by this voting, since Tom Seaver got the highest % of votes (98.84), is it right to say he is the best player ever?

[ericdavisfan]

No

[jcbball86]

seaver, as we all know, wasnt the best player ever, but it is safe to say he was probably the best choice that year on the ballot.