10 Finalists named for Pre-Integration Era Ballot For Hall of Fame Consideration in 2013

Press Release National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

(COOPERSTOWN, NY) – Six former major league players, three executives and one umpire comprise the 10-candidate Pre-Integration Era ballot to be reviewed and voted upon at Baseball’s Winter Meetings for consideration for the Hall of Fame Class of 2013, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum announced today.

Samuel Breadon, Bill Dahlen, Wes Ferrell, Marty Marion, Tony Mullane, Hank O’Day, Alfred Reach, Jacob Ruppert, Bucky Walters and Deacon White are the candidates for Pre-Integration Era Committee consideration for election for the Hall of Fame Class of 2013. All candidates will be considered based on the totality of their careers in the game, though Breadon, Reach and Ruppert are included for their contributions as executives, and O’Day is included for his contributions as an umpire. The other six candidates are inclusions primarily for their on-field careers as players. All 10 candidates are deceased.

Candidates who receive votes on 75 percent of the ballots cast by the 16-member Pre-Integration Era Committee will earn election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 28, 2013, along with any electees who emerge from the 2013 Baseball Writers’ Association of America election, to be announced on Jan. 9.

The 10 Pre-Integration Era finalists were selected by the BBWAA-appointed Historical Overview Committee from all eligible candidates among Managers, Umpires, Executives and Long-Retired Players whose most significant career impact was realized from the origins of the game through 1946. Eligible candidates include players who appeared in at least 10 major league seasons, who are not on Major League Baseball’s ineligible list, and have been retired for 21 or more seasons; and Managers, Umpires and Executives with 10 or more years in baseball.

The Pre-Integration Era ballot was determined this fall by the Historical Overview Committee, comprised of 11 veteran historians: Dave Van Dyck (Chicago Tribune); Bob Elliott (Toronto Sun); Rick Hummel (St. Louis Post-Dispatch); Steve Hirdt (Elias Sports Bureau); Bill Madden (New York Daily News); Ken Nigro, (formerly Baltimore Sun); Jack O’Connell (BBWAA secretary/treasurer); Tracy Ringolsby (FSN Rocky Mountain); Glenn Schwarz (formerly San Francisco Chronicle); Claire Smith (ESPN); and Mark Whicker (Orange County Register).

The 16-member Hall of Fame Board-appointed electorate charged with the review of the Pre-Integration Era ballot includes Hall of Fame members Bert Blyleven, Pat Gillick, Phil Niekro and Don Sutton; major league executives Bill DeWitt, Roland Hemond, Gary Hughes, and Bob Watson; along with eight historians and veteran media members Jim Henneman, Steve Hirdt, Peter Morris, Phil Pepe, Tom Simon, Claire Smith, T.R. Sullivan and Mark Whicker.

The Pre-Integration Era electorate will meet to discuss and review the candidacies of the 10 finalists as part of baseball’s Winter Meetings, December 2-3 in Nashville.

The 10 candidates for Pre-Integration Era consideration for the class of 2013:

•     Samuel Breadon purchased interest in the St. Louis Cardinals in 1917 and took control of the club in 1920. Breadon hired Branch Rickey and created the blueprint for the modern farm system with minor league clubs owned or controlled by the parent club. Presided over nine pennant winners and six World Series championships, include the Gashouse Gang teams of the 1930s and the dynasty teams of the 1940s. During his tenure as principle owner, the Cardinals posted a 2,470-1,830 record, good for a .574 winning percentage.
•     Bill Dahlen spent 21 seasons in the majors from 1891-1911, playing almost 90 percent of his games at shortstop, compiling a .272 batting average with 84 home runs and 1,234 RBI. He scored 100 or more runs in each of his first six seasons and recorded 120 hits or more 15 times. He retired in 1911 as the active home run leader with 84 and as the all-time leader in games played (2,444).
•     Wes Ferrell pitched for 15 seasons from 1927-1941, compiling a 193-128 record with a 4.04 career ERA. Six times won 20 games and is the only pitcher from the 20th century to win at least 20 games in each of first four full big league seasons. Led the league in complete games four times and was runner-up for the A.L. MVP in 1935.
•     Marty Marion spent 13 seasons in the majors, 1940-50, 1952-53, batting .263 with 36 home runs and 624 RBI at shortstop. Was named the 1944 N.L. MVP Award winner, twice also finishing in the top 10. Considered one of the best fielding shortstops of his era.
•     Tony Mullane won 284 games in 13 major league seasons from 1881-1894, hurling complete games in 468 of his 504 career starts. Won 30 or more games in each of his first five full seasons. Posted a career 284-220 record, with a 3.05 lifetime era.
•     Hank O’Day spent 30 years as a major league umpire during a period from 1888-1927, officiating 10 World Series, tied for second most in history. Was selected to umpire the first World Series in 1903. Also played and managed in the majors, as a pitcher from 1884-1890. Managed the 1912 Reds and the 1914 Cubs.
•     Al Reach served as an executive with the Philadelphia club of the National League from 1883-1903, following a five-year playing career from 1871-1875 with the Athletics. Established the A.J. Reach Company to produce baseball and other sporting equipment, producing the official baseball of the American League. From 1883-1989, published “Reach’s Official Base Ball Guide,” providing readers with statistics and stories, which served as the official publication of both the American Association and American League.
•     Jacob Ruppert owned the New York Yankees from 1915-1939, with his teams winning six World Series titles and nine American League pennants during his ownership. During his tenure, more than a dozen future Hall of Famers donned pinstripes, including Babe Ruth, whose contract Ruppert purchased from the Red Sox for $125,000. In 1923, Ruppert led the construction of Yankee Stadium, the same year the club captured their first World Series title.
•     Bucky Walters pitched 19 seasons in the major leagues, from 1934-1950, compiling a 198-160 lifetime record, with a 3.30 era in 428 games/398 starts. Named 1939 NL MVP Award, posting a 27-11 record, with a 2.29 ERA, winning the pitching Triple Crown with 137 strikeouts. Named to five All-Star teams. Converted from infielder following his first four seasons in the majors from 1931-34.
•     Deacon White played for 20 major league seasons from 1871-1890, compiling a .312 batting average, while playing all nine positions on the field. Best remembered as one of the finest barehanded catchers of his time.

About the Era Committees 

The Pre-Integration Era Committee is the third of a three-year cycle of consideration for Managers, Umpires, Executives and Long-Retired Players by era, as opposed to the previous consideration by classification, with changes approved and announced by the Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors in 2010. 

The Era Committees maintain the high standards for earning election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, with focus on three time periods: Expansion (1973-present); Golden (1947-1972) and Pre-Integration (through 1946), as opposed to the previous four Committees on Baseball Veterans, which considered the four categories of candidates. Three separate electorates consider by eras a single composite ballot of managers, umpires, executives and long-retired players on an annual basis. The Expansion Era Committee candidates will next be considered again at the 2013 Winter Meetings for Induction in 2014. The Golden Era Committee will next meet at the 2014 Winter Meetings for Induction in 2015. The Pre-Integration Era Committee will convene again at the 2015 Winter Meetings for Induction in 2016. 

Candidates remain eligible in perpetuity through the Era Committee process, with new ballots constructed by the Historical Overview Committee the fall prior to each election.