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Newsletter / Mailing list >
Seventeen from Negro LeaguesElected to the Hall of
February 28, 2006
Seventeen from Negro Leagues, Pre-Negro leagues Eras
Elected to the Hall of Fame by Special Committee
12 players, five executives, including first woman, to be
honored July 30 in Cooperstown
February 27, 2006
COOPERSTOWN, NY: A committee of 12 Negro and pre-Negro
leagues baseball historians elected 17 candidates to the
National Baseball Hall of Fame today in Tampa, Fla.,
featuring 12 players and five executives. The 17 electees
will be honored in Cooperstown, New York, during Induction
Ceremonies on July 30, joining Bruce Sutter, the lone
electee from the Baseball Writers' Association of America
election announcement in January.
The electees include seven Negro leagues players:
Ray Brown
Willard Brown
Andy Cooper
Biz Mackey
Mule Suttles
Cristobal Torriente
Jud Wilson;
And five pre-Negro leagues players:
Frank Grant
Pete Hill
José Méndez
Louis Santop
Ben Taylor
And also four Negro leagues executives:
Effa Manley
Alex Pompez
Cum Posey
J.L. Wilkinson
And one pre-Negro leagues executive:
Sol White
Effa Manley, an owner in the Negro leagues, becomes the
first woman elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Each of the 17 received the necessary 75% of the 12-member
voting committee to earn election to the Hall of Fame. The
committee reviewed the careers of 39 Negro and pre-Negro
leagues candidates over a two-day meeting in Tampa. The
list of 39 was pared from a roster of 94 candidates,
narrowed by a five-member screening committee in November.
The voting and screening committees were chaired by Fay
Vincent, Major League Baseball's eighth commissioner and an
Honorary Director of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and
Museum. Vincent, the non-voting chairman, led discussions
with committee members. The committee also received counsel
from Hall of Famer Frank Robinson.
"The Board of Directors is extremely pleased with how this
project has evolved over the last five years - culminating
in today's vote," said Jane Forbes Clark, chairman of the
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. "Over the last
two days, this committee has held discussions in great
detail, utilizing the research and statistics now available
to determine who deserves baseball's highest honor - a
plaque in the Hall of Fame Gallery in Cooperstown."
The electees will join 18 Hall of Famers from the Negro
leagues already enshrined in Cooperstown: Cool Papa Bell,
Oscar Charleston, Ray Dandridge, Leon Day, Martin Dihigo,
Bill Foster, Rube Foster, Josh Gibson, Monte Irvin, Judy
Johnson, Buck Leonard, Pop Lloyd, Satchel Paige, Joe Rogan,
Hilton Smith, Turkey Stearnes, Willie Wells and Smokey Joe
Williams.
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