1939 Best of Baseball election

[jalbright]

This is our fourth election in this project. The entire rules follow.

This election will run through 11:59:59 PM EST January 30, 2009.

The prior election, and the ballots of the 1938 voters, are in this thread (http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=86118)

[jalbright]

Rules

1) All BBF users in good standing may participate. However, if there is more than one vote being cast from any one computer or IP, it must be cleared in advance, or only the first vote will be counted. I only anticipate exceptions for family members living in the same home, but I will entertain requests on other bases. Please note that I and the other mods who participate in the project have the capability of determining the IP from which posts come, and I for one intend to monitor same. I have had to deal with a single user manipulating a project with multiple votes, and I don't intend to repeat the experience.

2) Elections will require a 10 voter quorum. If we do not get ten voters and there are candidate(s) who would be elected no matter what the voters needed to make a quorum did, those candidate(s) will be inducted. Otherwise, no one will be inducted. Further, if we fail to meet a quorum in two of any four consecutive elections, the project will end. If, for instance, we're doing fine on the player end but not the contributor end, I would drop the contributor end under this rule.

3) We will start in 1936, just as Cooperstown did. For the first election (1936), voters will rank their top 20, taking 10. After that we will go to having voters rank their top 12 players. Points awarded 12-11-10, etc. We will take the top five through 1940, then top three players per year elected until 2010, then two per year. If a voter does not number his selections, I will try to get him/her to do so. If they do not do so before the end of the election period, I may in my sole discretion invalidate the ballot. I have included this provision in order to ease the process of recording the votes. On another point, I know, the 1936 backlog is huge--but that was a historical issue they couldn't avoid, so neither will we.

4) We will also have a contributor ballot, which will elect one a year through 1985, then one every three (3) years. Contributors will be ranked 1 through 5, with points awarded 5-4-3-2-1. Voters may choose to participate in either one of the ballots or both.

5) It is permissible to vote for a candidate on both the contributor and player lists.

6) You are allowed to change your ballot at any time the ballot is open. However, I request that you PM me (jalbright) to ensure that I am aware of the change(s) or make a separate posting in the voting thread. You must let me know the players involved in the changes at a minimum, but it would also help if you added their rankings (before and after). I cannot agree to be responsible for monitoring the thread for any changes voters might make. If I catch them, fine, but if I don't and am not notified, the official count will be what I have been notified of, not what is on the thread.

7) Players are eligible at the later of age 45 or the first year thereafter in which the player does not play. If the birthdate is not known, add five years to the first time the player misses a season and has less than 10 games the next season. There is an exception for early death, in which case the year of death plus two will be used if that yields an earlier date.

8) Contributors become eligible at age 65 or death, whichever comes first. The early death rule applies here as well.

9) Each election will run for two weeks unless expressly altered by the project manager, contributors and players done simultaneously.

10) No one is ineligible, nor are players from any league ineligible. Please note, however, that the standard for including a player is that the player must in the voter's opinion be among the very best eligible players (preferably the number voted on, but if a voter wishes to support someone they feel is 15th in a 12 person ballot instead of one of the top 12, it's too close for anyone to reasonably object. On the other hand, supporting the 25th best eligible candidate on a 12 person ballot is probably beyond the pale). If there are players who returned to the Negro Leagues or Japan after going to the majors, the departure from the majors will be their career end date for purposes of this project. Candidates will not lose eligiblity after becoming eligible except by being elected as either a contributor or player. However, voters are encouraged to consider character, sportsmanship, and compliance with the rules and spirit of baseball in their rankings of players.

11) I will post lists of eligible players and contributors before each election. If you have a question about the eligibility of a candidate, please ask. I will provide a list of future eligibility dates as well.

12) My eligibility lists come from all persons in the BBF HOF, BBTF Hall of Merit, and Cooperstown, plus all persons getting a vote in a BBF HOF election in the past year and a half or in a BBWAA election. This is a relatively comprehensive list, and thus I must request that if you want another candidate included, you provide some justification for why said candidate is worthy of getting a vote in this project. The main area I think this might come into play is if a voter supports a person who was eligible for the final selections from the recent pre WWII or Negro League committees but not on my master list. That fact alone would serve as ample justification for putting said candidate on the list. We may learn more about Cuban ball or what have you and thus include others after a case is made for them, however.

13) Other than the sportsmanship and character issues, players are to be evaluated solely upon their play. I would prefer that if a player is qualified by his play standing alone that he be elected on that basis. However, a candidate may only be elected either as a contributor or a player, but not both. Contributors are the area where the entire body of work during his career in the sport, including his play, managing, scouting, executive, writing, broadcasting or other work in the sport is relevant. Contributors are to be ranked based on who the voter thinks is most worthy of induction into the Contributor group in this project.

14) Any ballot with two (2) or more spots unfilled with eligible candidates is invalid. In the event of the listing of ineligible names, I will try to notify the voter so that he/she can correct the ballot before the end of the voting period. If the change is made timely, it will count. If not, and there are two or more invalid names, the ballot will not be considered valid. If there is only one, the ineligible name will be stricken and all names after it on the affected ballot will be moved up one spot.

15) Any players listed beyond the 12th place for any ballot but the first (in which case it is 20th place) will be ignored. If more than one person is listed as tied for the last available place and the ballot is oversize, all names will be dropped, which may lead to the invalidation of the ballot.

16) Ties are not permitted in ballot listings. I reserve the right to invalidate ballots for use of ties in the rankings, be it within a single ballot or over the course of several ballots. If the voter does not correct such a listing voluntarily, except in the case of an oversize ballot tie for the last eligible place, if do not invalidate the ballot, I will choose the placement of the two "tied" candidates, generally preferring the candidate preferred by the other voters.

17) For any ties straddling the in/out line of selections, the first thing considered is the ranking of the candidates by the ballots cast. If there are more than two candidates tied, use a 3-2-1 or whatever is appropriate system. Once one person separates from the tied group, restart with the remaining candidates until there are only as many candidates as the rules call for being elected. If they remain tied after this process, take those with the most #1 votes as the next step, then the most #2 votes and so on to see if that breaks the tie. If not, we will induct all candidates who remain tied at that point.

18) One thing we're going to have to be aware of is the timeline in the case of at least a few contributors. Two which jump out at me are Buck O'Neill, 1976, and Branch Rickey, 1946. I intend to eventually vote for both men, but in 1946, Jackie Robinson was still in Montreal. Really, Branch should wait until at least 1947 after Jackie's success in the majors to get credit for that move. If you think Rickey belongs in the top 5 in 1946 without his role in breaking the color line, that's fine--but he shouldn't get credit for that important success until it actually happened. Buck O'Neill did some important things up until 1976, but after that he was in Ken Burns' Baseball and he was instrumental in the establishment of the Negro Leagues Hall of Fame (both occurred in or around 1994). If you think he belongs based on accomplishments before those two things, that's perfectly acceptable, but please don't credit him with them before they actually happened.

19) I reserve the right to hold both 19th century and Negro League special elections in 2000 if we don't have a sufficient number in those categories by then. These elections probably will be limited to voters I feel are appropriately versed on the group of players to be considered. I do wish to only use this as a last resort, however, and only to ensure that those groups received what I regard as at least adequate bare minimum representation. I do not plan on sharing with you what I consider to meet those bare minimum standards, but I think that the numbers I am thinking of are well below the number of candidates that well informed observers believe are well qualified candidates from each group.

20) I reserve the power to invalidate ballots which I do not feel are a reasonably knowledgeable, good faith effort to rank the players. Furthermore, if I invalidate multiple ballots by the same individual as failing this standard, that individual will forever lose the right to have his/her ballots counted.

21) I will maintain a thread of the project's history and rules which will provide a listing of all elected candidates.

22) Feel free to ask questions by either sending jalbright a PM, or by posting a question in voting thread

[jalbright]

The 1939 class of newly-eligible players:



Adams , Sparky
Ehmke , Howard
Heilmann , Harry
Judge , Joe
Meadows , Lee
Miller , Bing
Miller , Hack
Pennock , Herb
Rogan , Bullet Joe
Wambsganss , Bill


There is one newly eligible contributor: Bill Klem

[jalbright]

The 1938 player candidates who were not elected had these results in the 1938 election:



Player……………… votes points
Hamilton , B 12 71
Keefe , Tim 11 65
O'Rourke , Jim 13 61
Brown , M 8 58
Kelly , King 12 53
Davis , George 10 49
Torriente , C 9 48
Clarkson , J 9 46
Walsh , Ed 8 38
Wright , George 4 35
Barnes , Ross 3 23
Burkett , Jesse 3 18
Jackson , Joe 2 17
Santop , Louis 3 16
Collins , Jimmy 3 14
Sisler , George 2 12
Sutton , Ezra 2 11
Ward , John M. 5 11
White , Deacon 3 11
Galvin , Pud 1 10
Hines , Paul 3 10
Bennett , C 1 9
Grant , Frank 1 9
Poles , Spot 1 8
Thompson , Sam 1 8
Dahlen , Bill 2 7
Start , Joe 1 7
Redding , Dick 1 5
Rusie , Amos 1 4
Radbourn , C 1 1


I'm including the number of people voting for a candidate so folks can judge the strength of candidates for future elections (the more folks already voting for him, the more likely he is to rise quickly)

The contributor candidates who were not elected had these results in the 1938 election:



Player...............votes......points
McGraw , John 15 48
Foster , Rube 15 40
Cartwright , A 7 30
Adams , Doc 6 19
Creighton , Jim 4 13
Hulbert , W 5 12
Johnson , Ban 5 9
Spalding , Al 4 9
Landis , K 3 6


I would suggest folks pay attention to these lists of folks getting votes in the prior election, as the new electees are likely to be either the top holdovers or the newly eligible.

[jalbright]

Members of the Best of Baseball Hall:

Players


Pete Alexander
Cap Anson
Frank Baker
Dan Brouthers
Ty Cobb
Eddie Collins
Roger Connor
Sam Crawford
Ed Delahanty
Buck Ewing
Walter Johnson
Nap LaJoie
Pop Lloyd
Christy Mathewson
Kid Nichols
Eddie Plank
Tris Speaker
Honus Wagner
Smoky Joe Williams
Cy Young


Contributors


Henry Chadwick
Connie Mack
Harry Wright


These folks are no longer eligible for any elections.

[jalbright]

The complete list of eligible players:



Adams , Babe
Adams , Sparky
Archer , Jimmy
Bancroft , Dave
Barnes , Ross
Beckley , Jake
Bender , Chief
Bennett , Charlie
Bresnahan , Roger
Brown , Mordecai
Browning , Pete
Burkett , Jesse
Carey , Max
Caruthers , Bob
Chance , Frank
Chesbro , Jack
Childs , Cupid
Clarke , Fred
Clarkson , John
Collins , Jimmy
Cooper , Wilbur
Coveleski , Stan
Cravath , Gavvy
Dahlen , Bill
Davis , George
Doyle , Larry
Duffy , Hugh
Ehmke , Howard
Evers , Johnny
Faber , Red
Flick , Elmer
Foster , Rube
Galvin , Pud
Glasscock , Jack
Gore , George
Grant , Frank
Griffith , Clark
Groh , Heinie
Hamilton , Billy
Heilmann , Harry
Hill , Pete
Hines , Paul
Hooper , Harry
Jackson , Joe
Jennings , Hughie
Johnson , Home Run
Jones , Charley
Joss , Addie
Judge , Joe
Keefe , Tim
Keeler , Willie
Kelley , Joe
Kelly , King
Leach , Tommy
Lewis , Duffy
Long , Herman
Lowe , Bobby
Luque , Dolf
Lyons , Denny
Magee , Sherry
Maranville , Rabbit
Marquard , Rube
Mathews , Bobby
Mays , Carl
McCarthy , Tommy
McCormick , Jim
McGinnity , Joe
McGraw , John
McPhee , Bid
McVey , Cal
Meadows , Lee
Mendez , Jose
Miller , Bing
Miller , Hack
Mullane , Tony
O'Rourke , Jim
Pearce , Dickey
Pennock , Herb
Pike , Lip
Poles , Spotswood
Radbourn , Charlie
Redding , Dick
Rice , Sam
Richardson , Hardy
Rixey , Eppa
Rogan , Bullet Joe
Rusie , Amos
Ryan , Jimmy
Santop , Louis
Schalk , Ray
Sheckard , Jimmy
Spaulding , Al
Start , Joe
Stovey , Harry
Sutton , Ezra
Taylor , Ben
Thompson , Sam
Van Haltren , George
Vance , Dazzy
Waddell , Rube
Wallace , Bobby
Walsh , Ed
Wambsganss , Bill
Ward , John M.
Welch , Mickey
Wheat , Zack
White , Deacon
White , Sol
Willis , Vic
Wood , Joe
Wright , George
Youngs , Ross


The complete list of eligible contributors:



Adams , Doc
Barrow , Ed
Cartwright , Alexander
Chance , Frank
Clarke , Fred
Commiskey , Charlie
Conlan , Charles
Connolly , Tom
Creighton , Jim
Cummings , Candy
Dreyfuss , Barney
Dunn , Jack
Foster , Rube
Griffith , Clark
Hanlon , Ned
Huggins , Miller
Hulbert , William
Johnson , Ban
Klem, Bill
Landis , Kenesaw
Lardner , Ring
McGraw , John
Mendez , Jose
Reach , A. J.
Richter , Francis
Robinson , Wilbert
Selee , Frank
Shibe , Ben
Spalding , Al
Taylor , C. I.
Ward , John M.
Warfield , Frank
White , Sol
Wright , George

[jalbright]

My ballot:

Players
1. Jim O’Rourke
2. Bullet Joe Rogan
3. King Kelly
4. John M. Ward
5. Cristobal Torriente
6. Amos Rusie
7. Harry Heilmann
8. Ed Walsh
9. Mordecai Brown
10. Deacon White
11. George Davis
12. Tim Keefe

Contributors
1. John McGraw
2. Rube Foster
3. William Hulbert
4. Doc Adams
5. Jim Creighton

[jalbright]

I've added lists of those we've inducted in the hopes this will reduce the number of times folks list elected candidates. There's two lists you can check for this purpose: the guys who have been elected (to vote for him, he shouldn't be on this list), and the list of eligibles (he should be on this list).

[AstrosFan]

Jim, you've got Frank Baker on the list of eligibles.

1. Cristobal Torriente
2. George Davis
3. Tim Keefe
4. John Clarkson
5. Billy Hamilton
6. Jimmy Collins
7. Bill Dahlen
8. John M. Ward
9. Max Carey
10. Harry Heilmann
11. Bullet Joe Rogan
12. Louis Santop

Contributors:

1. John McGraw
2. Rube Foster
3. Alexander Cartwright
4. Ban Johnson
5. William Hulbert

Ballot fixed.

[bambambaseball]

Players:

1. Charlie Bennett
2. Jim O'Rourke
3. Jimmy Collins
4. Billy Hamilton
5. Cristobal Torriente
6. King Kelly
7. Ezra Sutton
8. Ross Barnes
9. Ed Walsh
10. Deacon White
11. George Sisler
12. George Davis

Contributers:

1. Creighton, Jim
2. Rube Foster
3. McGraw, John
4. Adams, Doc
5. Bill Klem

[Matthew C.]

8. Eddie Plank


Plank has already been elected.

[jalbright]

I corrected my error on Baker, and have PM'd the prior two voters about issues with their ballots.

[henrich]

players ballot

1. Mordecai Brown
2. Pud Galvin
3. Herb Pennock
4. Ed Walsh
5. Tim Keefe
6. George Davis
7. Bill Dahlan
8. Harry Heilmann
9. Billy Hamilton
10. George Sisler
11. Deacon White
12. Ross Barnes

Contributor's ballot
1. Alexander Cartwright
2. John McGraw
3. Al Spalding
4. Rube Foster
5. Wilbert Robinson

[Paul Wendt]

revised 2009-02-09
Beside some rewriting the table now covers and highlights everyone elected 1936 to 1939. The latter was elected in this thread, announced at the end, and the three former were not eligible, listed at the beginning.

UPPERCASE surnames signify contributions primarily abroad or behind the color line. The five men in this group so highlighted are one African-Cuban and four African-Americans.


Contributors

A. Journalists
: Chadwick 1937, Conlon, Lardner, Richter

B. Sporting goods & publications businessmen
: Reach, Spalding, G.Wright

C. Pioneers of the Game
: Adams, Cartwright, Creighton, Cummings

D. Umpires
: Connolly, Klem

E. (other) Builders of clubs or leagues who were field managers too
: Barrow, Comiskey, Dunn, FOSTER, Griffith, Hanlon, Mack 1936, McGraw 1939, C.I.TAYLOR, Ward, S.WHITE, H.Wright 1938

F. (other) Field Managers
: Chance, Clarke, Huggins, MENDEZ, Robinson, Selee, WARFIELD

G. (other) Club and League owners & executives
: Dreyfuss, Hulbert, Ban Johnson, Landis, Shibe


One pretense here is that classes A to D are clear and exclusive. Another is that they are higher callings than those which define classes E to G. Some of the men in classes A to C also served in the lower club and league roles.

The men in classes A and G "never wore a uniform" while all those in classes B to F did wear a uniform --as we say of major umpires, field managers, and players, which I happily extend to the Knickerbockers. For classes D-E-F that is a matter of definition. Elsewhere it is partly by happenstance.

[jalbright]

One thing to add to Paul's list: the contributors may be inducted for the sum of their contributions to the game, including as a player. This can be helpful to some of the candidates.

[Paul Wendt]

Jim,
I searched your "musings" thread for 'Mendez' and found that you supported him as a BBF HOF contributor before AG2004 made a persuasive case that you should support him simply as a player (a category with some priority there).

I noted the three seasons as manager of the Kansas City Monarchs in the USA Negro Leagues. I suspect there is more to be said about his career in Cuba which you did not "write up" because we did elect him as a player.

(to be continued after consulting Riley)
(done)

Player-managers Jose Mendez and Frank Wickware led Kansas City and Hilldale (Philadelphia) in the 1924 and 1925 World Series. Mendez was 37-38 years old, Wickware 36-37.

Mendez served seven seasons as aging shortstop and manager of the KC Monarchs, winning three NNL pennants. He was still capable of good work on the mound, 17-3 over his last four seasons. That is so good, I doubt the wisdom of his continued semi-retirement from the mound to life as a good field, no hit shortstop. (Before those last four seasons, seven to nine years had passed since he was a 28-yr-old regular pitcher with arm trouble.)

[dgarza]

Players
1. Harry Heilmann
2. Tim Keefe
3. John Clarkson
4. Sam Thompson
5. Jesse Burkett
6. Joe Jackson
7. Ross Barnes
8. Jim O'Rourke
9. George Sisler
10. King Kelly
11. Amos Rusie
12. Billy Hamilton

Contributors
1. John McGraw
2. Al Spalding
3. Kenesaw Landis
4. Rube Foster
5. Alexander Cartwright

[jalbright]

Jim,
I searched your "musings" thread for 'Mendez' and found that you supported him as a BBF HOF contributor before AG2004 made a persuasive case that you should support him simply as a player (a category with some priority there).

I noted the three seasons as manager of the Kansas City Monarchs in the USA Negro Leagues. I suspect there is more to be said about his career in Cuba which you did not "write up" because we did elect him as a player.

(to be continued after consulting Riley)
(done)

Player-managers Jose Mendez and Frank Wickware led Kansas City and Hilldale (Philadelphia) in the 1924 and 1925 World Series. Mendez was 37-38 years old, Wickware 36-37.

Mendez served seven seasons as aging shortstop and manager of the KC Monarchs, winning three NNL pennants. He was still capable of good work on the mound, 17-3 over his last four seasons. That is so good, I doubt the wisdom of his continued semi-retirement from the mound to life as a good field, no hit shortstop. (Before those last four seasons, seven to nine years had passed since he was a 28-yr-old regular pitcher with arm trouble.)

You are correct. Mendez, according to Who's Who In Cuban Baseball by Jorge Figueredo, only managed one team in Cuba, and it didn't fare well. However, while I can discount his shortstop play on the grounds he might not have made the majors in that capacity, I had to remember that (like in this project), in the contributor category, we are to consider the totality of the person's contributions, including as a player. While I wasn't quite sold on Mendez solely as a player, he wasn't all that far off, and adding three pennants as a manager made up the difference for me. (I'm still using that line of thinking with Andy Cooper, for instance).

Let me also point out that I do prefer that if a person is qualified solely as a player, I'd like to honor him as a player, as most fans focus on the players. That idea is flexible, though. Rube Foster is a close call solely as a player, but solely for his non-playing contributions of managing and in organizing the western Negro League teams, he clearly belongs as a contributor, so I'll go with him there. Similarly, one can argue for McGraw as a player (I'm not quite buying), but he would belong as a manager had he never played in the majors. However, in each case, I pushed each of them higher in my contributor queue due to the playing contributions.

[leecemark]

1. George Wright
2. Ross Barnes
3. Luis Santop
4. Billy Hamilton
5. Paul Hines
6. John Clarkson
7. Jim O'Rourke
8. John Ward
9. King Kelly
10. Christobal Torriente
11. Joe Rogan
12. Deacon White



1. Ban Johnson
2. Alexander cartwright
3. William Hulbert
4. John MCGraw
5. Rube Foster

[Paul Wendt]

on Mendez, thanks for confirmation
I suspect that I will get to him as a player before I get to the whole package.


Let me also point out that I do prefer that if a person is qualified solely as a player, I'd like to honor him as a player, as most fans focus on the players.
not only fans in general but internet users and BBF website visitors!

The preference is difficult to put in practice, however. For the BBF HOF, without any chronological simulation, many "strong contributors" but "borderline players" were elected rather promptly as contributors which made them ineligible as players. The Hall of Merit recognizes no one but players. That may be the only way to ensure that everyone gets a hearing as a player. The Hall of Merit elected Spalding and Griffith slowly and John McGraw is still a leading candidate 75 years after his death.
correction: The Hall of Merit elected John McGraw for "2009" about 75 years after his 1934 death ("2009 Results", 2008-12-15 (http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/hall_of_merit/discussion/2009_results)).

Even making everyone eligible for election in both categories and delaying consideration as a contributor, as in the neighboring Progressive project, is not enough. That is my prediction; in detail, election as a contributor will undercut support as a player. The two veterans committees, Progressive, will not be able to consider everyone independently.

[jalbright]

not only fans in general but internet users and BBF website visitors!

The preference is difficult to put in practice, however. For the BBF HOF, without any chronological simulation, many "strong contributors" but "borderline players" were elected rather promptly as contributors which made them ineligible as players. The Hall of Merit recognizes no one but players. That may be the only way to ensure that everyone gets a hearing as a player. The Hall of Merit elected Spalding and Griffith slowly and John McGraw is still a leading candidate 75 years after his death.

Even making everyone eligible for election in both categories and delaying consideration as a contributor, as in the neighboring Progressive project, is not enough. That is my prediction; in detail, election as a contributor will undercut support as a player. The two veterans committees, Progressive, will not be able to consider everyone independently.


Well, in this project, starting in 1936 puts many folks in both the contributor and player categories from the start. Once somebody's elected, that's it, they're not eligible in the other category, at least the way we're handling it in this project. The delay may not be enough, but that would be true had the rules/understandings existed in real life.

Spalding, Griffith, McGraw, Rube Foster, Joe Torre and Andy Cooper, to name several, are all close calls in my book solely as players. Yet, each belongs in the HOF because of the overall body of contributions they made to the game. Buck O'Neill or Miller Huggins aren't there as players, but are clear cases as contributors. John Ward was, IMHO, a hell of a ballplayer, clearly over the HOF line. He's the kind of guy I really want to hold out for on getting him recognized as a player. That said, he did so much besides his play that he clearly belongs one way or the other. Guys like the first six in this paragraph are going to be more up to the voters. To me, I don't want to force Rube or McGraw to wait and see if they can make it as players at the tail end of the project, so they're getting my votes as a contributor. It's a muddied line, to be sure.

[Domenic]

Players
01. Jim O’Rourke
02. Harry Heilmann
03. King Kelly
04. Mordecai Brown
05. Ed Walsh
06. Amos Rusie
07. George Davis
08. Bullet Joe Rogan
09. Cristobal Torriente
10. Deacon White
11. John M. Ward
12. Tim Keefe

Contributors
01. John McGraw
02. Rube Foster
03. Jim Creighton
04. Doc Adams
05. William Hulbert

[PVNICK]

1. John Clarkson
2. Tim Keefe
3. King Kelly
4. George Davis
5. Harry Heilmann
6. Hoss Radbourne
7. Jim O'Rourke
8. Monte Ward
9. Mordecai Brown
10. Bob Caruthers
11. Billy Hamilton
12. Jimmy Collins

1. Rube Foster
2. Jim Creghton
3. Al Spalding
4. John McGraw
5. AJ Reach

[leecemark]

--Seeing that I have George Wright #1 on my ballot and he is drawing virtually no support from anyone else, I guess I should make a case for him. Wright is at least arguably the best player of the first generation of professional ball players. He was the best player on the 1969-70 Cincinnatti Red Stockings who dominated baseball prior to the first organized league. He gives Ross Barnes a run for his money as best player in National Asspciation history.
--He was certainly the best SS in that league and of the 1870s overall. As of this writing only Honus Wagner has clearly been a better SS in the nearly 70 years of major league baseball. His counting stats are not impressive due to the short seasons of his time and the first few years of his career pre-dating the record books. His rates are excellent though - a 125 OPS+ from a great defensive SS. He was actually an even better player than that. As mentioned, he lost several big years off the front of his record. He also dragged his numbers down a little with an unsuccessfull comeback attempt after 2 years of retirement (he did make "guest star" appearances in 1 and 7 games in those retirement years).
--Wright was a pioneer of the game and one of its first great stars. He won a pennant in his first and only year as manager - jumping from Boston and breaking their run of penants (Wright played for 7 champions of the last 8 years of his career). After that season, in which he was also still a player and major star, Wright left the game to concentrate on his sporting goods company. He remained an influential figure in major league baseball into the 20th century. His last "contribution" was being part of the committee which created - or formally adopted anyway - the Doubleday myth;).
--Wright was given "pass #1" by the National League allowing him free admittence to any league park for life. He was inducted into Cooperstown in its second year, 1937, after the "pioneer ballot" was bungled in 1936 and no 19th century players got their due.

[henrich]

Jim,

I added contibutor's to my previous ballot.

I'll list again here, but I didn't know what was easiest for you.

contributor's ballot
1. Alexander Cartwright
2. John McGraw
3. Al Spalding
4. Rube Foster
5. Wilbert Robinson

[Paul Wendt]

--Seeing that I have George Wright #1 on my ballot and he is drawing virtually no support from anyone else, I guess I should make a case for him.
Thanks for making a case. In truth no one on this ballot scored two #1 votes last year, nor a 1 and a 2, and Wright alone scored a 1 and a 3. As jalbright has observed, his relatively small number of relatively high rankings means that other candidates are likely to move past him in the overall results.

This table covers the 17 returning candidates who were named on at least three ballots last year.

hi 2 lo (highest, second-high, and lowest placements on last year's ballots)
1 3 _9 Wright
1 4 12 Clarkson
1 5 11 O'Rourke
2 2 11 BROWN
2 3 12 KEEFE
3 4 11 Hamilton
3 4 12 Torriente
3 5 _8 Barnes
4 5 11 Davis
4 5 12 Kelly
4 5 12 WALSH
4 7 12 Santop
5 10 10 Burkett
5 11 12 White
7 8 12 Collins
7 10 12 Hines
7 11 12 Ward


He also dragged his numbers down a little with an unsuccessfull comeback attempt after 2 years of retirement (he did make "guest star" appearances in 1 and 7 games in those retirement years).
Yes indeed. I wonder how they arranged those appearances. George Wright more than anyone else inspired the reserve rule, which was written or proposed by Boston owner Harry Soden and passed following the 1979 season. Wright moved to regional rival Providence for that season and, lo, led the team to the pennant as shortstop and manager. He returned to Providence in 1982 after Boston let go his brother Harry, who took the job as Providence manager.

The reserve was limited to five players. Perhaps Providence reserved someone else when George said no way, Jose, and thereby freed Boston to hire him.

Wright & Ditson Sporting Goods published the Players' League baseball guide. I suppose the firm was involved in the Players League otherwise, perhaps supplying baseballs?

[jalbright]

--Seeing that I have George Wright #1 on my ballot and he is drawing virtually no support from anyone else, I guess I should make a case for him. Wright is at least arguably the best player of the first generation of professional ball players. He was the best player on the 1969-70 Cincinnatti Red Stockings who dominated baseball prior to the first organized league. He gives Ross Barnes a run for his money as best player in National Asspciation history.
--He was certainly the best SS in that league and of the 1870s overall. As of this writing only Honus Wagner has clearly been a better SS in the nearly 70 years of major league baseball. His counting stats are not impressive due to the short seasons of his time and the first few years of his career pre-dating the record books. His rates are excellent though - a 125 OPS+ from a great defensive SS. He was actually an even better player than that. As mentioned, he lost several big years off the front of his record. He also dragged his numbers down a little with an unsuccessfull comeback attempt after 2 years of retirement (he did make "guest star" appearances in 1 and 7 games in those retirement years).
--Wright was a pioneer of the game and one of its first great stars. He won a pennant in his first and only year as manager - jumping from Boston and breaking their run of penants (Wright played for 7 champions of the last 8 years of his career). After that season, in which he was also still a player and major star, Wright left the game to concentrate on his sporting goods company. He remained an influential figure in major league baseball into the 20th century. His last "contribution" was being part of the committee which created - or formally adopted anyway - the Doubleday myth;).
--Wright was given "pass #1" by the National League allowing him free admittence to any league park for life. He was inducted into Cooperstown in its second year, 1937, after the "pioneer ballot" was bungled in 1936 and no 19th century players got their due.


I really like George Wright, and will eventually support him. That said, I see him as a solid HOFer--but we haven't quite gotten to that level of guys yet as far as I'm concerned. We're getting toward the bottom of the upper tier, but we haven't cleared them all away yet. Maybe I'm underestimating Wright, but with the level of competition he faced, I just find it hard to push him quite this high.

[jalbright]

Jim,

I added contibutor's to my previous ballot.

I'll list again here, but I didn't know what was easiest for you.

contributor's ballot
1. Alexander Cartwright
2. John McGraw
3. Al Spalding
4. Rube Foster
5. Wilbert Robinson

Noted. It's best to either PM me or to make a post notifying me of changes in your ballot. If I'm expecting it (like when I've PM'd folks about errors on the ballot), I usually monitor those particular ballots. Otherwise, though, I rarely look at the old ballots to see if there have been changes, if for no other reason than I'd spend a lot of time doing so for few results. Thanks.

[Dogdaze]

--Seeing that I have George Wright #1 on my ballot and he is drawing virtually no support from anyone else, I guess I should make a case for him. Wright is at least arguably the best player of the first generation of professional ball players. He was the best player on the 1969-70 Cincinnatti Red Stockings who dominated baseball prior to the first organized league. He gives Ross Barnes a run for his money as best player in National Asspciation history.
--He was certainly the best SS in that league and of the 1870s overall. As of this writing only Honus Wagner has clearly been a better SS in the nearly 70 years of major league baseball. His counting stats are not impressive due to the short seasons of his time and the first few years of his career pre-dating the record books. His rates are excellent though - a 125 OPS+ from a great defensive SS. He was actually an even better player than that. As mentioned, he lost several big years off the front of his record. He also dragged his numbers down a little with an unsuccessfull comeback attempt after 2 years of retirement (he did make "guest star" appearances in 1 and 7 games in those retirement years).
--Wright was a pioneer of the game and one of its first great stars. He won a pennant in his first and only year as manager - jumping from Boston and breaking their run of penants (Wright played for 7 champions of the last 8 years of his career). After that season, in which he was also still a player and major star, Wright left the game to concentrate on his sporting goods company. He remained an influential figure in major league baseball into the 20th century. His last "contribution" was being part of the committee which created - or formally adopted anyway - the Doubleday myth;).
--Wright was given "pass #1" by the National League allowing him free admittence to any league park for life. He was inducted into Cooperstown in its second year, 1937, after the "pioneer ballot" was bungled in 1936 and no 19th century players got their due.

Nice info on Wright.

He was definately one of the best ballplayers of his era and the best SS.

[Dogdaze]

Players:

1. Bullet Joe Rogan
2. Mordecai Brown
3. Cristobal Torriente
4. Tim Keefe
5. Louis Santop
6. Ed Walsh
7. Jim O’Rourke
8. King Kelly
9. George Davis
10. George Wright
11. Billy Hamilton
12. Deacon White

Contributors:

1. Doc Adams
2. Rube Foster
3. John McGraw
4. William Hulbert
5. Ban Johnson

[mwiggins]

Players:

1. George Sisler
2. Billy Hamilton
3. Mordecai Brown
4. Jim O'Rourke
5. King Kelly
6. Ed Walsh
7. Fred Clarke
8. Harry Heilman
9. Joe Jackson
10. George Davis
11. George Wright
12. Tim Keefe

Contributors:

1. John McGraw
2. Rube Foster
3. Alexander Cartwright
4. William Hulbert
5. Al Spalding

[jalbright]

We've achieved a quorum for this vote.

[Matthew C.]

1.Billy Hamilton
2.George Davis
3.Ed Walsh
4.Tim Keefe
5.John Clarkson
6.Jim O'Rourke
7. John Ward
8. Christobel Torriente
9. Joe Rogan
10.Jimmy Collins
11.Harry Heilmann
12.Bill Dahlen



Contributors:

1. Alex Cartwright
2. Rube Foster
3. John McGraw
4. Ban Johnson
5. Doc Adams

[Captain Cold Nose]

1. Mordecai Brown
2. Ed Walsh
3. King Kelly
4. Billy Hamilton
5. John Clarkson
6. Tim Keefe
7. Cristobal Torriente
8. Jim O'Rourke
9. Joe Rogan
10. George Wright
11. George Davis
12. John Montgomery Ward

Contributors

1. John McGraw
2. Alexander Cartwright
3. Al Spalding
4. Rube Foster
5. Ban Johnson

[J W]

Players' Ballot
1. Joe Jackson
2. Frank Grant
3. Mordecai Brown
4. Ed Walsh
5. Billy Hamilton
6. Jesse Burkett
7. Cristobal Torriente
8. Louis Santop
9. George Davis
10. Tim Keefe
11. John Clarkson
12. Bullet Joe Rogan

Contributors' Ballot
1. John McGraw
2. William Hulbert
3. Rube Foster
4. Doc Adams
5. Alexander Cartwright

[J W]

Regarding Wright -- where he fits in depends IMO on how much credit you give to baseball in the 1870s. I'm still leery of Wright, Barnes and McVey. I'm still not even sure if players from the 1880s should be placed so high... but we've established the precedent on this list with Ewing and the 1Bmen and it's general accepted practice among historians.

So like any of our other projects, we'll see when the ice is broken. Bill Dahlen is the next SS on my queue, followed by Monte Ward.

[jjpm74]

Players:

1. Bullet Joe Rogan
2. Ezra Sutton
3. Ross Barnes
4. Joe Start
5. Jim O'Rourke
6. Jimmy Collins
7. Cristobal Torriente
8. Deacon White
9. Paul Hines
10. Bill Dahlen
11. Ed Walsh
12. King Kelly

Contributors:

1. Doc Adams
2. Jim Creighton
3. Rube Foster
4. John McGraw
5. C. I. Taylor

Not yet on my ballot, but high in my consideration set:

Charlie Bennett
Roger Bresnahan
Fred Clarke
George Davis
George Gore
Heinie Groh
Billy Hamilton
Bid McPhee
Edd Roush
Amos Rusie
Zach Wheat

Will eventually vote for:

Jake Beckley
Mordecai Brown
Max Carey
Bob Caruthers
John Clarkson
Wilbur Cooper
Stan Coveleski
Red Faber
Pud Galvin
Jack Glasscock
Burleigh Grimes
Hughie Jennings
Home Run Johnson
Charley Jones
Tim Keefe
Willie Keeler
Tommy Leach
Herman Long
Sherry Magee
Rabbit Maranville
Carl Mays
Joe McGinnity
Cal McVey
Jose Mendez
Dobie Moore
Dickey Pearce
Lip Pike
Charlie Radbourn
Sam Rice
Hardy Richardson
Eppa Rixey
George Sisler
Bobby Wallace
Ed Walsh
George Wright

[jalbright]

Very interesting player election shaping up. Four voters who voted in last election have yet to vote, and three more who voted in 1937 have yet to vote. It's a tight bunch from #2 to #7, where #7 is closer to #2 (7 points) than to #8 (8 points). Obviously, a lot could change depending on how the voting plays out from here.

The fact we're starting to bunch up the candidates who will get elected this time with the ones who won't is, at least to me, a sign that I got it just about right with ending going with five inductees a year through 1940. We're running out of the guys who are consensus early picks, and that is a good time to slow the pace just a bit to keep up the quality of our picks given the rules we have to work with.

[jalbright]

Just a look ahead at this point. 1940 is a small class of five newcomers. Three are guys I doubt will receive much (well, in truth, any) support: Carson Bigbee, Johnny Ring, and Whitey Witt. Then there's Alejandro Oms, who is somebody I'll vote for some day, but not exactly soon. Finally, there's the guy who has a real shot at being named #1 on all ballots, given that we've eliminated so much of the competition for that honor to date: Babe Ruth.

[leecemark]

--I've put most new candidates on the ballot down at the bottom and moved up my old timers, but some players are going to be exceptions. I think the Babe may qualify.

[jalbright]

--I've put most new candidates on the ballot down at the bottom and moved up my old timers, but some players are going to be exceptions. I think the Babe may qualify.

Well, ballots must be a "reasonably knowledgeable, good faith effort to rank the players", so if Babe isn't #1 or at least #2, I would expect an explanation. I know some might like Cobb or Wagner, for instance, better--but they're already inducted--along with 18 other guys already. If you like Mays better, well, fine--but he won't be on the ballot for decades to come. The competition Babe has for the #1 slot in 1940 just doesn't seem to me to be at his level.

[leecemark]

--The "may qualify" was intended as a humurous understatement. Ruth will be #1 on my ballot, although it wouldn't matter much if I left him off entirely. Its inconceivalbe that he won't breeze in on his first year on the ballot.

[Captain Cold Nose]

I'm generally of the "move 'em up in the queue" mindset, myself. But qualified newcomers will be rated accordingly.

[Paul Wendt]

John McGraw, for better or for worse? One way to avoid that question is to sweep it aside with the observation that every "strongman" harms others and I already have three strongmen on the ballot. I suspect this makes four people I would prefer to avoid personally.

Contributors

1. Doc Adams
2. William Hulbert
3. Rube Foster
4. Ban Johnson
5. John McGraw


Francis Richter is on the way and I have been tempted to slip him onto the bottom of my ballot in order to get some attention now. Let this note do that job.

Richter established the weekly newspaper Sporting Life (SLife) in 1883 and owned and edited it until shutting down during World War I. So he covered 35 baseball seasons. During the last twenty years (all that I have seen), a typical issue during the baseball seasons was a 32-page tabloid with the first half devoted exclusively to baseball and a handful of of later columns devoted to overflow box scores. Beside a page one portrait photo, general news, and editorials, there were columns by correspondents in most of the major league cities and occasional minors. Something like pages 6-16 were devoted chiefly to the professional leagues one by one, with all the box scores for high-level and some mid-level leagues, and short articles by correspondents in many minor league cities. The boxscores record for many high-level league-seasons is nearly complete. The notes columns mention thousands of player transactions, too.

[Paul Wendt]

So,
fourteen (14) voters have put eleven (11) different people in the top rank.

[jalbright]

--The "may qualify" was intended as a humurous understatement. Ruth will be #1 on my ballot, although it wouldn't matter much if I left him off entirely. Its inconceivalbe that he won't breeze in on his first year on the ballot.

I thought so, Mark, but obviously I did a poor job of communicating that. My apologies. I responded the way I did so there would be no confusion about how guys should be viewed. I understand that one would prefer to push upward existing candidates on one's ballot absent a clearly superior candidate. Right now, it takes a Ruth, a Hornsby, or a Charleston (1940, 1941, 1942) to do that. Thirty "years" from now, it won't take a player of that magnitude to clearly outstrip the holdovers unless there's an unusual concentration of talent in a few years. It's an issue which will always be a part of this project.

I've deliberately chosen a low standard for letting ballots pass: "reasonable". If you can come up with a cogent explanation for what seems like an anomalous listing, it passes. Your omission of Cobb and Speaker due to the allegations of game fixing certainly fits the definition. It was "reasonable", though the results would indicate not many of us agreed with your decision. You had a cogent reason for it, and that was enough. A voter who, for example, in 1940 casts a ballot omitting Babe Ruth entirely and fails to give any cogent reason for doing so is apt to find their ballot disallowed, even if they had all twelve candidates hold over.

[jalbright]

Francis Richter is on the way and I have been tempted to slip him onto the bottom of my ballot in order to get some attention now. Let this note do that job.

Richter established the weekly newspaper Sporting Life (SLife) in 1883 and owned and edited it until shutting down during World War I. So he covered 35 baseball seasons. During the last twenty years (all that I have seen), a typical issue during the baseball seasons was a 32-page tabloid with the first half devoted exclusively to baseball and a handful of of later columns devoted to overflow box scores. Beside a page one portrait photo, general news, and editorials, there were columns by correspondents in most of the major league cities and occasional minors. Something like pages 6-16 were devoted chiefly to the professional leagues one by one, with all the box scores for high-level and some mid-level leagues, and short articles by correspondents in many minor league cities. The boxscores record for many high-level league-seasons is nearly complete. The notes columns mention thousands of player transactions, too.

A little campaigning is a good thing, and Richter is someone I will eventually support. He probably won't make my ballot in 1940, but if he gains traction, he could do so in 1941. When it comes to contributors, I'll hold over guys I voted for previously unless there's a clearly more qualified newly eligible candidate. Absent a strong newly eligible candidate or a candidate bumped off my ballot by such an individual, I will tend to choose any replacements for elected candidates from those who did best in the balloting but have not yet received my vote.

[BlueBlood]

1. Jim O'Rourke
2. Cristobal Torriente
3. Bullet Joe Rogan
4. Harry Heilmann
5. Tim Keefe
6. King Kelly
7. Mordecai Brown
8. George Davis
9. John Clarkson
10. Billy Hamilton
11. Ed Walsh
12. Amos Rusie

1. Alexander Cartwright
2. John McGraw
3. Rube Foster
4. Jim Creighton
5. William Hulbert

[jalbright]

Yes indeed. I wonder how they arranged those appearances. George Wright more than anyone else inspired the reserve rule, which was written or proposed by Boston owner Harry Soden and passed following the 1979 season. Wright moved to regional rival Providence for that season and, lo, led the team to the pennant as shortstop and manager. He returned to Providence in 1982 after Boston let go his brother Harry, who took the job as Providence manager.

The reserve was limited to five players. Perhaps Providence reserved someone else when George said no way, Jose, and thereby freed Boston to hire him.

Paul, I daresay I've highlighted a couple of typos, or else Marvin Miller and Co were fighting a rule that didn't exist yet. (And Harry made Connie Mack look like a baby by only managing into his octogenarian years rather than to his fifteenth decade) ;)

[Babe is the best]

1. Billy Hamilton
2. Harry Heilmann
3. Jesse Burkett
4. King Kelly
5. Mordecai Brown
6. George Davis
7. Jim O'Rourke
8. Tim Keefe
9. Bullet Joe Rogan
10. George Sisler
11. Sam Thompson
12. Ol Hoss Radbourn

1. John McGraw
2. Rube Foster
3. Ban Johnson
4. Al Spalding
5. Alexander Cartwright

[philkid3]

I plan on voting in this one, I'm just giving it some thought.

[Brad Harris]

Players
1. Bullet Joe Rogan
2. Deacon White
3. Louis Santop
4. Jim O'Rourke
5. Ed Walsh
6. Cristobal Torriente
7. George Davis
8. King Kelly
9. Paul Hines
10. John Clarkson
11. Billy Hamilton
12. Harry Heilmann


Contributors
1. John McGraw
2. Doc Adams
3. Ban Johnson
4. William Hulbert
5. Rube Foster

[jalbright]

As I write this, there's a little over 50 hours to go, and the following folks who voted in one of the past two elections have yet to vote:

Freakshow
Paul Wendt (players only)
philkid3
Erik Bedard
AG2004

I'd like to keep you guys on board (and any new participants we can get), so I hope to see you give us your timely input. Thanks!

[Freakshow]

1. George Wright
2. Jim O’Rourke
3. Cristobal Torriente
4. King Kelly
5. Billy Hamilton
6. John Clarkson
7. Harry Heilmann
8. George Davis
9. Louis Santop
10. Joe Rogan
11. Ed Walsh
12. Bill Dahlen

[jalbright]

I plan on voting in this one, I'm just giving it some thought.

Well, as I write this, you've got just a few minutes more than 8 hours to do so! Anybody who wants their vote counted in this election should take heed.

[Paul Wendt]

The group elected only one pitcher last year, Eddie Plank, but the pace has been rapid enough that I may never vote for one. With his pitching record alone Rogan wouldn't be here yet but it appears that he was a superb two-way player, perhaps what I call second tier in both half innings.

1 George Wright
2 George Davis
3 Deacon White
4 Billy Hamilton
5 Jim O'Rourke
6 Cristobal Torriente
7 Bill Dahlen
8 Paul Hines
9 Mike Kelly
10 Bullet Rogan

11 Fred Clarke
12 Jesse Burkett

That is a conservative placement of Torriente and Rogan amid the holdovers from my preceding ballot, with Clarke and Burkett tacked on. Barnes, Ward, and Santop at least, deserve more consideration next year when more than two points are at stake.

The group loves Keefe, Clarkson, Brown, and Walsh but they would be premature placements in the top ten now. Galvin, Radbourn, Caruthers, and Rusie have some support here too.

The group likes Heilmann and Sisler better than Barnes, Ward, and Santop (I think) but I am set on ranking this pair behind Clarke and Burkett, which are relatively simple comparisons. Barnes, Ward, and Santop are complex cases, like Torriente and Rogan.

[AG2004]

Well, ballots must be a "reasonably knowledgeable, good faith effort to rank the players", so if Babe isn't #1 or at least #2, I would expect an explanation. I know some might like Cobb or Wagner, for instance, better--but they're already inducted--along with 18 other guys already. If you like Mays better, well, fine--but he won't be on the ballot for decades to come. The competition Babe has for the #1 slot in 1940 just doesn't seem to me to be at his level.

[The following is from a later perspective:]

Ruth is someone who admitted to using an illegal substance in order to enhance his performance. He said that mixtures that included this drug provided him with the energy he needed to perform at his best. Do we really want to honor someone who ruined the game with the use of chemicals?

And what was Ruth's magic elixir, which he said helped him to play?

He called it

.

.

.

.

.

.


BOOZE.


Here's my ballot for 1939

PLAYERS
1) Bullet Joe Rogan
2) Jim O'Rourke
3) Cristobal Torriente
4) Billy Hamilton
5) Jesse Burkett
6) Paul HInes
7) John Clarkson
8) George Davis
9) Joe Start
10) Ed Walsh
11) Hoss Radbourn
12) King Kelly

CONTRIBUTORS
1) Rube Foster
2) John McGraw
3) Doc Adams
4) Al Spalding
5) Ban Johnson

Hulbert vs. Johnson . . . both established leagues, and helped to save the game. Hulbert managed to end the practice of throwing games (at least for a few decades) and ensured that teams would finish their schedules. Johnson managed to clean up the violence that was marring the game. However, Hulbert's refusal to let teams from New York or Philadelphia into the NL after 1877 came close to killing the league.

I won't argue with expelling the New York and Philadelphia franchises after 1876. Still, there were other teams in those cities who could have been admitted to the NL in 1877 or 1878. Furthermore, keeping the cities out of the league for one season would have been enough to send the necessary message; more than one season without teams in the nation's two most populous cities was simply overkill.

Hulbert's actions in 1876 and 1877 - expelling New York and Philadelphia, expelling Louisville's game-throwers, and ensuring that Cincinnati would finish the 1877 season - were the best things that he could have done for baseball. However, at the start of the 1882 season, he was more of a hindrance to the game's development. With the AA introducing teams into the two big Eastern cities, the NL would have been doomed if Hulbert had remained its president.

That's why I can't rank Hulbert above Johnson.

[jalbright]

We had 20 player ballots and elected Jim O'Rourke, Billy Hamilton, Cristobal Torriente, King Kelly and George Davis. Davis just nudged out Bullet Joe Rogan, and the guys in spots 6 through 11 are rather tightly bunched. I'd say it's clear those six will battle for the four spots behind Babe Ruth in the 1940 election. The results:



Player………. votes points
O'Rourke , Jim 17 144
Hamilton , B 17 118
Torriente , C 15 113
Kelly , King 16 103
Davis , George 17 99
Rogan, Joe 15 97
Walsh , Ed 14 87
Brown , M 10 86
Keefe , Tim 13 84
Heilmann, Harry 12 79
Clarkson , J 11 76
Wright , George 6 44
White , Deacon 9 39
Santop , Louis 6 38
Burkett , Jesse 5 34
Barnes , Ross 5 33
Ward , John M. 7 33
Collins , Jimmy 5 28
Hines , Paul 5 28
Sisler , George 5 24
Dahlen , Bill 6 23
Jackson , Joe 3 23
Rusie , Amos 4 17
Sutton , Ezra 2 17
Start , Joe 2 13
Bennett , C 1 12
Galvin , Pud 1 11
Grant , Frank 1 11
Thompson , Sam 2 11
Pennock, Herb 1 10
Radbourn , C 3 10
Clarke , Fred 2 8
Carey , Max 1 4
Caruthers , B 1 3


On the contributor side, John McGraw won rather easily over Rube Foster, who in turn was well ahead of the rest of the field. I'd say Rube is well positioned to win in 1940, as he's already on all 19 ballots from 1939. The results:



contributor…… votes points
McGraw , John 19 73
Foster , Rube 19 62
Cartwright , A 10 32
Adams , Doc 10 31
Hulbert , W 10 23
Johnson , Ban 9 20
Creighton , Jim 6 19
Spalding , Al 7 18
Landis , K 1 3
Klem, Bill... 1 1
Reach , A. J. 1 1
Robinson , W 1 1
Taylor , C. I. 1 1

[jalbright]

I should also note that Cristobal Torriente is the first person elected who is not from the initial class of 1936. I expect to get at least one in 1940 with Ruth, and Heilmann and Rogan have reasonable shots at making it as well.

[Paul Wendt]

So,
fourteen (14) voters have put eleven (11) different people in the top rank.
We later six voters did not come up with another one. Rogan tallied four number one votes, Wright and O'Rourke three, Brown and Hamilton two.