BBF VC Progressive HoF Negro League Players VC: 1967

[Ace Venom]

BBF VC Progressive HoF Negro League Committee: 1967 Election

Please Read
Below is a master list of players who have spent time in various Negro Leagues and players who played in major or minor leagues before the color line was enforced. All players on the list ceased play by 1962. Exceptions are being age 45 by 1967 or having died between 1962 and 1967, waiving the five-year wait. There are some newcomers to the ballot that were mistakenly omitted from the 1957 ballot that still deserve consideration.You can vote for anyone on the final ballot below and you can vote for up to two write in candidates. Anyone can comment, but only ballots from the VC will be counted in the election. The election concludes at the close of the regular election, which is November 23 at 10:07 AM EDT.

Note:
I decided to stick everyone that received a vote in 1962 on this ballot so we could have an election that didn't consist of 12 candidates. I also included Perucho Cepeda for the first time after a number of requests to add him to the Negro League ballot. You are still free to vote for write-in candidates as well, so vote wisely. This will be the final year of this special election before it is integrated with the regular players VC vote starting in 1970. Special elections will not return until it is time to vote on Japanese players.

Players Elected (33)
John Beckwith
James "Cool Papa" Bell
Ray Brown
Oscar Charleston
Andy Cooper
Ray Dandridge
Leon Day
Martin Dihigo
Willie Foster
Josh Gibson
Frank Grant
Pete Hill
Monte Irvin
Grant Johnson
Buck Leonard
John Henry Lloyd
Dick Lundy
Biz Macky
Jose Mendez
Bill Monroe
Alejandro Oms
Satchel Paige
Spotswood Poles
Dick Redding
Bullet Rogan
Louis Santop
Hilton Smith
Turkey Stearnes
Mule Suttles
Christobal Torriente
Willie Wells
Smokey Joe Williams
Jud Wilson

Final Ballot (17)
Chet Brewer
Willard Brown
Perucho Cepeda
Bingo DeMoss
Rube Foster
Bud Fowler
Vic Harris
Bill Jackman
Judy Johnson
Dobie Moore
John "Buck" O'Neill
Cumberland Posey
Ted Radcliffe
Chino Smith
Ben Taylor
Luis Tiant, Sr.
Quincy Trouppe

*Bold denotes first time eligible.

Previous Election Results

1962 Final Results
1) Monte Irvin: 12 Votes (100%) - Elected
2) Hilton Smith: 11 Votes (91.67%) - Elected
3) Ray Dandridge: 10 Votes (83.33%) - Elected
t4) Willard Brown: 8 Votes (66.67%)
t4) Quincy Trouppe: 8 Votes (66.67%)
6) Judy Johnson: 7 Votes (58.33%)
7) Rube Foster: 6 Votes (50.00%)
t8) Dobie Moore: 5 Votes (41.67%)
t8) John "Buck" O'Neill: 5 Votes (41.67%)
t10) Ted Radcliffe: 4 Votes (33.33%)
t10) Chino Smith: 4 Votes (33.33%)
12) Ben Taylor: 3 Votes (25.00%)
t13) Bill Jackman: 2 Votes (16.67%)
t13) Cumberland Posey: 2 Votes (16.67%)
t13) Luis Tiant, Sr.: 2 Votes (16.67%)
t16) Chet Brewer: 1 Vote (8.33%)
t16) Bingo DeMoss: 1 Vote (8.33%)
t16) Bud Fowler: 1 Vote (8.33%)
t16) Vic Harris: 1 Vote (8.33%)

1957 Final Results
1) Satchel Paige: 10 Votes (90.91%) - Elected
t2) Ray Brown: 9 Votes (81.81%) - Elected
t2) Leon Day: 9 Votes (81.81%) - Elected
t4) Rube Foster: 7 Votes (63.64%)
t4) Ted Radcliffe: 7 Votes (63.64%)
t4) Hilton Smith: 7 Votes (63.64%)
t7) Ray Dandridge: 6 Votes (54.55%)
t7) Bill Jackman: 6 Votes (54.55%)
t7) Judy Johnson: 6 Votes (54.55%)
t7) Quincy Trouppe: 6 Votes (54.55%)
t11) Willard Brown: 5 Votes (45.45%)
t11) Dobie Moore: 5 Votes (45.45%)
t11) Chino Smith: 5 Votes (45.45%)
t11) Ben Taylor: 5 Votes (45.45%)
15) Vic Harris: 4 Votes (36.36%)
t16) John "Bud" Fowler: 3 Votes (27.27%)
t16) Cumberland Posey: 3 Votes (27.27%)
t16) Luis Tiant, Sr.: 3 Votes (27.27%)
19) Chet Brewer: 2 Votes (18.18%)
t20) William Bell: 1 Vote (9.09%)
t20) William Byrd: 1 Vote (9.09%)
t20) Bingo DeMoss: 1 Vote (9.09%)
t20) Henry Kimbo: 1 Vote (9.09%)
t20) Lester Lockett: 1 Vote (9.09%)
t20) Alex Radcliffe: 1 Vote (9.09%)

1952 Final Results
t1) Cool Papa Bell: 11 Votes (100%) - Elected
t1) Martin Dihigo: 11 Votes (100%) - Elected
t1) Buck Leonard: 11 Votes (100%) - Elected
t1) Biz Mackey: 11 Votes (100%) - Elected
t5) Mule Suttles: 10 Votes (90.90%) - Elected
t5) Willie Wells: 10 Votes (90.90%) - Elected
t5) Jud Wilson: 10 Votes (90.90%) - Elected
8) Dick Lundy: 9 Votes (81.82%) - Elected
9) Rube Foster: 8 Votes (72.73%)
10) Judy Johnson: 6 Votes (54.55%)
11) Cumberland Posey: 5 Votes (45.46%)
t12) Bill Jackman: 4 Votes (36.36%)
t12) Ted Radcliffe: 4 Votes (36.36%)
t12) Ben Taylor: 4 Votes (36.36%)
t15) Bruce Petway: 3 Votes (27.27%)
t15) Chino Smith: 3 Votes (27.27%)
t17) William Bell, Sr.: 2 Votes (18.18%)
t17) Chet Brewer: 2 Votes (18.18%)
t17) Bingo DeMoss: 2 Votes (18.18%)
t17) John "Bud" Fowler: 2 Votes (18.18%)
t17) Vic Harris: 2 Votes (18.18%)
t17) Luis Tiant, Sr.: 2 Votes (18.18%)
t23) William Dismukes: 1 Vote (9.09%)
t23) John Donaldson: 1 Vote (9.09%)
t23) Frank Duncan: 1 Vote (9.09%)
t23) Charles Grant: 1 Vote (9.09%)
t23) Sammy T. Hughes: 1 Vote (9.09%)
t23) Hurley McNair: 1 Vote (9.09%)
t23) Alec Radcliffe: 1 Vote (9.09%)
t23) George Stovey: 1 Vote (9.09%)
t23) Candy Jim Taylor: 1 Vote (9.09%)
t23) Sol White: 1 Vote (9.09%)

1947 Final Results
t1) Josh Gibson: 12 Votes (100%) - Elected
t1) John Henry "Pop" Lloyd: 12 Votes (100%) - Elected
t1) Bullet Rogan: 12 Votes (100%) - Elected
t1) Norman "Turkey" Stearnes: 12 Votes (100%) - Elected
t1) Smokey Joe Williams: 12 Votes (100%) - Elected
t6) John Beckwith: 11 Votes (91.67%) - Elected
t6) Oscar Charleston: 11 Votes (91.67%) - Elected
t6) Pete Hill: 11 Votes (91.67%) - Elected
t6) Jose Mendez: 11 Votes (91.67%) - Elected
t6) Richard "Cannonball Dick" Redding: 11 Votes (91.67%) - Elected
t6) Louis Santop: 11 Votes (91.67%) - Elected
t12) Andy Cooper: 10 Votes (83.33%) - Elected
t12) Frank Grant: 10 Votes (83.33%) - Elected
t12) Grant "Home Run" Johnson: 10 Votes (83.33%) - Elected
t12) Spot Poles: 10 Votes (83.33%) - Elected
t12) Cristobal Torriente: 10 Votes (83.33%) - Elected
t17) Willie Foster: 9 Votes (75.00%) - Elected
t17) Bill Monroe: 9 Votes (75.00%) - Elected
t17) Alejandro Oms: 9 Votes (75.00%) - Elected
t20) Rube Foster: 8 Votes (66.67%)
t20) Chino Smith: 8 Votes (66.67%)
t22) Bill Jackman: 6 Votes (50.00%)
t22) Sol White: 6 Votes (50.00%)
t22) Jud Wilson: 6 Votes (50.00%)
t25) John "Bud" Fowler: 5 Votes (41.67%)
t25) Ben Taylor: 5 Votes (41.67%)
t25) Jesse "Nip" Winters: 5 Votes (41.67%)
28) William "Judy" Johnson: 4 Votes (33.33%)
t29) Bingo DeMoss: 3 Votes (25.00%)
t29) John Donaldson: 3 Votes (25.00%)
t29) Bruce Petway: 3 Votes (25.00%)
t29) Cumberland Posey: 3 Votes (25.00%)
t29) George Stovey: 3 Votes (25.00%)
t34) William Dismukes: 2 Votes (16.67%)
t34) C.I. Taylor: 2 Votes (16.67%)
t36) Philip Cockrell: 1 Vote (8.33%)
t36) Floyd "Jelly" Gardner: 1 Vote (8.33%)
t36) Dave Malarcher: 1 Vote (8.33%)
t36) Alonzo Mitchell: 1 Vote (8.33%)
t36) Moses "Fleet" Walker: 1 Vote (8.33%)
t36) Frank Warfield: 1 Vote (8.33%)
t36) Frank Wickware: 1 Vote (8.33%)
t36) Clarence Williams: 1 Vote (8.33%)
t36) George Williams: 1 Vote (8.33%)

Master List - Bold denotes a player on the ballot

Newton H. Allen
Jimmie Armstead
Walter Ball
Sam Bankhead
Dave Barnhill
Bernando Baro
Clifford Bell
William Bell, Sr.
Joseph Black
Emmet Bowman
Chet Brewer
George "Chippy" Britt
Chester Brooks
Larry "Iron Man" Brown
Willard "Home Run" Brown
Harry Buckner
William Byrd
Walter "Rev" Cannady
Perucho Cepeda
Phillip Cockrell
William "Sug" Cornelius
Jimmie Crutchfield
Leon Daniels
Saul Davis
Felix Delgado
Bingo DeMoss
Lou Dials
William Dismukes
Herbert "Rap" Dixon
John Donaldson
Pat Dougherty
William Drake
Frank Duncan
Eddie Dwight
Felix "Chin" Evans
Jose Fernandez
Rube Foster
John “Bud” Fowler
Floyd “Jelly” Gardner
George Giles
Charles Grant
Joe Greene
Bob Griffith
Vic Harris
Arthur “Rats” Henderson
Bill Holland
Crush Holloway
Jess Hubbard
Sammy T. Huges
Cowan Hyde
Bill Jackman
Fats Jenkins
Samuel Jethro
George “Chappie” Johnson
Oscar Johnson
William “Judy” Johnson
Newt Joseph
Henry Kimbo
Milfred Laurent
Scrip Lee
Frank Leland
Lester Lockett
Jimmie Lyons
Dave Malarcher
Oliver Marcell
Dan McClellan
Hurley McNair
Dobie Moore
Alonzo Mitchell
John "Buck" O'Neil
Ted Page
Red Parnell
Jap Payne
Lennie Pearson
Bill Pettus
Bruce Petway
Andrew Porter
Cumberland Posey
Alec Radcliffe
Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe
Neal Robinson
William Robinson
Nat Rogers
Merven “Red” Ryan
George Scales
Chino Smith
Clarence Smith
Eugene Smith
Jake Stephens
George Stovey
Ben Taylor
Candy Jim Taylor
“Steel Arm Johnny” Taylor
Luis Tiant, Sr.
Quincy Trouppe
Moses “Fleet” Walker
Frank Warfield
Chaney White
Sol White
Frank Wickware
Waibishaw Wiley
Chet Williams
Clarence Williams
George Williams
George Wilson
Jesse “Nip” Winters
Bill Wright
Laymon Yokely

[Paul Wendt]

Here is a selection from the results of the recent Contributor election (1966). It covers the three winners, including Bolden from the Negro Leagues, and everyone else from the Negro Leagues. (If I missed anyone, please report that and I will make the correction.)

>>
Final Results (10 Votes Cast, 8 Required for Election)
t1) Ed Bolden: 8 Votes (80.00%) - Elected
t1) J.G. Taylor Spink: 8 Votes (80.00%) - Elected
t1) Casey Stengel: 8 Votes (80.00%) - Elected

t4) Cumberland Posey: 7 Votes (70.00%)
t4) C.I. Taylor: 7 Votes (70.00%)
t7) J.L. Wilkinson: 6 Votes (60.00%)
t16) Sol White: 4 Votes (40.00%)
t28) Bud Fowler: 2 Votes (20.00%)
t39) Effa Manley: 1 Vote (10.00%)
t39) Jorge Pasquel: 1 Vote (10.00%)
<<

Posey and Fowler (bold) are on the Players ballot.

As one may infer from this selection, eight votes were required for election, so Posey or Taylor would have been elected by one switch from No to Yes. Alternatively, they need two more participants who both vote Yes, yielding 9/12 support.

[Ace Venom]

Posey and Fowler (bold) are on the Players ballot.

As one may infer from this selection, eight votes were required for election, so Posey or Taylor would have been elected by one switch from No to Yes. Alternatively, they need two more participants who both vote Yes, yielding 9/12 support.

Bolden had an uphill climb in the process, but finally got elected. Another one on the master list from this side of the project who will be on the 1971 Contributor's ballot is William Dismukes. He spent enough time as a contributor in the Negro Leagues that I'm a bit surprised I overlooked him. Fowler's presence on the contributor's ballot is solely for his status as a pioneer.

[dgarza]

Willard "Home Run" Brown
Rube Foster
William “Judy” Johnson
Cumberland Posey
Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe
Chino Smith

[SavoyBG]

Chet Brewer
Rube Foster
Judy Johnson
John "Buck" O'Neill
Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe
Ben Taylor
Quincy Trouppe

[Ace Venom]

Willard Brown
Perucho Cepeda
Rube Foster
Bud Fowler
Vic Harris
Judy Johnson
Dobie Moore
Buck O'Neill
Ted Radcliffe
Ben Taylor
Quincy Trouppe

[PVNICK]

Chet Brewer
Willard Brown
Rube Foster
Vic Harris
Judy Johnson
Dobie Moore
John "Buck" O'Neill
Cumberland Posey
Ted Radcliffe

[jalbright]

Willard Brown
Perucho Cepeda
Dobie Moore
Chino Smith
Quincy Trouppe

[Domenic]

Chet Brewer
Willard Brown
Perucho Cepeda
Rube Foster
Judy Johnson
John "Buck" O'Neill
Ted Radcliffe
Ben Taylor
Quincy Trouppe

[leecemark]

Ben Taylor

[Cowtipper]

Perucho Cepeda
Rube Foster
Bud Fowler
Vic Harris
Judy Johnson
Buck O'Neil
Chino Smith
Ben Taylor

[jjpm74]

Ballot:

Willard Brown
Perucho Cepeda
Bill Jackman
Dobie Moore
Chino Smith
Quincy Trouppe

[Ace Venom]

I just sent a PM reminder to Captain Cold Nose and Brad Harris. I would have sent one to Paul Wendt, but his box is full.

[Ace Venom]

We only had nine people vote. I'm not really sure what to make of this. We only had ten voters report for the Contributor elections. I thought this would have been a good year to examine the cause of holdovers before I sent this ballot to the regular VC for 1970. But when I repeatedly send out PM reminders to people and they don't vote, I know it's time to make new list of alternate VC members to deal with these situations. I realize people are busy, but if I have to have a list of alternates to get a fair election (at least 12), I'm going to ask for alternate voters. How it would work is an alternate voter would post a ballot during the course of the election and if we did not get at least 12 votes, the alternate ballots would be counted first by the time they were posted and only as many it would take to get to 12 would be counted.

We don't have to elect anyone in these elections, but I'm not sure if I consider this ballot very fair or representative even though it stands and I honor the will of the electorate that bothered to participate. I did the same with the Contributor's election last time and due to the short participation (10 out of 12), we may have unfairly elected more than we should have in that election. There's a greater risk of mistakes slipping in if less people participate. I still have to count the ballots as they stand. Here are those results.

Nine Ballots Cast, Seven Votes Required
Willard Brown: 6 Votes
Rube Foster: 6 Votes
Judy Johnson: 6 Votes
Perucho Cepeda: 5 Votes
Buck O'Neill: 5 Votes
Ted Radcliffe: 5 Votes
Ben Taylor: 5 Votes
Quincy Trouppe: 5 Votes
Dobie Moore: 4 Votes
Chino Smith: 4 Votes
Chet Brewer: 3 Votes
Vic Harris: 3 Votes
Bud Fowler: 2 Votes
Cumberland Posey: 2 Votes

As it stands here, we didn't have to worry about a short list electing more people than I would have expected with 12 votes, which would have been one at the most. As it stands, three candidates were only one vote away from election. I'm not going to bother tallying up percents right now, but this is how it stands.

[jjpm74]

We don't have to elect anyone in these elections, but I'm not sure if I consider this ballot very fair or representative even though it stands and I honor the will of the electorate that bothered to participate. I did the same with the Contributor's election last time and due to the short participation (10 out of 12), we may have unfairly elected more than we should have in that election. There's a greater risk of mistakes slipping in if less people participate. I still have to count the ballots as they stand. Here are those results.

Why are you using a percentage system? You have a 12 person committee. That means a player or contributor should have to be named on nine ballots regardless of the number of people on the committee participating in a given cycle in order to reach a quorum. You are making more work for yourself than needed and risk turning the VC side of this project into a joke if you always go by 75% of the total number of ballots cast. Each of these players should be 3 votes shy, not 1.

Also, Brad Harris appears to have disappeared from the site once again, so he should probably be removed from the 3 VC committees either way.

[Ace Venom]

Why are you using a percentage system? You have a 12 person committee. That means a player or contributor should have to be named on nine ballots regardless of the number of people on the committee participating in a given cycle in order to reach a quorum. You are making more work for yourself than needed and risk turning the VC side of this project into a joke if you always go by 75% of the total number of ballots cast. Each of these players should be 3 votes shy, not 1.

It's more of a joke without people participating, which is the underlying problem I've been having. We go with percentages in the regular election, so I see no reason to not apply that system in the VC. There are more than 12 members of the regular VC (and this one, but only about 12 or 11 regularly participate in any given cycle), so saying "just nine" does not account for 75% of the vote. If you as a participant don't want anyone on the ballot elected, then it's your responsibility to cast a blank ballot with a simple explanation. The blank vote can then be counted properly.

[Fielding Marshall]

I would be willing to become an alternate VC member.

[jjpm74]

It's more of a joke without people participating, which is the underlying problem I've been having. We go with percentages in the regular election, so I see no reason to not apply that system in the VC. There are more than 12 members of the regular VC (and this one, but only about 12 or 11 regularly participate in any given cycle), so saying "just nine" does not account for 75% of the vote. If you as a participant don't want anyone on the ballot elected, then it's your responsibility to cast a blank ballot with a simple explanation. The blank vote can then be counted properly.

Apples and oranges. The regular elections are open to anyone who is a member of this site in good standing. The VC is a committee. Committee's regularly have votes that require a quorum. If this committee's size is 12 members, and you want a 75% threshold, there should be a required set minimum of participation for election that is reasonably close to the actual number of committee members. If you only had 4 people vote and 3 of them named Judy Johnson, would you have counted him as elected?

These side projects only run for a week and are not pinned, so it is very easy to overlook them. It is also hard to get people to make a commitment to be around to cast a vote in that narrow time frame. Maybe you can extend the voting to 2 weeks and arrange to have the thread pinned for at least part of that time and send a reminder email when there's only 2-3 days remaining to those who have not cast a ballot, or extend the VC to a larger pool of people and only count the 1st 12 who cast a ballot out of 14 or 16 or whatever number that is set.

On a side note, if a long time active participant in this project like fielding marshall wants to be on the VC, then why not add him and drop Brad Harris who is MIA or AG2004 who is incredibly busy and doesn't always get to look at this site on a regular basis instead of adding him as an alternate? It makes sense to include people who are going to be around over people who have full inboxes and rarely participate.

[Ace Venom]

Apples and oranges. The regular elections are open to anyone who is a member of this site in good standing. The VC is a committee. Committee's regularly have votes that require a quorum. If this committee's size is 12 members, and you want a 75% threshold, there should be a required set minimum of participation for election that is reasonably close to the actual number of committee members. If you only had 4 people vote and 3 of them named Judy Johnson, would you have counted him as elected?

I hadn't necessarily specified that I've been going by percentages, but I've also had difficulty getting 12 votes despite sending email reminders. Going by pure percentages, Johnson would have been in. I have to count what's there, but I've also never had a problem where only four people voted. I would probably just run the election over again if I didn't at least get nine participants.

These side projects only run for a week and are not pinned, so it is very easy to overlook them. It is also hard to get people to make a commitment to be around to cast a vote in that narrow time frame. Maybe you can extend the voting to 2 weeks and arrange to have the thread pinned for at least part of that time and send a reminder email when there's only 2-3 days remaining to those who have not cast a ballot, or extend the VC to a larger pool of people and only count the 1st 12 who cast a ballot out of 14 or 16 or whatever number that is set.

I do send out email reminders. This side of the project has been notorious for lack of participation, which only serves to convince me that it needs to be closed. There simply isn't enough interest. I don't see how fair it is to only count the first 12 either. You can see how that blew up with the Sam Rice episode back in 1955. I decided to go with the percentage count because it's the only way to get this project to work without much dispute.

On a side note, if a long time active participant in this project like fielding marshall wants to be on the VC, then why not add him and drop Brad Harris who is MIA or AG2004 who is incredibly busy and doesn't always get to look at this site on a regular basis instead of adding him as an alternate? It makes sense to include people who are going to be around over people who have full inboxes and rarely participate.

If he wants to be on the regular VC, I have no problem including him. I honestly miss some of the input from previous participants like Matt because I could count on them to participate in the elections. I put in a lot of work every week getting the new ballots up and encouraging discussions, so when there are problems with low participation on the VC, they need to be fixed. This election is proof of it and I would have put all the top three in if they had seven votes simply because it's the system I've been using. Elections percentages aren't counted against the entire pool of eligible voters, but against those who voted.

[jjpm74]

I do send out email reminders. This side of the project has been notorious for lack of participation, which only serves to convince me that it needs to be closed. There simply isn't enough interest. I don't see how fair it is to only count the first 12 either. You can see how that blew up with the Sam Rice episode back in 1955. I decided to go with the percentage count because it's the only way to get this project to work without much dispute.

Unfortunately, the lack of overall interest in this end of the project is not unique to this project. It is the case across the board. When I was working on the top 200 pitcher's project, I saw almost no participation at all when I ran the Negro League poll whereas I saw an average of 25-40 participants for the MLB polls, with the 19th century side seeing the weakest turnout and the active players seeing the strongest turnout. The vast majority of people who visit this forum, know little about Negro League players and don't feel confident enough to weigh in on their HOF cases. That is amplified when you get to the Dobie Moore and Quincy Trouppe's of the world who the few who are "experts" consider to be borderline cases. Personally, I was basing my voting trends on the writings of jalbright + some of the resource threads in the Negro League forums and the HOM threads about these players. I have no idea if the players who received 2 or more votes this time around would have been HOF players if they had a fair shake in MLB, however.

The next VC election year is 1970 which is at that point 24 seasons beyond the year Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, so I agree that at this point, it is a good idea to roll the candidates who received 2 or more votes into the general VC player's pool. IMO, this end ran its course in 1962, but I can see why you wanted to go one more time through to see if anyone was overlooked.

If/when the time comes to look at and vote on international players, particularly guys like Omar Linares, and Victor Starfin who played in Cuba and Japan respectively, maybe you could do 1 special vote, then a second round to roll over the players who had support, but were not elected via the special election into the general VC so that you don't see a similar turnout.

[DoubleX]

You might get a better voter turnout if you consolidate this with the regular VC players election. You still have two separate ballots, just run the elections simultaneously, and thus voters will be in the same place. Or if you're satisfied that we've done a thorough job with the Negro Leagues, and given that there won't be anymore players becoming eligible for Negro League elections going forward, might be best to just put the Negro League candidates into the same pool as the rest of the VC players and have one election.

[jalbright]

I'd say the declining interest suggests it's time to consolidate the VC player lists into one--besides, given the number of times we've made special room for the Negro Leaguers, isn't it about time to treat them on an equal footing with the major leaguers?

[Paul Wendt]

We only had nine people vote.
...
Nine Ballots Cast, Seven Votes Required
Willard Brown: 6 Votes
Rube Foster: 6 Votes
Judy Johnson: 6 Votes
...
As it stands here, we didn't have to worry about a short list electing more people than I would have expected with 12 votes, which would have been one at the most. As it stands, three candidates were only one vote away from election.

I was out of the system for almost 6 days after something interrupted my two-year-old login a week ago.

In one way Brown, Foster, and Johnson were "one vote away": one switch from No to Yes. On the other hand, a Yes from one of the absent panelists, or Yesses from two of us, would still leave them short with 7 of 10 or 8 of 11.

[Fielding Marshall]

On a side note, if a long time active participant in this project like fielding marshall wants to be on the VC, then why not add him and drop Brad Harris who is MIA or AG2004 who is incredibly busy and doesn't always get to look at this site on a regular basis instead of adding him as an alternate? It makes sense to include people who are going to be around over people who have full inboxes and rarely participate.

If there are spots open on VC, I would be more than willing to participate.

(Brad Harris? Where have you gone?)