Honor Rolls of Baseball

[Paul Wendt]

In 1946 the Permanent Committee, a.k.a. Old-Timers Committee, elected 11 players to the Hall of Fame and also named 39 baseball persons to the "Honor Rolls of Baseball" or "Rolls of Honor". They named 12 writers, 11 executives, 11 umpires, and 5 managers, with those labels, whereas the only Hall of Fame members with any special designation at that time were the original "builders of baseball" elected by the Centennial Commission.

See "Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 1946" at wikipedia, "Old-Timers Committee" section, for marvelous coverage of both that controversial Hall of Fame election and of the Rolls of Honor.

For my own brief coverage of three categories see the appropriate threads here at BBF Hall of Fame forum.
Honor Rolls of Baseball - 11 umpires
Honor Rolls of Baseball - 11 executives
Honor Rolls of Baseball - 5 managers

That leaves the twelve writers. Two of them, Mercer and Murnane (italics) later received the Spink Award.

1946 Honor Roll - Writers
Walter S. Barnes (Boston)
Harry Cross (New York)
William B. Hanna (New York)
Frank Hough (Philadelphia)
Sid Mercer (New York)
Tim Murnane (Boston)
Frank Richter (Philadelphia)
Sy Sanborn (Chicago)
John B. Sheridan (St. Louis)
Bill Slocum (New York)
G. Otto Tidden (New York)
Joe Vila (New York)

Wikipedia has entries for only two of these twelve writers(!).
- Frank Richter was publisher and editor of Sporting Life where he not only covered baseball but hired many daily newspaper writers as correspondents, and he was involved in organizing some major leagues and clubs. It's hard to believe he didn't get a Spink Award.
- Tim Murnane played in the majors, organized and led a Union Association club, organized and led important minor leagues, served on the National Board of Arbitration, and helped organize the BBWAA. All that beside 30 years covering baseball for the Boston Globe.
- The rank and file baseball writers, even those recognized on the 1946 honor roll, still need basic coverage at wikipedia.

"Meet the Sportswriters" by Bill Burgess, at BBF History forum, covers hundreds of baseball writers including all twelve honored officially in 1946. For most of them Burgess provides biographical data, a prose blurb, photographs, and images of obituaries or commemorative articles.
add: Don't miss it if you care about sportswriters. Even then you might pick up some useful research tips.

Comments here in the BBF Hall of Fame forum show that many participants favor something like the Honor Rolls, or at least they wish that the Honor Rolls had been supported and continued after 1946.

[jjpm74]

I've studied the umpires and still don't see why any minus 1 or 2 innovators belongs. Besides for longevity, I have no clear picture of what makes one umpire more qualified than others.

Doug Harvey is in a position to potentially become a member of the HOF when the VC next convenes for umpires. He was well respected by his peers, but I don't remember anyone making and comments about his game calling ability or what might have made him an elite umpire deserving of the HOF.

I also don't understand why executives, announcers, managers and umpires get HOF consideration through various means but scouts and coaches don't. Why not aa pitching coach like Mel Stottlemyre who seemed to have a big impact on whatever team he coached for? Why not Tony Lucadello, the scout credited with discovering more guys to go on to major league careers and the guy who helped modernize the role of a scout? What about meritorious candidates: someone like Buck O'Neil who served as the NeL ambassador for the game or Doc Adams the guy credited with helping define the game of baseball? What about guys like Bill James? They've done more for the game than any announcer yet they don't get consideration for inclusion in the HOF.

While it is impossible to turn back the clock, it'd be nice to see the HOF take the necessary steps to start either inducting people from these other peripheral but important roles in the game or to stop inducting umpires and executives and eliminate the announcer's award as a parallel honor for the HOF.

[Paul Wendt]

Writers

Three of the four categories have been official categories of Hall of Fame members since 1953.

That leaves the twelve writers. Two of them, Mercer and Murnane later received the Spink Award. ...

update in progress

1946 Honor Roll - Writers
Walter S. Barnes (Boston)
Harry Cross (New York)
William B. Hanna (New York)
Frank Hough (Philadelphia)
Sid Mercer (New York) -- -- -- Spink Award
Tim Murnane (Boston) -- -- -- Spink Award
Frank Richter (Philadelphia) -- member, Baseball Fever Hall of Fame; member, Best of Baseball (both at BBF Hall of Fame forum)
Sy Sanborn (Chicago)
John B. Sheridan (St. Louis)
Bill Slocum (New York)
G. Otto Tidden (New York)
Joe Vila (New York)

Wikipedia has entries for only two of these twelve writers(!).

- Frank Richter was publisher and editor of Sporting Life where he not only covered baseball but hired many daily newspaper writers as correspondents, and he was involved in organizing some major leagues and clubs. It's hard to believe he didn't get a Spink Award.
- Tim Murnane played in the majors, organized and led a Union Association club, organized and led important minor leagues, served on the National Board of Arbitration, and helped organize the BBWAA. All that beside 30 years covering baseball for the Boston Globe.
- The rank and file baseball writers, even those recognized on the 1946 honor roll, still need basic coverage at wikipedia.

update in progress