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Six former big league players, three executives and one of the game’s earliest organizers comprise the 10-name Pre-Integration Era ballot to be reviewed and voted upon Dec. 7 at the Baseball Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tenn.
Those with close New York ties are “Doc” Adams (Knickerbocker Base Ball Club) and Bill Dahlen (Brooklyn Superbas).
Adams, and Dahlen, along with Sam Breadon, Wes Ferrell, Garry Herrmann, Marty Marion, Frank McCormick, Harry Stovey, Chris von der Ahe and Bucky Walters are the candidates for Pre-Integration Era Committee consideration for Hall of Fame election for the Class of 2016. Dahlen, Ferrell, Marion, McCormick, Stovey and Walters are included for their contributions as players, while the other four are inclusions for their off-field careers. All candidates are deceased.
Any candidate to 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 24, 2016, along with any electees who emerge from the 2016 Baseball Writers’ Association of America election, to be announced on Jan. 6, 2016.
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 during the time period from baseball’s origins through 1946. Eligible candidates include: Players who played 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.
Adams, Herrmann, McCormick, von der Ahe and Stovey are new additions for consideration by the Pre-Integration Era Committee, which elected Hank O’Day, Jacob Ruppert and Deacon White in December 2012, the last time the Pre-Integration Era Ballot was considered. Tony Mullane and Alfred Reach were previously considered for election in the fall of 2012 but did not return to the 2016 Pre-Integration Era ballot.
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); Jim Henneman (formerly Baltimore Sun); Rick Hummel (St. Louis Post-Dispatch); Steve Hirdt (Elias Sports Bureau); Bill Madden (formerly New York Daily News); Jack O’Connell (BBWAA secretary/treasurer); Jim Reeves (formerly Fort Worth Star-Telegram); Tracy Ringolsby (MLB.com); Glenn Schwarz (formerly San Francisco Chronicle); and Mark Whicker (Los Angeles News Group).
The 16-member Hall of Fame Board-appointed electorate charged with the review of the Pre-Integration Era ballot will be announced later this fall. 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 6-7 in Nashville.
