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Class 13 Hall of Fame – Voters Find Four Worthy of Entry Jim
Bunning, Hoyt Wilhelm, Sam Rice, & Ernie Banks |
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Jim Bunning at the Induction Ceremony
Hoyt Wilhelm
Sam Rice
Induction Day: Ernie Flashes That Irrepressible Smile |
Voting for the TCBA
Players’ Hall of Fame Class 13 concluded this week, with voters
selecting four new members. After rejecting all candidates during the Class
12 voting, participating voters reversed course, sending Bunning, Wilhelm,
Rice and Banks to the hallowed Hall. 99.7% of the eligible ballots were
received, making Class 13 one of the best-attended in TCBA Hall of Fame
ballot history. After
two consecutive elections when no pitchers were chosen, Jim Bunning received overwhelming
support, achieving the 5th highest vote total in the history of
Hall of Fame voting (97.2%). Voters found it difficult to ignore Bunning, who
ranks high on the All-time lists: Wins-#13, ShutOuts-#4, ERA-#7, Strike
Outs-#18, and Complete Games-#19. Bunning spent his entire 17-season career
with Dan Warren’s Norfolk Pilots, taking advantage of the friendly confines
to rack up 257 wins. Bunning led the Pilots to five division titles and three
World Series appearances. The
other pitcher to join Bunning is appropriately a reliever extraordinaire, Hoyt Wilhelm, with 74% of the vote.
The master of the knuckleball appeared in 1027 games, more than any other
pitcher in TCBA history, racking up 222 Saves, 6th All-time.
Wilhelm appeared in four World Series, two each with Fortney and Hyde Park.
He led the Gators to the 1953 championship, and then followed that by helping
Hyde Park to consecutive championships in 1957 and 1958. In all, Wilhelm
pitched for 20 TCBA seasons, sixteen with Hyde Park and four with Fortney. Sam Rice was recognized by the
voters for his accomplishments in TCBA Gold years. Rice played sixteen
seasons with the powerful South Starrucca franchise until being traded to
Long Island during his final season in 1935. After leading the Ainspans to
three division titles and a World Series victory in 1932, Sam helped Long
Island win the division crown in what would be his final season. Rice
collected 2570 hits (#32) and finished with a .339 average, the 11th
best ever. Rice was renowned for his ability to hit triples, hitting 128 in
his career, including 16 in 1923. Achieving
the required 70% with the very last ballot received, Ernie Banks joined the Hall with
70.2% of the vote, once again proving that every vote counts. Banks played
ten full seasons with Bradenton before being traded early in the 1964 season
to Mimosa, where he played for another nine season. Ernie’s 429 home runs and
his 1451 runs batted in each rank 30th on the All-time TCBA list,
great stats for anyone, but awesome for a man who played shortstop for most
of his career. Banks led Bradenton to three division titles and consecutive
league championships in 1959 and 1960. In the 1959 World Series, Banks
clubbed four homers to lead the Buckeyes to a 4-game sweep. Drawing
solid support, but not quite enough, Willie McCovey (63.5%), Paul Molitor
(62.8%), and Hack Wilson (45.9%) will each receive another try, along with
Camilo Pascual and Tino Martinez. The
next Hall of Fame ballot will be Class 13A in March 2015, which will include
players and pitchers who have previously received Hall support, but not
enough for induction. The
vote totals for Class 13 are listed below: CLASS 13 Voting Totals:
Source:
TCBA Encyclopedia |
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