Snubbed, but never forgotten

jackrussell

Last of the Duke Street Kings
Messages
4,165
Reaction score
1
Remember Willie Keeler...Pie Traynor? Or perhaps you could give us the low down on Arnie Herber or George Trafton. Not ringing a bell is it? I'm with you there.

Here's a few more....Shoeless Joe Jackson...Pete Rose......Bob Hayes......Art Monk. Oh yeah, a smattering of a few guys that many feel have been slighted in the Hall of Fame induction process. We all know these guys....and probably will for an eternity...especially if they're never selected by their respective HOF selection committees.

We'll talk and debate, we'll petition and protest, we'll campaign and perhaps spend the rest of our days questioning the powers that be as to why, oh why, do these injustices continue to persist.

And the thing is, this isn't neccessarily a bad thing. We may have our own agendas as to why we feel our certain favorites should be given the final honor of their professions, of which one should not be would be of a personal issue, as I believe those are reserved for the parties directly involved.

There are mini industries built around Shoeless Joe and Pete Rose.......movies, web sites, books, yearly reminders from the media of who and how great these players were.

Each time Hayes and Monk are passed over, the outpouring of their fandoms can be overwhelming. Each meaningful stat and circumstance that surrounded their careers will be hashed and rehashed....an endless reminder to those that knew of them..and an education to those young'ens that didn't.

We'll never hear the end of them...that is...until they're elected to the HOF. Once past the pomp and pageantry, they become like the rest of them...bronze busts and plaques lined up in their endless rows...stopped by occasionally for a photo op by a fan or a feather mopping by a custodian. But 25, perhaps 50 years from now....those that pass through the hallowed halls of Cooperstown and Canton..will simply walk on by these dedicated monuments of great men.....and Shoeless Joe and Pete just become Willie and Pie...Hayes and Monk settle in their dark corners with Herber and Trafton.

Omission keeps the flame eternal...inclusion brings on the dust and tumbleweeds.
 
Top