Gil Hodges

[Brianruns10]

Why do you suppose Ted Williams did what he did to keep Hodges out of the HoF years ago? Hodges seemingly had such a great reputation, being well liked, but did Williams have a grudge against him? Or against Campanella, whose vote he threw out on that technicality?

Glad that the wrong has been righted. Hodges deserved induction years ago.

[flpm08]

I posted on the Hall of Fame selection thread. I was extremely happy to see that Gil Hodges finally made the Hall Of Fame. Growing up in New Jersey in the late 1940s and 1950s the Dodgers were a fixture on WOR Channel 9. The Boys of Summer now have five starters in the HOF, Reese, Robinson, Campy, Duke and Hodges. I am sure that Doris Kearns Goodwin who wrote that classic Brooklyn Dodger story, Wait 'Till Next Year, is very happy. I remember that it was in that book where she mentioned that Gil's parish priest asked his parishioners to pray for an end of his slump as recalled in an earlier comment. Not only an extremely good baseball player on a very good team but a fine human being.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by Brianruns10

Why do you suppose Ted Williams did what he did to keep Hodges out of the HoF years ago? Hodges seemingly had such a great reputation, being well liked, but did Williams have a grudge against him? Or against Campanella, whose vote he threw out on that technicality?

Glad that the wrong has been righted. Hodges deserved induction years ago.

I don’t think it’s that Williams was being mean or didn’t like one of them. The rules at that time mandated him to make that ruling; all votes had to be cast in person in the rules. As Chairman (or whatever the formal title was, I forget), Williams simply ruled to follow the rules. I don’t think that should have been the rule, but I think Williams gets a bad rap here.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by G1911

I don’t think it’s that Williams was being mean or didn’t like one of them. The rules at that time mandated him to make that ruling; all votes had to be cast in person in the rules. As Chairman (or whatever the formal title was, I forget), Williams simply ruled to follow the rules. I don’t think that should have been the rule, but I think Williams gets a bad rap here.

Since Campenella was unable to make it due to health reasons, they should have had an alternate to bid in his place then. Not doing so was unfair to all the candidates, and a poor move by whoever was running things and made the rules, and not on Williams. And that was extremely disrespectful to Campenella as well, not letting his votes count like that, and him being so ill.