Rules for Old Timer HOF Committee

[GehrigFan]

I was looking through my cards and came across one that I have always liked because he's a common, but his stats are HOF caliber... an 1887 Buchner Gold Coin Jimmy Ryan. I know he has been mentioned before on the board, as his stats are far superior to tons of people in the HOF currently, but he was a crotchety old guy that got in a lot of fights which doesn't help his case. Some stats = .308 average, 2513 hits, 1093 RBI, 419 SB, 1643 Runs, etc.

But my question is actually regarding what the rules are for guys like this. Are they eligible indefinitely, or are there only a certain number of years they can be voted in by the Old Timer Committee before they drop off and are ineligible? How often do 19th century players ever get voted in now, say in the last 20 years or so, or does it really not happen if they went this long without getting in?

[slidekellyslide]

There is something called The Pre-Integration Committee...they elected Hank O'Day, Jacob Rupert and Deacon White to the HOF in 2012.

[z28jd]

The pre-integration committee meets every three years and votes on a ballot of ten players. Next voting is in 2015 and with the three guys off the ballot mentioned above, that means three new ones will likely join the seven returning names, which are:

Bill Dahlen
Marty Marion
Tony Mullane
Al Reach
Wes Ferrell
Bucky Walters
Samuel Breadon

Jimmy Ryan would be a pretty good choice to add to the list, but there are plenty of other names to consider too, especially since it's not just players.

[bender07]

The pre-integration committee meets every three years and votes on a ballot of ten players. Next voting is in 2015 and with the three guys off the ballot mentioned above, that means three new ones will likely join the seven returning names, which are:

Bill Dahlen
Marty Marion
Tony Mullane
Al Reach
Wes Ferrell
Bucky Walters
Samuel Breadon

Jimmy Ryan would be a pretty good choice to add to the list, but there are plenty of other names to consider too, especially since it's not just players.

So those 7 are automatically included in the next ballot? That's interesting and, honestly, a bit surprising.

[z28jd]

You should have bolded one more word at the beginning...."likely", as in if they were good enough to be on the ballot once, what could they have done to lose their spot after three names are taken off. It is the HOF we are talking about, so common sense doesn't always come out on top. It's always going to be a ten person ballot according to the rules, so you would hope that they are considering who they feel are the ten best candidates, otherwise, what sense would the initial list make. I could come up with seven names that I think are better than those fairly easy.