OT: What were the most Hall of Famers to play in a single game?
 

I don't know the answer but would love to find out.

I am selling some old Yankee scorecards that I recently picked up. I was shocked to see some of the lineups back in the old days. One of the scorecards that I have was from a game between the NY Yankees & Philadelphia Athletics which took place back in 1928.

There were 10 Hall of Famers that played in the game. I think that's incredible. It got me thinking about the most Hall of Famers in 1 game. I googled my question but have yet to find the answer.

In case you are curious, here are the 10 Hall of Famers that played in this game.

Babe Ruth
Lou Gehrig
Tony Lazzeri
Leo Durocher
Earle Combs
Waite Hoyt
Mickey Cochrane
Eddie Collins
Al Simmons
Jimmie Foxx

What's even more mind boggling was that there were 5 other Hall of Famers on the two teams who did not play in that game.

Ty Cobb
Tris Speaker
Lefty Grove
Bill Dickey
Herb Pennock

There is even more:
Miller Huggins - Manager
Connie Mack - Manager
Bill McGowan - Umpire

So, between the 2 teams (plus the umpire) on this particular day there were 18 future Hall of Famers. Do you think that will ever happen again?

I think because of free agency the potential is there for more than 10 HOF to have played in one game and perhaps have more than 15 on the two combined rosters. I think back to some of the late eighties stars who hung on too long and bounced around and think their must have been a matchup or two that compares to get to ten.

That said, I don't think you will find any where the star power of your example will even be approached. That is some list!!!

not sure if this is the answer, but on april 20, 1939, the yankees played the red sox. the box score includes ...

red ruffing
joe gordon
bill dickey
lou gehrig
joe dimaggio
lefty grove
bobby doerr
ted williams
joe cronon
jimmie foxx

ruffing and grove both went the distance; ruffing won 2-0.

yankees also had hof pitcher lefty gomez.

It'd be interesting to find the World Series game with the most.

My knee-jerk reaction would be to focus on the 1950s matchups between Brooklyn and the Yankees.

Mantle, Ford, DiMaggio(only '51), Berra, Ford, Mize?, Rizzuto?

Jackie, Snider, Campanella, Reese

I'm not sure how many of these played even in the same year...obviously, DiMaggio was only in '51.

Players in the 20s and 30s were liberally represented in the hall of fame so I don't know that it's likely. Someone like Tommy John or Jim Kaat were probably better than Grimes, Hoyt, Pennock and even Gomez. There was half the number of teams which would lead to a greater dilution of hall of famers in the modern game. I don't know if the game you sited is the one with the most hall of famers or not (not including All Star games of course) but I am pretty sure you'd need to look pre expansion and the 1920 or 30s seems like a good bet. I don't think the very good Cubs teams of the early 20th century ever had more than four HOFers on the team any one time and I would imagine that was the most or close to the most of the deadball era.

The Giants of the 20s and 30s were absurdly over represented in the hall of fame. The 1924 Giants had the following HOFers on the roster:

Highpockets Kelly
Frankie Frisch
Travis Jackson
Hack Wilson
Ross Youngs
Bill Terry
Freddie Linstrom

and they were managed by BOTH John McGraw and Hughie Jennings.

Looking up Giants WS games. Here's game 2 of 1923:

Dave Bancroft
Frisch
Youngs
Casey Stengel (!)
Kelly
Jackson
Babe Ruth
Herb Pennock

Okay, so no record there.

Other likely candidates:

Game 1, 1927 world series:

Combs
Ruth
Gehrig
Lazzeri
Hoyt
Waner #1
Waner #2 (their mom must have been so proud)
and Pie Traynor

Game 2, 1928:

Frisch
Bottomly
Hafey
Maranville
Alexander
Ruth
Gehrig
Lazzeri
Leo Durocher (playing 2B)

Game 3 is the same except swap out Alexander for Haines.
Okay, got it beat, game 4 1928. All of the position players above, plus Alexander and Hoyt. That's ten.

1956 game 3:
Reese
Snider
Robinson
Campanella
Mantle
Berra
Slaughter
Ford

Okay, game 4 of 1928 is the best that I've got. Founds bunches world series games with eight HOFers, only one with ten so far.

I do believe the correct answer is thirteen (13)

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1...241PHA1928.htm

In the first game of the May 24th double header the following players actually played

Philadelphia

Cobb, Ty
Speaker, Tris
Cochrane, Mickey
Simmon, Al
Collins, Eddie
Grove, Lefty
Foxx, Jimmy

New York

Combs, Earle
Durocher, Leo
Ruth, Babe
Gehrig, Lou
Lazzeri, Tony
Hoyt, Waite

In addition

Both teams had HOF managers and two HOF umpires worked the game.
Pennock was a Yankee but did not play.

Curious, You didn't mention All Star Games...

"Do THeY Count!?!?"

Frank,

Thanks for reminding me about the managers & umpires.

Including Miller Huggins, Connie Mack & Bill McGowan (Umpire), there were actually 18 future Hall of Famers that participated in that game.

5.68% of the total members of the HOF participated in that game.:D

The 1924 Giants were loaded with HOFers, however, this is the year the Senators won their only championship. These 12 HOFers played in both Games 1 and 7 of the 1924 World Series:

Senators-4: WaJo, Bucky Harris, Rice, & Goslin.

Giants-8: Fritsch, T. Jackson, Terry, Kelly, Youngs, Lindstrom, Hack Wilson, & Southworth.

Bill James attributes Frankie Frisch's tenure on the Veterans Committee to the glut of Giants and Cardinals teammates who were elected. He was very loyal.

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The Frisch Effect - from Wikipedia:

A number of years after Frisch left the playing field as a manager, he became a member of the Hall of Fame's Committee on Baseball Veterans, which is responsible for electing players to the Hall of Fame who had not been elected during their initial period of eligibility by the Baseball Writers; he later became chairman of the committee. In the years just prior to his death, a number of Frisch's Giants and Cardinals teammates were elected to the Hall; some notable writers, chiefly among them Bill James, have criticized these selections – including Jesse Haines, Dave Bancroft, Chick Hafey, Rube Marquard, Ross Youngs and George Kelly – which include some of the most widely questioned honorees in the Hall's history. Critics have complained that many of these selectees had accomplishments which were less outstanding than those of other players who were bypassed, and were only selected because of Frisch's influence.

Well you just said 'games'

Im sure there were some all star games that had more HOFs..

I think the 1971 All Star Game may have set the record for HOFers.

That's the one perhaps most famous for Reggie Jackson's Blast off the light standard. Think I heard that on MLB Network a few years ago, FWIW.

All Star games probably did have more Hall of Famers but I was referring to regular season games.

I wonder which All Star game had the most. A better question would be whether there was any All Star game that had no Hall of Famers. I would have to be one in which none of the players are active anymore.