Pre-war Non-HOFers Worth Collecting

[Irishcollector]

Originally Posted by molenick

I will suggest 19th century outfielder Jimmy Ryan. It's not a travesty that his is not in the Hall of Fame but if he got in, he would be better than several already elected (of his ten most similar players, eight are HOFers). He is somewhere between the fourth and eighth best centerfielder of the 19th century (behind Hamilton, Duffy, and Browning and in the same group as Gore, Griffin, Hines, and Van Haltren). .308 lifetime average, 2513 hits, 1643 runs scored (sixth highest among 19th century players, based on eyeballing the list), and the career assists leader as an outfielder until Speaker passed him in 1924 (he is still third).

Absolutely. This is a great call. To think that Billy Hamilton and Jimmy Ryan grew up in the same town at the same time! Clinton pumped out some great ball players back then!