Harry Wright
Babe Ruth
Jackie Robinson

Cobb
Ruth
Jackie

The Kelly vs Anson debate is interesting. I don't see a single way in which Kelly was more important than Anson. Anson predated Kelly and lasted longer than him and was by nearly every metric the superior ballplayer and the 1st to get 3000 hits. I think people are looking for someone to replace Anson due to his dubious place in history but he was Kelly's better in every way on the field. One could argue maybe Harry or George Wright could be a more significant 19th century representative, but not Kelly.

While I agree that Anson had a longer and much more successful career than King Kelly, I don't know if that means he was more important to baseball. Kelly helped popularize the sport as much as anyone and was more innovative.

From his SABR bio: In Slide, Kelly, Slide, a biography of Kelly, author Marty Appel quotes early baseball historian Maclean Kennedy about Kelly’s baseball prowess. Kennedy saw Kelly play, and wrote, “There was never a better or more brilliant player. Colorful beyond description, he was the light and the life of the game. … He was one of the quickest thinkers that ever took a signal. He originated more trick plays than all players put together. … As a drawing card, he was the greatest of his time."

There is a reason why he was the first $10,000 player--owners knew his draw at the park would made it a good investment.

In 1889 a song called “Slide, Kelly Slide,” sold millions of copies of sheet music. Later, in 1892, when early recording techniques allowed for songs to be reproduced, “Slide, Kelly Slide” became America’s first hit record and remained popular into the 1920s.

Further from his SABR bio: "Kelly did as much as any other player to popularize professional baseball in the nineteenth century. His popularity transcended the game and became part of popular culture. He had a large effect on the game. It was said that half the rules in the baseball rulebook were rewritten to keep Kelly from taking advantage of loopholes. He played the game with gusto and looked for every edge he could get to win, and his teams won eight championships in 16 years. We are not likely to see a player like King Kelly again."

Could make a strong argument for mantle. So many worship him to this day. Obviously his king of the hobby.

I agree with this. It boils down to what metric one is using. From the perspective of popularizing the game, IMO Kelly had more of an influence than Anson.

Regarding Joe Jackson- his exclusion from the hall of fame is a huge part of his fame and notoriety. At this point, considering he and likely all his immediate next of kin and everyone who ever saw him play are dead, his legacy may actually be better preserved/honored by keeping him out and keeping the legend of the black sox scandal alive and well. Moreover, his career was cut short because of the ban. Who knows what he would have done with a full career. The continued exclusion validates that (not sure that’s the right word, but I hope you get my point that putting him the HOF would discount what his career would have been had he had a full career).

Thus, at this point, I think it would almost be wrong to Joe to put him the HOF; it would dilute or alter his legacy which is rightly and currently larger than the typical tier 1 HOFer

Ryan, your reasoning sounds a lot like what I think about the declaration that the Negro Leagues are Major Leagues and the inclusion of Negro League statistics in the official record. No, the Negro Leagues were not Major Leagues - they were created because Blacks were excluded from the Major Leagues, that is the whole point. Posthumously pretending they weren't doesn't help them, and it shouldn't assuage anyone's conscience either. And cobbling together a few box scores to pretend we know how many home runs Josh Gibson hit in 1938 doesn't help his legend either, it diminishes it. We are better off accepting that they were excluded, that it was unjust, and that we will never really know how good they were or what they could have accomplished.

Article
 

I thought this was interesting: https://www.sportworldnews.org/boxin...e-final-top10/

Reflecting on this some more I think to be one of the three most important players your fame needs to transcend the sport. You have to be known to people who know nothing about baseball. To me that makes it clear that it is Ruth, Robinson and DiMaggio. While players like Mantle, Mays and Cobb were great, they really weren't household names outside of baseball. DiMaggio may not has been as great as Mays but he was certainly better known.

Interesting take. "Tom Brady has won multiple Super Bowls and established himself as one of football's most iconic faces. His professionalism and consistency inspired many young players and helped make football one of the most popular sports in America." As if Football wasn't 'one of the most popular spots in America' decades before Brady.

I completely agree with your thoughts and immediately felt the same way when the question was first posed. I don't think DiMaggio qualifies at this point in the game, however. If we had been asked this question 50-75 years ago, sure, but Joe D's potential place on this list has faded with time. Ruth and Robinson simply can't be argued to me. I chose Branch Rickey as my third because there would be no Robinson without him, and he was a player himself. I didn't mind letting him in on that technicality simply for the sheer magnitude of what he did later on.

It just dawned on me: has nobody mentioned Ted Williams?! He led a uniquely remarkable life in and out of the game. He might be a contender.

And just think how even more popular football will become now that Travis Kelce is linked to Taylor Swiftypants.

Brian

The cute thing is to make a name for them, as a couple. Like Brangelina.

I nominate "Traylor" for these two.

It's hard to argue with that list, although my similar list that first came to mind was:

Cobb
Ruth
Clemente

You make a good point. For a long time DiMaggio's link to Marilyn Monroe, not to mention Mr Coffee and the Bowery Savings Bank, kept him a household name. However, since his passing his fame has faded somewhat. It is really a testament to Ruth and Robinson that their fame continues. I don't think Rickey should be on the list--very few in the general public know of him. I also don't think the Cobbs and the Wagners of the world ever deserved to be on the list. Perhaps the answer is that three was an arbitrary number and there is Ruth and Robinson and then no one else close.

Overall responses on this thread seem to support that (although I haven't done an actual tally). A poll would be interesting...

Ruth-There can be no one else at Number 1
Jackie Robinson
Mickey Mantle-he was the 1950's and who's post war cards bring the most money. He's and icon and folk hero.

Agreed. Seems near unanimous that Ruth and Robinson are 1 & 2 (I think in that order).

Regarding 3, I think it has to be either Cobb or Mantle.

While there are others who were important (Ricky) and/or bigger than life in their time (King Kelly), if asked to name 3 players who stopped playing before 1980, I think your average person would say Ruth, Robinson and then either Cobb or Mantle; maybe Mays or Aaron.

101%

King Kelly
Ty Cobb
Babe Ruth