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Originally Posted by Harliduck

Here is a great exert from an article found on Sabr, you guys nailed it -

Hafey was elected to the Hall that year along with Dave Bancroft, Jake Beckley, Joe Kelley, Rube Marquard, and Harry Hooper. Subsequently, many of the selections made by the Veterans Committee, especially during this era, were seen as acts of cronyism, that honorees owed their selection to having been teammates of committee members like Frankie Frisch and Bill Terry rather than being based on merit. Controversy over admission of players chosen in this manner, including Hafey, continues to this day.[17] What gets lost in the continuing dialogue on this matter, at least with respect to Hafey, is that for several years he was one of the most respected players in the National League. He played on a par with the likes of Hornsby, Terry, and Waner – and that is what ought to be remembered.

Full article here...its a great piece -

http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/96ae4951

Check out the paragraph before this and you'll see Hafey was honored -- like Elmer Flick (gastritis) -- partly for what might have been had his eyesight not deteriorated.