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Originally Posted by Seven
As a complete side note, it's a damn shame what happened to Matty. Served his country, received complications from it, and unfortunately passed away from said complications. A tragedy, that he never saw himself being inducted into the Hall.
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I realize Christy Mathewson passed away before the Hall of Fame existed, but too many players are inducted posthumously. Players like Harry Heilmann, Arky Vaughan, Mordecai Brown, and influential people like Branch Rickey did not get the joy of induction, and the fans were deprived of seeing their speeches. Gil Hodges and Minnie Minoso are not clear cut candidates, but I wish they had gotten in during their lifetimes. And of course so many great Negro League players had passed before induction. It's a shame.
I would note that while Ty Cobb wasn't the most popular teammate, he did help Wahoo Sam Crawford get elected before he passed.
For years, Cobb wrote letters pushing for his old teammate to be elected. Sam finally got in in 1957, and when he saw Cobb on the porch of the Otesaga Hotel in Cooperstown during his induction weekend, Wahoo Sam embraced his old teammate, and thanked him for his efforts.