Pre War Era Players you don't see in HOF discussions

[GeoPoto]

I'm a big fan of Cecil Travis, but his HoF case is difficult. You would have to include a "cosmic constant" evaluation adjustment factor to address his time and health sacrificed to service of his country. He just didn't get to play enough to support inclusion in the HoF. While dying young may have boosted support among voters for a candidate or two, the voters have avoided players with only half a career, regardless of why they didn't play longer.

There seems to be more support now days (at least in the media) for including players with very high peak performances even if they were not able to extend their career as well as others. Koufax would be an early example of this; Joe Mauer might be an ongoing one. Cecil Travis did not have a peak as "fantastic" as Koufax, or Mauer, while he was a catcher. Travis had one-half of a HoF career, but that is it. While it is reasonable to assume that he would have kept it up if the war had not occurred, it is still just an assumption. Assumptions make tricky selection criteria.