Bob Feller - Is he a top tier Hall of Famer?

[sniffy5]

I think, rightfully so, many of us quickly assign automatic top-tier status to the early 19th century greats of the game. We love their cards, collect them ravenously, and they were great players. And there are no "but"s about to follow. I think we are somewhat reluctant to grant absolute icon status to a player we have seen play, or played post '40's. DiMaggio and a few others are exceptions of course. Mantle was great, but K'd constantly. Held that record til Reggie came along. Can a top tier player really be the guy who struck out more than anyone? Or just about anyone? I think there is Hall of Fame A, and it is quite small, and Hall of Fame B, and it is very varied and fine the way it is, but has players that don't belong in A. Clearly don't belong.

I think most of the early players thought of as top tier would be somewhat "era proof," meaning they would excel similarly today. I think one player that is completely era-proof is Pete Rose. And I'm not from Cincy and don't spend a second caring if he gets into the Hall. And we all saw him play, and I think he gets 4000+ hits if he's born in 1875 or 1985. Sorry for the digression....

[irishdenny]

I would at least Add:

"BiG Ed" Walsh ~ Lowest ERA of All Time!
Mickey Mantle
Willie Mays
Sandy Koufax

To All of the Above Mention'd... I'm assuming that the Top Tier is at least 50 Players!?

Feller is a Shoe iN!!! imho, "If You were the BEST iN the World for 5 Years... Then You are Top Tier!

[pclpads]

Perhaps the naysayers on the poll and posters are influenced by BF's prevalence on the auto circuit. He was likely signing with the last breath he drew. As a result, he loses some uniqueness and his greatness is diminished making him falsely appear to be a lesser tier player. He began his career in the late '30's, when fellow HOFer's Hubbell, Dean, Gomez and Ruffing were ending theirs. As a pre-war hurler, he was more dominant than they and more deserving of a top tier grade. And you can't compare BF to Matty, Young, Alexander, Johnson, Plank or Brown. All were similarly dominant in their time, but it was a different game, different era. Like comparing Pujols to Ruth.

[TUM301]

Feller is a top tier HOF`er without a doubt. The fact that he unselfishly served his country for 4 years and was trully one of the great ambassadors for the game just puts the icing on the HOF cake for me. Don`t think you`d have to take any player off your present list but "Bullett " Bob was extra special for a long time during baseball`s golden age. My 2 cents....

[Harliduck]

I would 100% vote Feller as a Top Tier HOFer...BUT...


...I have a hard time stomaching him being talked about as "such a great person" bs...in 1983 he came to my home town card shop for an autograph signing. I was 13 at the time. I was waiting in a small line of about 12 people to get his autograph...all he did was bitch that not enough people were there, he kept letting the small group know he was the greatest of all time, ripped on any of the players of that days game, yelled at the shop keep constantly with his petty demands, swore in front of the kids several times, wouldn't shut up (total windbag), and hit on my mom in front of my dad! As I walked out of the shop I threw his autograph in the garbage. I am UNDERSTATING the visit...and my dad almost decked him. We came back about a week later, and the shop owner couldn't apologize enough and said he was completely awful the entire time. Total douchebag.

[KCRfan1]

Originally Posted by Harliduck

I would 100% vote Feller as a Top Tier HOFer...BUT...


...I have a hard time stomaching him being talked about as "such a great person" bs...in 1983 he came to my home town card shop for an autograph signing. I was 13 at the time. I was waiting in a small line of about 12 people to get his autograph...all he did was bitch that not enough people were there, he kept letting the small group know he was the greatest of all time, ripped on any of the players of that days game, yelled at the shop keep constantly with his petty demands, swore in front of the kids several times, wouldn't shut up (total windbag), and hit on my mom in front of my dad! As I walked out of the shop I threw his autograph in the garbage. I am UNDERSTATING the visit...and my dad almost decked him. We came back about a week later, and the shop owner couldn't apologize enough and said he was completely awful the entire time. Total douchebag.

That's terrible John. I'm guessing that you do not have or have not collected any of Feller's cards.

[Harliduck]

Originally Posted by KCRfan1

That's terrible John. I'm guessing that you do not have or have not collected any of Feller's cards.

I have not...

[slipk1068]

Horrible story John. I have never anything like that about him.

[Jayworld]

Originally Posted by Harliduck

I would 100% vote Feller as a Top Tier HOFer...BUT...


...I have a hard time stomaching him being talked about as "such a great person" bs...in 1983 he came to my home town card shop for an autograph signing. I was 13 at the time. I was waiting in a small line of about 12 people to get his autograph...all he did was bitch that not enough people were there, he kept letting the small group know he was the greatest of all time, ripped on any of the players of that days game, yelled at the shop keep constantly with his petty demands, swore in front of the kids several times, wouldn't shut up (total windbag), and hit on my mom in front of my dad! As I walked out of the shop I threw his autograph in the garbage. I am UNDERSTATING the visit...and my dad almost decked him. We came back about a week later, and the shop owner couldn't apologize enough and said he was completely awful the entire time. Total douchebag.

John:
Sorry to hear about this. When I met Bob in 1987, he was nothing but gracious. He was at the Equitable Old Timers game in old Arlington Stadium, and we got to meet him (and others) at the Sheraton Hotel prior to the game (meet and mingle; got plenty of signatures) along with his wife. Really cool to see my dad talk and length with him, as he was my dad's boyhood hero (evidently people from Texas in the 1930s-40s pulled for Cleveland, being the "closest" AL team…discounting the St. Louis Browns ) He also would still bring the heat (as much as possible) in the Old Timers games, too.

[Harliduck]

Jay...it's funny...I came back to read this thread and am genuinely surprised at how different others encounters with him seem to be. I took some time and googled for any other stories folks may have written about Bob, and found many. It seems they were either these amazing occurrences or stories like mine. I will rack it up to a fellow who had good days and bad days. Nothing will shake that memory I have, but it is good to hear other great stories. I can tell you I went into that day just shocked to be meeting a complete legend, and even at 13 I was completely obsessed with all things Baseball, and left crushed.

A couple of weeks later one of my youth baseball coaches who used to be a coach with the Phillies in the early 70's took me and a couple of buddies to a Mariner game. He was still pretty connected and we got to sit in the visiting dugout and hung out with the Tigers. I hung out with Milt Wilcox (a far cry from Bob Feller! haha) and that encounter restored my faith in baseball...what an awesome guy. I told him about meeting Bob Feller, and Milt said that players from that generation were tougher and overall played hard and were hard. He told me to forget about it. I will never forget that conversation either. I may not have had a Bob Feller card (still don't), but I had EVERY Milt Wilcox card, haha...and still to this day smile when I see them in my binders. The whole 83 Tigers were awesome to us punk kids...

Sorry to be OT...and I will state again...I consider Feller an elite HOFer.

[Section103]

I met Feller a few times and in most instances found him to be "grumpy", though certainly not to the level of John's interaction. "Bad days" certainly happen for a lot of folks, especially those of us who are older and those who have been through a lot. To me, it's just a real solid reminder that we don't really know these athletes like we want or think we do. My ex-wife, based on one interaction, simply cannot stand Tony Gwynn; yet most people consider him quite personable. I try to keep this in mind whenever athletes are being lauded or raked over the coals.

To the original question, I guess it really depends on what "top tier" means. For the HOF, that number is very low - like 10 or so. I don't think Feller reaches that level, but then my definition may be largely different than most.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Harliduck

Jay...it's funny...I came back to read this thread and am genuinely surprised at how different others encounters with him seem to be. I took some time and googled for any other stories folks may have written about Bob, and found many. It seems they were either these amazing occurrences or stories like mine. I will rack it up to a fellow who had good days and bad days. Nothing will shake that memory I have, but it is good to hear other great stories. I can tell you I went into that day just shocked to be meeting a complete legend, and even at 13 I was completely obsessed with all things Baseball, and left crushed.

A couple of weeks later one of my youth baseball coaches who used to be a coach with the Phillies in the early 70's took me and a couple of buddies to a Mariner game. He was still pretty connected and we got to sit in the visiting dugout and hung out with the Tigers. I hung out with Milt Wilcox (a far cry from Bob Feller! haha) and that encounter restored my faith in baseball...what an awesome guy. I told him about meeting Bob Feller, and Milt said that players from that generation were tougher and overall played hard and were hard. He told me to forget about it. I will never forget that conversation either. I may not have had a Bob Feller card (still don't), but I had EVERY Milt Wilcox card, haha...and still to this day smile when I see them in my binders. The whole 83 Tigers were awesome to us punk kids...

Sorry to be OT...and I will state again...I consider Feller an elite HOFer.

That does seem odd. I met him after he pitched a home run contest between games of a minor league doubleheader in 74 or 75. Very nice and very tolerant of the other kids using his autographed pictures to make paper planes(81/2 x11 printed sheet with stats on the back, and photo on the front)

I wonder if the differences were related to the venue? I went to an autograph thing at a shop - don't even remember who, nobody big. And there was a lot of friction between the owner and guest. Apparently the shop owner had got whoever to do it on a reduced fee plus so much per over some amount. The guest wanted to spend time with the few people there, and the shop guy kept pushing stuff at him to sign. Eventually they had a brief "discussion" about the arrangements. The guest expected a crowd based on promised promoting, the shop guy had basically just put up a couple hand made signs in the shop. And was figuring on getting a load of stuff for inventory cheap. Neither was all that happy.

I can picture Feller -or anyone really- getting cranky and demanding if he felt the shop wasn't holding up it's end of a deal.

Steve B

[Tabe]

I'd have no problem with Feller as a top-tier HOF'er. Don't think I'd put him there myself. Just a hair outside that elite group, I think.

To add to the story above, I have heard numerous stories about Feller being cranky, gruff, and just generally ornery. Lots of positive stories, too, but too many bad ones to comfortably call him a "great human being" or similar. And, like the other poster said, I don't believe in giving old people a pass for grumpy behavior. My wife does that and it drives me nuts.