Is Charlie Bennett a HOFer?

[SAllen2556]

I'm the one who wrote that article for Bless You Boys. My research came primarily from the Detroit Free Press archives. Bennett and his wife were also credited for inventing the chest protector.

From the many quotes I read of others regarding Bennett, he most certainly would have been elected to the Hall if had opened in about 1910. The story of the 1887 Wolverines winning the championship was partially credited to Bennett shutting down the St. Louis running game over the first 4 games of the series. His hands were an absolute mess, though, so he couldn't play the rest of the series.

Can you name another player who had a major league ballpark named after him besides Charlie Bennett? I don't think there is one.

[Rad_Hazard]

Originally Posted by BobC

Jeremy,

Great thread and poll. I voted he should be in by the way.

And I especially found that one comment you posted about how if the HOF had opened in 1910 that he would have likely been a founding member, very interesting, and extremely relevant. It goes to show the modern-day bias element that can, and most definitely still does, exist in many things, and across different eras. The 19th century players have likely been subjected to modern-day bias since they originally announced and first opened the HOF.

Thank you for the response Bob! I completely agree, 19th Century players are almost completely ignored and my concern is that with the latest committee swap, the 19th Century is now covered in the stretch from 1871-1980. That is completely asinine. The game couldn't possibly be more different in that over 100 year span. If they wanted to gain some credibility with historians and fans of the era it would go a long way if they inducted the following ASAP (in no particular order):

Doc Adams
Bill Dahlen
Jack Glasscock
Jim McCormick
Charlie Bennett

My list is even longer, but these folks are the most glaring omissions in my opinion.

Originally Posted by SAllen2556

I'm the one who wrote that article for Bless You Boys. My research came primarily from the Detroit Free Press archives. Bennett and his wife were also credited for inventing the chest protector.

From the many quotes I read of others regarding Bennett, he most certainly would have been elected to the Hall if had opened in about 1910. The story of the 1887 Wolverines winning the championship was partially credited to Bennett shutting down the St. Louis running game over the first 4 games of the series. His hands were an absolute mess, though, so he couldn't play the rest of the series.

Can you name another player who had a major league ballpark named after him besides Charlie Bennett? I don't think there is one.

Great article and thank you for writing it! There are a lot of great points in it including what you mentioned here.

I did hesitate to mention that Bennett and his wife invented the chest protector since I read on SABR that it may have been Deacon White. Either way, Bennett was either the inventor or a very early beta tester at the very least.

[Rad_Hazard]

Here is the article I found from the Detroit Free Press from Sunday, August 2nd, 1914 regarding Bennett and his wife's invention of the chest protector.

EDIT: I have a feeling the "No" votes didn't read a thing in this thread, but I would love to hear an opposition opinion if they have.