My theory on "under-rated" hall of famers

[Rhotchkiss]

Originally Posted by alywa

I'd add in market they played in... Hornsby and Musial mostly in St. Louis. Robinson in Cincy / Baltimore.

I agree this could be part of the reason (but note Speaker in Boston and Collins In Philadelphia). But ultimately, I think it’s personality, or lack thereof.

Cobb played for a lesser city (Detroit) virtually his entire career, and he played during a time when Wagner and Lajoie were incredible hitters/players. But Cobb still became a superstar. I think that was because - in Addition to the fact he was incredible - he was different, and crazy on the base paths, and was in the newspaper often for scraps and scrapes. He was good looking, and he was from the south (baseball was more largely a northern sport then), and he had a nickname. And he played just as baseball caught fire nationally, newspapers carried box scores in all newspapers, and pictures of baseball men showed up in cigarettes and candy boxes.

In the end, the biggest names have something greater than just stats. They are social/American icons. In addition to being excellent, they either had huge personalities or great looks or both, or they have an award or something named after them or, in the case of Wagner, they are the subject the most iconic collectible ever made (not to mention one of the greatest ever and part of HOF’s inaugural class).

The guys you list were great players, but their greatness started and ended on the field. The biggest “money guys” have something extra that transcends the game