Right now I’m just trying to wrap my head around the fact that Bowie Kuhn, an awful, awful commissioner, has been selected to enter the HOF by the Veterans Committee. Also entering: Walter O’Malley, Dick Williams, Billy Southworth, and Barney Dreyfus. Between Kuhn and O’Malley, you have two pretty controversial figures going in. And Marvin Miller is still out? Seriously???
Kuhn and O’Malley to Enter the HOF
Next post: Misdirection and Propaganda
Previous post: “The Francona Rule”
11 comments… add one
It will be a sad day indeed when “that SOB O’Malley” is inducted into the hall. Brooklyn should organize borough-wide protests…
Hey, can a young ‘un ask for a brief rundown on some MLB history? What did these apparent sh*theads do?
I think O’Malley (my namesake) moved the Dodgers to LA, so New Yorkers really don’t like the guy.
Only three of 12 votes for Miller from a management-based committee after falling just one-vote short from a HOF-based committee last time. A travesty.
Dick Williams is a good entrant. His intentional-walk/strikeout ruse against Johnny Bench in the World Series was classic.
Kuhn was the commish who (and I wasn’t alive, so other can correct if I’m wrong) fought hard against Miller and players’ rights, and also struck down some of those infamous A’s firesales. I think.
It really is a joke that Marvin Miller is not in yet.
I can follow up later Devine. Dreyfus was the deserving owner of the early Pirates. Here’s my YFSF obit on Kuhn:
http://yanksfansoxfan.typepad.com/ysfs/2007/03/bowie_kuhn_1926.html
Thanks, YF, that is definitely a start down the road to understanding.
Kuhn was also the commissioner who tried to intimidate Jim Bouton into claiming that Ball Four was chock full of lies. Bouton declined to do so. In other words, if you think that Selig’s response to the steroid issue hasn’t been sufficiently aggressive, at least he isn’t out there trying to intimidate people into saying it doesn’t exist, as Kuhn did with the “greenie” issue.
Also, Miller was actually brought on in response to the unyielding attitude of Kuhn and others in giving the players more money. So the players wound up getting much more money once Miller took over and realized how much players were actually worth.
He also basically became commish because he was there, at the meeting, taking notes when the issue was decided, and everyone else had too much opposition.
It’s almost as if every commissioner is guaranteed election at some point to the Hall. Is there any commissioner that HASN’T been elected to the HOF? I guess Fay Vincent hasn’t, but he’s not dead. Anyone else?
so miller deserves to get in hall for being the face of what many think is so wrong with the game today…does george s. get in because he eagerly participated in miller’s folly?…sorry, but i’m not on either bandwagon…