The baseball card collectors have seen many ups and downs this past season, what with Bonds' record setting hit, to the Colorado Rockies' cinderella story, and the steroid scandal that made Americans question their favorite pastime to name a few. The off season has been considerably quieter and a historical vote has brought the classic baseball era back into the limelight. The National Baseball Hall of Fame recently revamped their rules and created a separate Veterans Committee ballot. On Monday, under these new rules, five managers and executives have been elected to enter the NBHoF. Joining the Class of 2008 will be World Series-winning managers Billy Southworth and Dick Williams, as well as former Commissioner Bowie Kuhn and owners Walter O'Malley and Barney Dreyfuss.
Williams played for the Dodgers in the 1950's, and as a manager, won the World Series in Oakland and pennants with Boston and San Diego. Southworth won the Series twice with St. Louis. They were both included on a ballot of ten that combined umpires and managers, and each received 13 votes from the 16 members on that particular committee.
A separate ballot of ten executives included O'Malley, who was the Dodgers owner during the teams' move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles 50 years ago. “I'm very happy and he would be very happy,” said O'Malley's son Peter, who sold the Dodgers in 1998. Kuhn is the fourth commissioner to be elected into the Hall of Fame and was active from 1969 to 1984. Dreyfuss is a former owner of the Pirates. He received 10 votes from the 12 members on the committee, while Kuhn received nine.
“This is a historic day for the Dodger franchise,” Dodger owner and chairman Frank McCourt said. “Walter O'Malley was a visionary who changed the face of baseball forever and we couldn't be more proud to see him earn his rightful spot in Cooperstown. We're very excited for both him and Dick Williams as they join the many Dodger players, managers and executives in the Hall of Fame.” Memorabilia from the era of any one of these influential gentlemen just had its stock rise a little more. If you have any items from a classic baseball team, be sure to post them on iTaggit.