PRESS RELEASE

• Contacts:        Gary Gillette   (313) 306-2233, Sean Gibson   (412) 589-1906, Ted Knorr (papabell@aol.com), 42for21@gmail.com

• FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

15 December 2021. The 42 For 21 Committee announced the results from its poll today, highlighting 42 prominent players, managers, executives, and pioneers from the Negro Leagues & Black Baseball who deserve serious consideration for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Outfielder Rap Dixon and pitcher 'Cannonball" Dick Redding finished first and second, respectively, in the poll, with shortstop John Beckwith, pitcher John Donaldson, and executive Gus Greenlee filling out the top five. Shortstop Dick Lundy, outfielder and manager Vic Harris, shortstop Grant "Home Run" Johnson, second baseman Newt Allen, and outfielder Spottswood Poles also finished in the top 10.

Newly elected Hall of Famers Buck O'Neil, Bud Fowler, and Minnie Minoso all received strong support, though they are not included in the results because of their recent election.

The Committee sent the poll in November to more than 100 Negro Leagues historians and other experts on the history of Black Baseball. More than 72 percent responded and participated.

The Committee was co-founded by Gary Gillette, Ted Knorr, and Sean Gibson to advocate for "Justice for Negro Leaguers," including much more robust consideration of the many worthy but overlooked candidates for the Hall of Fame.

The recent elections of O'Neil and Fowler by the Early Baseball Era committee, plus the election of Minoso by the Golden Days Era committee, was a positive step—but only a first step. It does not sufficiently address the deficit in the Hall of Fame of those who toiled in segregated baseball.

Currently, only 17 percent of players in the Hall from the Segregated Era come from the Negro Leagues & Black Baseball, yet 44 percent of Hall of Fame players from the Integrated Era are African American or Latino. That huge disparity shows how much more attention needs to be paid to the Negro Leagues & Black Baseball.

The 42 For 21 Committee is not suggesting that all 42 people on its list should be inducted into the Hall of Fame, only that they merit the kind of careful consideration that has repeatedly been given to White players by the Hall of Fame's various Veterans and Era Committees in the past half century.

Even if all 42 more were to be added to the Hall of Fame, however, it would still bring the percentage of Black and Latino players from the Segregated Era only to 34 percent—10 percentage points/22 percent less than the 44 percent representation of Black and Latino players in the Integrated Era.

Following the lead of the Josh Gibson Foundation's campaign to have the BBWAA's Most Valuable Player Awards named after Josh Gibson, the Committee's goal is to bring attention to distinguished players, managers, umpires, executives, and pioneers from the Negro Leagues & Black Baseball.

The 42 For 21 ballot contained a carefully curated list of 116 Negro Leagues & Black Baseball candidates derived from previous Hall of Fame ballots and from important historical polls and surveys. The results below show the 43 top vote-getters because of a three-way tie for 41st .

42 FOR 21 POLL RESULTS

RANK / NAME

1 Dixon, Rap

2 Redding, Cannonball Dick

3 Beckwith, John 

4 Donaldson, John

4 Greenlee, Gus 

6 Lundy, Richard  

7 Harris, Vic  

8 Johnson, Grant

9 Allen, Newt

9 Poles, Spottswood

11 Brewer, Chet

12 Bolden, Ed 

12 Taylor, C.I. 

14 Scales, George

14 Taylor, Candy Jim

16 Oms, Alejandro  

17 Trouppe, Quincy  

18 Moore, Dobie  

19 Byrd, Bill

19 Stovey, George

19 Walker, Fleet

22 Wright, Bill

23 Marcell, Oliver

23 Newcombe, Don

23 Radcliffe, Ted

26 Malarcher, Dave

27 Bankhead, Sam

27 Hughes, Sammy T.

29 Smith, Chino

30 Bell, William

30 Jenkins, Fats

32 Davis, Piper

32 DeMoss, Bingo

34 Winters, Nip

35 McNair, Hurley

36 Johnson, Heavy

36 Jethroe, Sam

38 Wilson, Artie

39 Tiant, Luis

39 Strong, Ted

41 Dismukes, Dizzy

41 Pettus, Bill

41 Petway, Bruce

-30-