42 For 21 Poll Results
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
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