When it comes to mass quantities, I didn’t think anyone could top the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.
The nomadic state shrine, now located in Wichita after stops in Abilene and Lawrence, tapped 14 people with Sunflower State ties for immortality a couple of weeks ago. Last year, the number was 15.
I can understand the rationale. The more enshrinees, the bigger the pool of friends, relatives and fans who become potential Hall of Fame visitors. And, let’s face it, most sports shrines don’t rank as prime tourist destinations.
There are one or two exceptions. The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., for example, is a tourist mecca – a shrine so popular it has spawned nearby attractions despite being well off the beaten path in upstate New York.
In other words, the Baseball Hall of Fame does not need mass inductions to ensure its livelihood.
All the furor this week over the inexplicable and inexcusable omission of living legend Buck O’Neil overshadowed the shocking decision by a Hall of Fame selection committee to open the floodgates and add 17 new members.
You may recall that about a decade ago Lawrence’s own Bill James, one of the nation’s most knowledgeable and respected baseball historians, penned a book titled: “Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame? Baseball, Cooperstown and the Politics of Glory.”
In essence, James wrote that people are not elected to a Hall of Statistics, they are elected to a Hall of Fame. In other words, being famous is a strong qualification, and what man associated with the Negro Leagues is more famed today than O’Neil?
Did James think O’Neil was shafted? You’re darned right.
“I was disappointed Buck didn’t get in,” James told me. “I think he is very deserving.”
At the same time, James was delighted to see some of the other names on the list.
“A lot of these guys were very great players, deserving of recognition,” he said. “I was astonished to discover that Cristobal Torriente wasn’t already in.”
James’ astonishment did not end there. He remains appalled by the selection process.
“In some ways they have made it a little better,” he said, “but still : you would think that ANYONE would understand the damage they are doing by simultaneously inducting 17 new Hall of Famers.
“This process, although well-intentioned, gives the appearance of being subject to the same kinds of arbitrary favoritism that has plagued the Hall from its first few years.”
You have to take Halls of Fame for what they’re worth. If one is bogged down in arbitrary favoritism, others may be locked into a quota system.
The Kansas shrine, for instance, rarely holds an annual induction without including at least one person associated with Kansas University, Kansas State and Wichita State. All three of the state’s largest schools are represented this year.
As a matter of fact, more than a third of the 14 honorees – Bobby Douglass, Howard Engleman, Bill Hougland, Jack Mitchell and Marian Washington – have KU ties. K-State (Bill Snyder) and Wichita State (Xavier McDaniel) have only one apiece.
Does that mean KSU and WSU were dumped on? Of course, it does. If it’s a Hall of Fame, somebody always gets the elevator, and somebody always gets the shaft.
