SAN DIEGO TED WILLIAMS SABR CHAPTER

http://sandiego.sabr.org

SPECIAL e-NEWS, Issue No. 19

PCL PADRES HALL OF FAME

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LET US KNOW YOUR FAVORITES

As we reported in an e-News two years ago, in 1965 the San Diego PCL Padres Baseball Hall of Fame was established to recognize the outstanding performances of former PCL Padres players and executives. At that time the local Hall of Fame Selection Committee included these six individuals:

Mil Chipp, Union-Tribune Publishing Co. Earl Keller, San Diego Tribune

Jack Murphy, San Diego Union Wes Sharp, San Diego Police Chief

Harry Douglas, Businessman Al Schuss, Sportscaster

However, the PCL Padres Hall of Fame hasn’t been too prominent, to say the least. Of the 19 players, managers and club officials in this Hall of Fame, only a few plaques remain in the possession of the Balboa Park’s Breitbard Hall of Champions, largely out of view of the public.

As a SABR Chapter we challenged ourselves two years ago to make resurrection of the PCL Padres Hall of Fame one of our projects. With the Padres in their new home at Petco Park we have an opportunity to accomplish this objective. But, before we finalize our proposal we need your help and input. To a large degree most of the 19 Hall of Famers are associated with the Lane Field era. Thus, to balance out the total minor league history of the PCL Padres, from 1936 to 1968, we would like to induct another six (6) players into the Hall of Fame, with a focus on the Westgate Park era.

Current PCL Padres Hall of Fame

The fourth and last class was elected in 1968, the last year of minor league baseball in San Diego. Here is the current PCL Padres Hall of Fame:

Class of 1965

Jim (Tiny) Chaplin (P, 1937-38) Dom Dallassandro (OF, 1938-39)

Luke Easter (1B, 1949,54) Jack Graham (1B-OF, 1948, 50-52)

Max West (1B-OF, 1947, 49-50)

Class of 1966

Les Cook (C-Trainer, 1936-68) Bobby Doerr (2B, 1936)

Steve Mesner (Inf, 1940, 48-49) Ted Williams (OF, 1936-37)

Class of 1967

Minnie Minoso (OF, 1949-50) Rupert Thompson (OF, 1937, 44-46)

Class of 1968

Cedric Durst (OF-Mgr, 1936-43) Earl Rapp (OF, 1953-57)

Frank Shellenback (P-Mgr, 1936-38) Harry Simpson (OF, 1950, 60-61)

Bill Lane (owner, 1936-38) Eddie Leishman (GM, 1961-68)

C. Arnholt Smith (owner, 1955-68)

Bill Starr (C, 1937-39, owner 1945-56)

PCL Padres Hall of Fame Ballot to Follow

In another e-mail following receipt of this message, you will receive a ballot of notable PCL Padres players for your consideration to be added to this Hall of Fame. You can register your opinion for up to six (6) of the players by replying to that e-mail, by September 8, 2004. The votes will be tallied and used as input to a Selection Committee comprised of knowledgeable members representing our SABR Chapter along with notable individuals having familiarity with the PCL Padres (e.g., to include Jim Mulvaney, Bob Chandler, and Johnny McDonald).