The Call to the Hall

The names on the cast-bronze plaques hanging in the National Baseball Hall of Fame embody the history and drama of the sport—they are the royalty of baseball. Yet many inductees believed their entry into the Hall was anything but guaranteed, and even some who waited by the phone for the fateful “call to the hall” were stunned to hear the news. Reactions to the call varied from stoicism to overwhelming emotion but for most of the 31 inductees interviewed in this book it was a moment of reflection and gratitude. In other cases the call came years too late and family members received the posthumous honor.

Kevin Warneke has worked as a newspaper reporter and editor, magazine editor, public relations executive, CEO of a nonprofit organization and fundraiser. He lives in Omaha, Nebraska.
David C. Ogden, a retired professor from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, has published extensively about the relationship between African-Americans and baseball. He lives in Pacific Junction, Iowa.

Kevin Warneke and David C. Ogden
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 236
Bibliographic Info: 37 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2018
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6408-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3007-6
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments  v

Foreword by Marty Appel  1

Introduction  5

Part I. Behind the Call  9

A Baseball  9

The First Call to the Hall  13

Behind the Vote  19

On the Line  27

Part II. Answering the Call  30

Craig Biggio  30

George Brett  35

Orlando Cepeda  40

Nestor Chylak, Jr.  45

Roberto Clemente  50

Bobby Cox  55

Andre Dawson  60

Leon Day  64

Tom Gage  70

Pat Gillick  76

Joe Gordon  81

Goose Gossage  87

Paul Hagen  91

Doug Harvey  97

Whitey Herzog  101

Ferguson Jenkins  106

James “Biz” Mackey  111

Effa Manley  117

Juan Marichal  123

Denny Matthews  129

Tim McCarver  133

Hank ­O’Day  139

Tony Perez  145

Cal Ripken, Jr.  149

Brooks Robinson  154

Jacob Ruppert, Jr.  160

Ryne Sandberg  165

Ron Santo  171

Ozzie Smith  178

John Smoltz  183

James “Deacon” White  188

Notes  195

Bibliography  209

Index  223