Update 11-7-2025
Hall of Fame Thoughts, A Daffy World Series revisited, and did you miss....
Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, Who is in, Who is not, & Did You Miss?
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Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame - Who is in…Who is not…
As many of you know, we have a lake house on Harris Brake Lake in Perry County. It is a real lake house. The lake is about 60 feet, 6 inches from our back deck. (an accident)
This week, I presented Arkansans in the World Series at the Milam Library in Perryville. A surprisingly large and friendly group seemed to be interested in a part of our state’s baseball history that has been lost or at least unappreciated. We enjoyed hearing everyone’s baseball memories.
Part of the presentation often includes, “He was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in (date).” However, a few of the players featured have their accomplishments listed with the surprising closing remark, “He is not in the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.” That statement is often followed by “And he never will be.”
I often think that the most discussed topic about any hall of fame is the process of selection rather than the result. Why is (insert forgotten baseball player from the 20th century) not in the ASHOF? At the highest level, the question is why Tommy John, Thurman Munson, Barry Bonds, and a few dozen others are not in Cooperstown. Election to the Hall of Fame is complicated and an ongoing topic for “discussion.”
On the surface, it is easy to criticize the process. Although the final results are ALWAYS questioned, the way the halls of fame select inductees varies. I am more familiar with the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame than the complicated popularity contests in other halls of fame. I am a voter in Arkansas. I have developed a great respect for the organization’s leadership, and I have a general understanding of the process.
There are several “whys” among the baseball players chosen, and those who have been overlooked for the ASHOF, but that is certainly not unique to our state’s hall of honor. It seems inevitable.
In the video below, Board Member Greg Hatcher explains the selection process of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. Click on the link and scroll down. Video by ASHOF Board Member Greg Hatcher
So, what former Major League Baseball players born in Arkansas are the most deserving for induction based solely on their big-league careers? In these days of baseball math, I will use Career WAR to help with that question. I can’t calculate WAR, nor do I want to. I can use it as a player evaluation tool and argument starter.
No surprise, Brooks Robinson has the highest career WAR among Arkansas-born major leaguers (78.33). Arky Vaughan is a close second (77.94). Vaughan had been deceased for 28 years before he was inducted into the ASHOF in 1980. Pine Bluff’s Torii Hunter was still in the middle of an outstanding Major League career when he was selected in 2008. Hunter’s WAR is 50.64. He is a long shot for the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, but dozens of Hall of Famers have lower WARs than Torii.
Two county-boy pitchers from the 1930s follow Hunter. Dizzy Dean (46.19) is fifth, and Lon Warneke (45.77) is close behind Diz. Warneke was inducted into the ASHOF in 1961. Dizzy became a Mississippi guy after retirement, and he and Paul, a loyal Arkansan, were inducted together in 1983.
Lou Brock (45.33), Travis Jackson (44.15), Cliff Lee (43.17), and George Kell (37.59) round out the top ten Career WARs among Arkansas-born major leaguers. All have been inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.
Many deserving ASHOF inductees have been selected for accomplishments that did not include major league careers. Most of these are unquestionably qualified by baseball-related success that did not include big league stardom. I will discuss some of those next week.
BUT, obviously, an Arkansas-born big-league star should probably be there, and the history of Arkansas selection indicates that to be the case, with one strange exception. My list skipped the Arkansas-born major league veteran with the third-highest Career WAR. You might be surprised that he was overlooked, and you may not have known that he was born in Arkansas.
My ballot arrives…
I am not exactly sure why the Arkansas-born major leaguer with the third-highest Career WAR has not been selected for the ASHOF, but 46 years after his retirement, I had decided he would never be inducted. Then I opened my 2025 ballot, and 11 names down was the name Willie Davis. But wait, he was in the wrong group of nominees. Willie Davis, the Dodgers’ star outfielder who passed away in 2010, should be in the “Senior Voting List,” rather than the “Regular Voting List.”
The Willie Davis from Altheimer, listed on the voting list, was an outstanding wide receiver at UCA, a Super Bowl Champion with the Kansas City Chiefs, and after retirement, an executive in the Chiefs’ front office. He never played center field for the Dodgers.
Willie Davis, the baseball player, played 2429 big-league games. He was a speedy All-Star who stole 398 bases in an 18-year career and led the league in triples in two seasons. He won Gold Gloves in 1971, 1972, and 1973. Davis was part of the Dodgers’ World Series Championship teams in 1963 and 1965. I feel safe in predicting that he will never be in the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.
William Henry Davis was born in Mineral Springs, Arkansas, on April 15, 1940, but he grew up in Los Angeles, California, where he starred in baseball and track. The Dodgers signed the local star in 1959, and a year later, on the express route to the show, he was selected the MVP of the Pacific Coast League and the Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year.
By his 20th birthday, he was in LA to stay. Hall of Famers like Duke Snider, Sandy Koufax, and Don Drysdale came and went during his 14 years in LA, but Willie Davis became a fixture in center field. His 1952 games as a Dodger rank him sixth all-time in games played as a member of the Dodgers.
Perhaps the reason Davis has not had more recognition in his home state is that he moved away at an early age. Both Davis and Lou Brock left South Arkansas as toddlers, but Brock was chosen for the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. Obviously, being a popular St. Louis Cardinal helped his cause.
The Willie Davis story does not have a happy ending. My friend Bill Purden wrote Davis’ biography in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Bill’s excellent essay offers a more complete look at the lost story of Willie Davis. William Henry Davis, Encyclopedia of Arkansas
Arkansas is not alone in overlooking Willie Davis. Despite having a career with over 2,500 hits, 398 stolen bases, three Gold Glove awards, and a Career WAR of 60+, the baseball community has forgotten Willie Davis. How many players with those credentials are not in the Baseball Hall of Fame? My guess is one.
Actually, the Willie Davis snub goes much farther than that. He was completely excluded from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) Hall of Fame ballot when he first became eligible in 1985, and he has yet to appear on any subsequent ballot.
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Trey Yesavage may have been a save away from being the 2025 World Series MVP. A rookie from Arkansas might have been that MVP had the Award existed in 1934. Did you miss…Backroads and Ballplayers #127?
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Next Week - More Hall of Fame thoughts and a mystery photo.