The Queen Amidala Hall of Fame Gambit
What can "The Phantom Menace" teach us about Baseball Hall of Fame voting? Read on.
Some of you may know that I turn 58 years old today. Well, I woke up (way too early—thanks, London time!) wondering how many Hall of Famers across American sports were born on Jan. 8.
The answer is: one.
The most famous football player born on Jan. 8 is Dwight Clark, who is not in the Hall of Fame, but will be forever remembered for The Catch.
The most famous basketball player born on Jan. 8 is probably Calvin “Pit Bull” Natt, who in not in the Hall of Fame, but he averaged 17 points a game in his fine NBA career and later became an ordained minister and owner of a funeral home.
The most famous hockey player born on Jan. 8 is probably Ron Ellis, who is not in the Hall of Fame, but he did lead the Maple Leafs to the Stanley Cup the year I was born—this back when Canadian teams could actually win the Stanley Cup. He did this despite being at least 54 years old, based on how he looked on his 1967 hockey card.
And so, the only Hall of Famer born on Jan. 8 is… Bruce Sutter.* I have SO many thoughts about Bruce Sutter being in the Hall of Fame—some of you fellow old-timers might remember a very, very, very long series of blog posts I once wrote asking the question, “Why is Bruce Sutter in the Hall of Fame and not Dan Quisenberry?”
*My five favorite baseball players born on Jan. 8 are, in order:
Jeff Francoeur
Mike Cameron
Bruce Sutter
Jason Giambi
Matt LaPorta
I don’t ask that Quiz-Sutter question much anymore even though I still believe with all my heart that Quiz was every bit as good a reliever as Sutter and also every bit as famous in his own way. I don’t ask it because I’m a lot older now and have written many, many, many stories about the Hall of Fame, and I have a different thought about it these days.