Negro League Baseball Discussion Forum: General Discussion About The Negro Leagues: All-Century team
By Brent Kelley (Tomturner) on Monday, October 25, 1999 – 02:21 pm:
The results of the balloting for the All-Century were not surprising, but I am curious about how others interested in the Negro leagues feel about the selections and the non-selections.
By Forum Administrator (Admin) on Monday, October 25, 1999 – 03:02 pm:
Since the selection of players was done by fan balloting, I am not at all surprised that the Negro League players were not represented. Although the Negro Leagues have received considerably greater public mention during the past few years, most people (even most avid baseball fans) know next to nothing about the Negro League stars other than Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson. A growing number have heard of Josh Gibson, but have a distorted view of both the man and his career. (Television programs like the X-files episode on the fictional Roswell Grays have only helped to confuse the matter.)
The All-Century team vote was little more than a popularity poll. For reasons I am unable to explain, some players seem to be adopted by the press and become the darlings of the media. Hence, their popularity skyrockets whether or not their on-field performance really warrants all the attention.
For sixty years the media has had a love affair with Joe Dimaggio. Clearly, he was not the superior of Cool Papa Bell or even Tony Gwynn, but neither of them played for the Yankees or married Marilyn Monroe. Similarly, Brooks Robinson was for a number of years a favorite of the sports press. Nothing in Robinson's career record would justify rating him higher than a 500+ homerun hitter like Eddie Mathews whose career was virtually ignored by the press. But, when it came time to cast the ballots most fans recognized Robinson's name, but few could even recall that Mathews had played.
So, in the end, I don't think the results of the balloting represent a slight to the Negro League players any more than to the dozens of other worthy players whom, for whatever reason, the press chose to ignore.
By Brent Kelley (Tomturner) on Friday, October 29, 1999 – 06:17 am:
You are absolutely correct in all that you say, but I would love to see an All-Century team selected by those who know and understand baseball. I was not even pleased with the players nominated in many cases, be they Negro leaguers or major leaguers. Pete Rose!!!!
By gary glover (Pomjjb) on Tuesday, November 2, 1999 – 06:07 pm:
crap…an all-century baseball team, without the likes of charleston, bell, rogan, dihigo, w. foster, wells, gibson, leonard, williams, radcliffe, johnson, day, paige as well as a few others, is not an all-century baseball team…it's a joke, and we know it, period!…pete rose, who cares….the men i just mentioned, played hard too, and under circumstances, rose could never dream of…you think rose played like a lion…well just picture what you would label, oscar charleston….cobb, was afraid of him lol….trust me, rose would agree, if he was being honest, and if he ever shook charleston's hand….you would see true respect, out of true fear lol…and i'll tell you somethin'….gray would never have wanted via a tv interview to get on charleston's bad side, and live, to tell about it, would be my guess lol….guess what..'PR'IS NOT MY FORTE LOL….{any hof, of the black leagues, i didn't mention, i'm very, very sorry}.