HALL OF FAME ELECTION  1971
Superba Day at the Hall
Conley, Hamner First Superbas
BEACHVILLE, Ont. (Nov. 1) -- Six years after the Brooklyn Superbas' incredible run of eight consecutive division titles and five consecutive league titles, the dynasty's best pitcher and best hitter were elected into the UL Hall of Fame today.  Gene Conley, the ace of the Superbas' dominant pitching staff, and Granny Hamner, the six-time batting champion, won on their first year of the ballot.  No pitcher has won more Cy Young Awards than Conley, and no hitter has collected more MVPs then Hamner, so their election as the seventh and eighth members come as no surprise.  What is surprising is that they are the first Superbas in the Hall (unless you count Whitey Ford, who came on the scene in the latter half of the dynasty but entered the Hall as a Chicago Colt).

Conley's peak years were 1957-64, exactly corresponding to the Brooklyn dynasty years.  Over that eight-year spell, Gene racked up  198 wins against just 48 losses, an average of 25-6, with an ERA in the low 2's.  He ended his career with an amazing 309-109 record, by far the best winning percentage in league history, and just three wins behind Johnny Antonelli's career record.  As good as he was in the regular season, Conley was almost unbeatable in the World Series.  After going 1-2 in his first two Series, Conley was 12-1 in 15 World Series starts from 1960 to 1966.

Hamner's career started slowly, but beginning in 1957 he rattled off six seasons in which he averaged 204 hits a year, hit over .350 five times, and won four MVPs and five batting titles.  He added a six batting title in 1964, the last year of the Bas dynasty.  He ended his career first in doubles and in the top four in both batting average and hits.

The double election foreshadows the likely election of more Brooklyn Hall of Famers, including all-time hit and home run leader Mickey Mantle and pitcher Lew Burdette, the other half of the best pitching tandem in UL--and perhaps baseball--history.

Oisk the Bridesmaid, Never the Bride
BEACHVILLE, Ont. (Nov. 1) -- Carl Erskine finished runner up in Hall of Fame balloting for the fourth year running.  Erskine polled 61 percent, down from 67 percent last year.  One of the most dominant and consistent pitchers of the late 1950s, "Oisk" pitched four 25-win seasons and won five All-UL nominations, three ERA titles, and the 1958 Cy Young.  He led the Washington Monuments to championships in 1954 and 1956 and helped the Chicago Colts to pennants in 1961 and 1962.  But his career was cut short by a torn elbow ligament on July 26, 1962, forcing an early retirement at the age of 35.

In the era of one-at-a-time Hall of Fame elections, Erskine came in second twice and second twice.  In 1968, he actually won more first round votes than eventual inductee Roy Campanella, but fell short of a absolute majority and lost the runoff 34-26.  In 1969 and 1970, his record was overshadowed by dominant first-year candidates Johnny Antonelli and Whitey Ford.  In fact, Erskine has served as the unofficial human threshold between baseball immortality and the land of also-rans.  Since 1965, every player who has ever finished above Erskine in balloting has entered the Hall, and every player below him has not.
 
From 1955 to 1958, Erskine cobbled together the second best four-year run by a pitcher in league history, going 99-27 with a 2.63 ERA.  The problem for Erskine is that his peak years overlapped with Gene Conley's, making him K2 to Conley's Everest.  He is second to Conley in ERA, second to Conley in winning percentage, and his lone Cy Young season (1958) was sandwiched like thin-sliced cotto salami between three Cy Young slices of Conley.  Conley! Conley! Conley!!! (see pic)  But consider this: Erskine is the all-time leader in WHIP and had more complete games and shutouts than Conley, despite only 311 starts to Conley's 558.  So when it comes to short but brilliant careers, Erskine sets the standard, much like Stan Musial (whose plaque, incidentally, is mounted on the wall in Beachville.)  Perhaps it will be fifth time lucky.