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December 5, 2021
It Happened! Thank you for your support!
Gil’s In!
I’m sure by now you are all aware that, yes, indeed, Gil Hodges will now get his well-deserved plaque in Cooperstown! A long-overdue baseball injustice has been rectified. Congratulations also to the other well-qualified selectees: Minnie Minoso, Jim Kaat, Tony Oliva, Buck O’Neil, and Bud Fowler. That’s quite a class!
It was a long, long wait for the Hodges family, but finally, it happened. I like to think that our two-year campaign here on Baseball History Comes Alive played at least a minor role in Gil’s selection. If you’re one of the nearly 800 readers who cared enough about Gil’s situation to sign the petition and/or one of the 1300-plus readers who voted in our poll, you can have the satisfaction of knowing that your voice was heard. The petition and the poll results, along with my essay detailing his qualifications and other relevant information, were all part of the package I submitted to the committee in support of Gil’s candidacy.
Gil Hodges
In recent weeks I had been in contact with Gil’s daughter, Irene. In my last correspondence with her just a couple days ago, I told her I had a good feeling about it. For once in my life a prediction I made was right!
Immediately after I heard the good news tonight, I fired off a quick email to congratulate her and the Hodges family, including Gil’s 96-year-old wife, Joan, who still lives in the same Brooklyn house they lived in when Gil played for the Dodgers. In my email I told Irene I was so excited I could hardly speak. About a half-hour later, I received this nice response from her:
“Lol how great is this!! Ty so much for all your hard work to help make this possible! It worked!!”
Just in case you were thinking your signature on the petition didn’t mean much, think again. It did. I know from my correspondence with Irene that it meant a whole lot to the Hodges family, and your signature on the petition may have even played a role in his selection. I had sent Irene a copy of the package and she specifically asked me to thank all those who signed it.
So on this happy occasion, on behalf of Irene Hodges, the entire Hodges family, and Baseball History Comes Alive:
It Happened! Thank you for your support!
Gil’s in!
Gary Livacari
As always, we enjoy reading your comments
Here’s a link to see the entire Blog Archives
I’d like to extend a special thanks to Mike Moreno for his continued, unwavering support of Gil’s candidacy and also for all the detailed research he did on Gil’s behalf, most of which I included in the esay I wrote and sent to the Golden Days Era committee.
As happy as we are about Gil’s selection, it would have been a clean sweep if Dick Allen had been one of the selectee. Very unfortunate that he lost out again by one vote.
A well deserved addition to the Hall of Fame!
Well said Robert!
Finally! Thank you Gary for your efforts to make this happen. I was fortunate to live in Queens during the “golden age” of the 1947-1957 years of the three teams: the NY Giants, NY Yankees, and my team the Brooklyn Dodgers. So glad that Gil Hodges is finally recognized as he should have been much earlier.
Thanks Alan! A well deserved honor!
Hello Gary,
To “see Naples and die” is nothing compared with the joy and relief I’m feeling now that The Great Gil has been elected at last. Yes, o Lord, how long and patiently so many of us have waited, and prayed, for this blessed day!
To any and all of Gil’s beloved family, his many friends and supporters, I hope you can feel the waves of delight, adoration and respect coming to you from countless fans of the finest man ever to join the ranks of the chosen in Cooperstown. Congratulations!
Kindest thoughts,
Michael
Thank you Gary! When I heard the news I got all choked up. Wonderful news!
As did I!
Happy for all that got in. That said, it is beyond belief that Dick Allen missed by -one- vote! How cruel. His numbers are equal to the best hitters from his era. His few years with the White Sox helped save the franchise from moving…and they were gone. Sorry to sound cynical…but I smell Reinsdorf!
Thanks Pat, I agree it’s a travesty he didn’t get in, missing by one vote for the second time. I was a member of the group trying to get him in and I know how hard they worked. Needless to say, they’re very disappointed.