Willie Wells - page 60

Willie Wells Hall of Fame Induction

Aug 31, 1997 Cooperstown, NY

US Postal Service cancellation commemorating Wille Wells' induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

1923 Austin Black Senators, Texas Negro League

1924-31 St. Louis Stars

1932 Detroit Wolves

1932 Kansas City Monarchs

1932, 1937 homestead Grays

1929, 1932-35 Chicago American Giants

1936-39, 1942 Newark Eagles

1941 Birmingham Black Barons

1940-41, 43-44 Mexican Leagues

1945-46 New York Black Yankees

1946 Baltimore Elite Giants

1947 Indianapolis clowns

1948 Memphis Red Sox

8-time All-Star

Negro National League MVP 1926, hitting 27 home runs

Career statistics are incomplete - known stats are .319 BA, 98 home runs, 644 runs scored, 399 RBIs...

Wells earned the nickname "El Diablo" from the Mexican fans for his intensity on the field.

National Baseball Hall of Fame - Satchel Paige was the first true Negro League player to be elected to the Hall of Fame, 1970.

He would be followed byJosh Gibson - 1972, Buck Leonard - 1972, Monte Irvin - 1973, Cool Papa Bell - 1974, Judy Johnson - 1975, Oscar Charleston - 1976, Pop Lloyd - 1977, Martin Dihigo - 1977, Rube Foster - 1981, Ray Dandridge - 1987, Leon Day - 1995, Bill Foster - 1996, Willie Wells - 1997, Joe "Bullett" Rogan - 1998, Smokey Joe Williams - 1999, Turkey Stearnes - 2000, Hilton Smith - 2001

June 30m, 2006 a committee of 12 Negro and pre-Negro league baseball historians elected 17 candidates.

The inductees include seven Negro leagues players:

Ray Brown, Willard Brown, Andy Cooper, Biz Mackey, Mule Suttles, Cristobal Torriente, Jud Wilson;

Five pre-Negro leagues players: Frank Grant, Pete Hill, Jose Mendez, Louis Santop, Ben Taylor

Four Negro leagues executives: Effa Manley (1^st woman elected), Alex Pompez, Cum Posey,J.L. Wilkinson

Pre-Negro leagues executive: Sol White

The Hall of Fame has had two Special Committees on the Negro Leagues. The first committee was founded in 1971. It was chaired by Monte Irvin and instituted by commissioner Bowie Kuhn. The committee was to elect one or two former Negro League players to the Hall of Fame until their mission was complete. The second was formed in 2001 by a grant to research African Americans in baseball from 1860 to 1960. Due to this new research, a committee was formed to elect players and executives that may have been previously overlooked.