Rickey, Rice take rightful place in Hall

baseball hall of fame induction 2009, baseball hall of fame induction, baseball hall of fame induction ceremony, cooperstown ny, hall of fame

y Ian Browne and Mychael Urban / MLB.com

07/26/09 2:28 PM ET

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice officially stood on the same stage as baseball's all-time greats on Sunday, taking their rightful place among them as the newest inductees into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

As droplets of rain turned into drizzle at times at Clark Sports Center in baseball's historic burgh, the two left fielders -- the quintessential leadoff hitter Henderson and the quintessential power man Rice -- shared the stage for the annual ceremony with 50 members of the Hall of Fame.



And that's where they belonged, as Rice and Henderson gained induction in baseball's hallowed Hall of Fame, along with former Yankees and Indians second baseman Joe Gordon, who was honored posthumously. With broadcaster Tony Kubek and sportswriter Nick Peters also receiving honors for their achievements, the ceremony rolled on through the threatening skies and once again became a beacon of light into baseball's grand history.

And there stood Rickey, smiling that familiar smile, and Rice, smiling a newly familiar smile almost never seen on the field, among the greats literally and officially.

With Henderson dressed splendidly in a white suit reminiscent of his playing days with the A's and Rice in a dapper suit with a colorful tie, they fit right in with the other 50 members of the club to which they now belong.

Those 50 members in attendance were given their due at the outset of the ceremony, with longtime broadcaster George Grande listing them from Goose Gossage and Dick Williams back through time, through the Big Red Machine, through Hank Aaron and Willie Mays and finishing off with a flourish with Bob Feller, the great player and military man.

Then Kubek, the Yankees player and broadcaster who also brought the game to a national TV audience, was honored with the Ford C. Frick Award. Peters, who covered the Giants and A's for decades, was honored with the Taylor J. Spink Award.

As the first inductee to the Hall of Fame honored, Gordon was represented by his daughter, Judy Gordon, in the ceremony honoring him decades after his playing and managing career came to an end. And Judy brought her speech in his honor to a poignant conclusion, discussing her father's death in 1978.

"He insisted against having a funeral, and as such we consider Cooperstown and the National Baseball Hall of Fame as his final resting place to be honored forever," Judy Gordon said.

Elected by the Veterans Committee in recognition of an 11-year playing career with the Yankees (1938-43, 1946) and Indians (1947-50) that was interrupted by his service in World War II, Gordon made nine trips to the All-Star Game, won five World Series rings and was named the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1942 -- beating out Ted Williams, who won the AL Triple Crown.

Then the two stars of the day took center stage.

Henderson brings the all-time runs and steals records with him into Cooperstown's museum, along with one of the more intriguing. A Gold Glove left fielder, a 10-time All-Star, the 1990 American League MVP, and the AL single-season leader in stolen bases 12 times, Henderson had amassed 3,055 hits with a .401 on-base percentage, 297 home runs and 1,115 RBIs.

Rice was a .298 career hitter with 382 home runs, 2,452 hits and 1,451 RBIs in 16 seasons. He had four seasons of more than 200 hits, led the AL in home runs three times, RBIs twice, once in hits, twice in slugging percentage, was the AL MVP in 1978 and was an eight-time All-Star.

For Henderson, the wait for his first-ballot entrance to the pantheon of greats was more a matter of getting him to stop playing to start his Hall of Fame clock. For Rice, the wait was taken to the wall as big as the Green Monster, all 15 years a player is allowed to stay on the Baseball Writers Association of America ballot.

And with Rice's induction, and fitting with the theme of history spanning across generations, the link was complete from Ted Williams to Carl Yastrzemski to Rice.

"Fifty years of Hall of Fame left fielders for the Red Sox," ceremony emcee Grande pointed out.


Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. Mychael Urban is a national writer for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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