1969 Induction Ceremony

The Hall of Fame’s membership grew to 114 on gray, wet day in Cooperstown on July 28, 1969. Roy Campanella, Stan Musial, Waite Hoyt and Stan Coveleski were enshrined in front of several thousand fans and a number of current Hall of Famers including Casey Stengel, Lefty Grove and Pie Traynor. The BBWAA voted in Campanella and Musial, while the Veterans Committee selected Hoyt and Coveleski. The J.G. Taylor Spink Award for meritorious contributions to baseball writing went to Harry Salsinger who wrote for Detroit News for over 50 years.

ROY CAMPANELLA: Elected in his sixth year of eligibility after being named on 79.4 of ballots, Campanella played all 10 years of his career with the Brooklyn Dodgers. An eight-time All-Star and three-time National League MVP, he set a record for catchers with 41 home runs and 142 runs batted in his 1953 MVP season. Campanella played in five World Series, all against the New York Yankees, while with the Dodgers and won just once (1955). He threw out 51 percent of runners that tried to steal on him and led the league in caught stealing percentage five times, with a career high of 63 percent in 1951. Campanella hit .276 with 242 home runs and 856 RBI. His career ended early when he was injured in a car accident before the 1958 season.

STAN MUSIAL: A veteran of 22 major league seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, Musial received 93.2 percent of the votes in his first year on the ballot. At the time it was the second highest total ever, behind only Ted Williams. Musial hit .300 or better 17 times, leading the league seven times with a career high of .376 in 1948. He won one of his three National League MVP awards in that ’48 season, falling just one home run shy of winning the Triple Crown with 39 home runs and 131 RBI. Musial played in 24 All-Star games and led the Cardinals to four N.L. pennants and three World Series titles. His career .331 batting average ranks 31st all-time and he also hit 475 RBI and drove in 1,951 runs.

WAITE HOYT: Elected by the Veterans Committee, Hoyt spent 21 seasons in the big leagues with the New York Giants, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Athletics, Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates. He led the league in wins in 1927 with 22 and posted an ERA under 3.50 in 11 seasons. Hoyt finished 10th in the American League MVP voting in 1928, going 23-7 with a 3.36 earned run average and a league-leading eight saves. He went 237-182 in 674 career games with a 3.59 ERA. Following his playing career, Hoyt broadcast games in New York and Cincinnati for 28 years.

STAN COVELESKI: In 14 seasons Coveleski pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators and New York Yankees. Elected by the Veterans Committee, he posted 20 or more wins five times and had a sub-3.00 ERA six times. The American League’s strikeout king in 1920, Coveleski led the Indians to a World Series title that season by going 3-0 with a 0.67 ERA and three complete games in the Fall Classic against the Brooklyn Dodgers. The spit-baller won 215 games in his career with a 2.89 earned run average.