ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 6, 1996 TAG: 9603060074
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: TAMPA, FLA.
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Earl Weaver, the salty-tongued manager of the Baltimore Orioles, and Jim Bunning, the pitcher who became a blunt-speaking Congressman, now have something to talk about.
They will get that chance this year in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Weaver and Bunning were were among four men voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday by the sport's Veterans Committee.
Negro Leagues pitcher Bill Foster and turn-of-the-century manager Ned Hanlon also were chosen by the 14-member panel.
``It's something I didn't ever think was ever going to pass,'' said Weaver, who guided the Orioles to the World Series four times and won once. ``I had a successful career, not necessarily a Hall of Fame career, but a successful career.''
Bunning, a U.S. representative from Kentucky, received a standing ovation when his selection was announced on the House floor.
``I've been retired from baseball 25 years,'' said Bunning, a 224-game winner who felt he was snubbed by Hall voters in 1988. ``None of the numbers that were on the back of my card have changed in that time. ... It's been a long waiting process. Thank God it happened while I was still on my feet.''
Nellie Fox also received the required 75 percent support for election, but because the committee is allowed to select just one modern major-leaguer, he was left out when Bunning got more votes.
In 1985, in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America, Fox missed out in the closest vote in history.
The new inductees will be enshrined Aug. 4 in Cooperstown. Hall officials said the induction ceremonies might not have been held if no one had been chosen.
The last year that no one was elected to the Hall was 1960. That possibility increased, however, in January when writers failed to elect anyone.
``I think the committee is very proud of its selections,'' said chairman Bill White, a former National League president and Bunning's one-time teammate.
Weaver led the Orioles to a record of 1,480-1,060 and won six American League East Division championships. He managed 17 seasons and his only losing year was 1986, his last in the majors.
The Orioles reached the World Series four times, but won the championship only in 1970. In 1971 and 1979, Baltimore lost the Series in seven games, both times to Pittsburgh. They were stunned by the New York Mets in five games in 1969.
In 1982, his Orioles lost the division title to Milwaukee on the final day.
Weaver was famed for his run-ins with umpires and was ejected 91 times, including once in both games of a doubleheader.
``It probably hurt me,'' he said of his reputation.
Weaver preferred power-hitting teams and was known for relying on three-run homers from the likes of Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson. He also made the controversial move of shifting young third baseman Cal Ripken to shortstop.
While Weaver was elected by the veterans in his fifth year, Bunning made it on his second try.
Bunning, who had a 224-184 record in a 17-year career mostly with Philadelphia and Detroit, pitched one of baseball's 14 perfect games. He won at least 100 games each in the AL and NL and threw no-hitters in both leagues.
Bunning, however, still was smarting from his narrow miss in 1988, when he was named on 74.2 percent of writers' ballots. Nine writers mailed in blank ballots, as the rules allowed, deeming no one worthy that year.
``The near-misses didn't bother me, except in 1988. They were obviously trying to keep people out, instead of trying to let people in,'' he said. ``I'm the only one ever kept out that way.''
Bunning, an eight-time All-Star, never played in the postseason. He came close in 1964, but the Phillies blew a big lead in the final week when manager Gene Mauch chose to pitch Bunning and Chris Short every other day.
Bunning, leaning toward wearing a Phillies cap on his Cooperstown plaque despite pitching longer with Detroit, gives Philadelphia at least one Hall of Famer for the third consecutive year. Steve Carlton made it in 1994 and Mike Schmidt and Richie Ashburn were elected in 1995.
Foster was 137-62 for the Chicago American Giants, Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords from 1923-37. He was considered one of the greatest left-handers in the Negro Leagues, winning more games than Satchel Paige and outpitching him in many head-to-head matchups.
Hanlon won five pennants in a managing career from 1889-1907 and, like Weaver, achieved his greatest success in Baltimore, with the turn-of-the-century Orioles.
With Weaver and Hanlon, there will be 13 managers in the Hall. Not since 1937, when Connie Mack and John McGraw became the first two managers elected, had a pair of managers been chosen in the same year.
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: headshots of Weaver and Bunning colorby CNB