My new collecting focus and a WTF moment of a Hall of Fame selection

artistlost

I am starting to build a collection of all the 1st ballot NHL and MLB hall of famers. I am starting with the 80s and working my way back trying to find the best possible looking card in the grade I can afford. I figure this will be a long slow process but the hunt is fun!!

Anyway, I was doing my research on who was a first ballot NHL hall of famer and could not believe that Mike Bossy was not selected in his first year. They made him wait until year number two.

Alright. I know that he only played 10 seasons and then had to retire due to injuries but...he was the greatest pure goal scorer in history. Period.

Here are his career stats...

NHL totals (games) 752 (goals) 573 (assists) 553 (total points) 1126 he had 9 straight 50 goal seasons (five of them over 60) and in his last season he scored 38 goals in only 63 games.

Anyway, as result, I will be making a few exceptions to the 1st year selections in my collection.

mathew

gtgrad99

Stepping on the soapbox for a moment...the whole idea of keeping someone off of the ballot the first year is nothing but pure voter's arrogance. How can someone's body of work get better between their 5th and 6th years of retirement? It's absurd to think that someone becomes more Hall-worthy while not playing. Maybe the "right" answer is to expand voting from just writers to also include peers from the era, managers, GMs, etc. It may not be perfect, but it would/could/should provide a more representative opinion of the player's career.

Rant done...