It is a tragic day in the world of Major League Baseball as Hall of Fame legend Frank Robinson passed away today at the age of 83.

Robinson would debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 1956 where he was named the National League Rookie of the Year and was the league leader in Runs Scored.  Robinson could do it all, hit for average, power and was good with his glove.  In his ten seasons with the Reds, Robinson would lead the NL in Slugging three times, was a six time All Star and was the 1961 National League MVP.

He was traded to the Baltimore Orioles where in his first season there (1966) he would blast a career high 49 Home Runs and would sweep the Slash Line and win the American League MVP making him the first player to win the MVP in both the NL and AL. He would also take the Orioles to their first World Series win since the relocation from St. Louis.  Robinson would again take the Orioles to a World Series win in 1970.  He would finish his playing career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels and Cleveland Indians.  He would finish with 2,943 Hits and 586 Home Runs.

In 1975, while he was still playing for the Indians, he would become the first African-American Manager.  Robinson would later manage the San Francisco Giants (1981-84), Baltimore Orioles (1988-89) and Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals (2002-06).   

He would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982 on his first year of eligibility.  The Indians, Reds and Orioles have all retired his #20 and all three franchises have a bronze statue erected in his honor at their respective stadiums.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends, family and fans of Frank Robinson.

The Hall of Fame season continues with today’s announcement by the International Hockey Hall of Fame of its new eight member class.

The new members are:

Boris Alexandrov, The Soviet Union & Kazakhstan:  Alexandrov was a Gold Medalist for the U.S.S.R. in 1974 in the World Juniors and again in the 1976 Olympics.  He would come out of retirement and represent Kazakhstan in the 1995 World Championship Division II.  

Jim Johannson, U.S.A.:  Johannson won the Lester Patrick Award for his contributions to hockey in the U.S. in 2018 and he began his tenure with U.S. Hockey in 2000.  Sadly he passed away last year.

Jorgen Jonsson, Sweden:  Jonsson played the majority of his professional career in his native Sweden and he has a plethora of medals for his international accomplishments.  With Sweden, Jonsson won two Gold Medals in the Olympics (1994 & 2006) and two World Hockey Championship Gold Medals (1998 & 2006).  He also won three Silvers and (1997, 2003 & 2004) and four Bronze Medals at the Worlds (1994, 1999, 2001 & 2002).

Konstantin Mikhaylov, Bulgaria:  Mikhaylov played in net for the Bulgarian National Team in 28 World Hockey Championships.

Mike Modano, U.S.A.:  Modano entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014 and would score 1,374 Points over his NHL career.  Representing the United States, Modano was a three time Olympian (winning a Silver Medal in 2002) and a two time World Cup participant where he would take the Americans to a win in the 1996 Tournament.  He is also a Silver Medalist at the 1991 Canada Cup and he would be in the World Hockey Championship three times.  He had 41 Points over 57 Games played for Team U.S.A. on the Senior Level.

Zigmund Palffy, Czechoslovakia & Slovakia:  Palffy won a Bronze Medal at the World Junior Championships in 1991 for Czechoslovakia and would also represent them in that year’s Canada Cup.  Later representing Slovakia he would represent the new country in three Olympics (1994, 2002 & 2010), the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and was a 2002 World Hockey Champion for his country.

Miroslav Satan, Slovakia:  As a Senior, Satan suited up for the Slovakian National Team 110 times recording 86 Points.  Satan represented Slovakia in four Olympic Games, the World Cup of Hockey twice but his best work was in the World Hockey Championship where he began in Pool C in 1994 and took them as their Team Captain in 2000 to a Silver Medal.  Satan would later win a Gold (2002), Bronze (2003) and another Silver in 2012.  

Hayley Wickenheiser, Canada:  Considered by many to the greatest female hockey player of all time, Hayley Wickenheiser is a four time Gold Medalist for Canada in the Olympics and her 51 Points remains an Olympic record.  She is also a seven time World Champion.

The induction ceremony will be held in Bratislava, Slovakia on May 26.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the latest class of the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame.

It certainly is Hall of Fame season isn’t it?

The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame has announced their Class of 2019 which consists of two former players (Jason Bay and Ryan Dempster), a coach (Rob Thomson) and an Executive (Gord Ash).

From Trail, British Columbia, Jason Bay was the 2004 National League Rookie of the Year as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Bay would be an All Star the next two seasons and would go his third one as a member of the Boston Red Sox.  Over an 11 year career in Major League Baseball, he would hit 222 Home Runs with 1,200 Hits and he would win the Tip O’Neill Award three times as Canada’s top player.

Ryan Dempster is also from B.C., specifically from the town of Sechelt.  Dempster pitched in 579 Games where he went 132-133 with 2,075 Strikeouts and 87 Saves. Dempster was an All Star twice (2000 with the Florida Marlins and 2008 with the Chicago Cubs) and he would help the Boston Red Sox win the World Series in 2013.

Rob Thomson never made it to the Majors as a player but he worked his way through the New York Yankees system as a coach and in 2006 he would become New York’s First Base Coach. He is currently the Bench Coach for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Gord Ash was the Assistant General Manager for the Toronto Blue Jays back-to-back World Series wins in 1992 & 1993 and would later be the team’s General Manager for seven years.

The ceremony will take place on June 15.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the newest members of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. 

The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame has announced the members of their latest class, which consists of four former players and three contributors.

Beth Bass:  Bass was the CEO of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association from 2001 to 2014.

Carolyn Bush Roddy:  A two time AAU Champion with the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens in 1974 and 1975, Carolyn Bush Roddy was the leading scorer and rebounder for that team in both of those years.  

Joan Cronan:  Cronan was the woman’s athletic director at the University of Tennessee for 29 years and during that time the Lady Vols became powerhouses in college basketball.

Nora Lynn Finch:  Finch was a former coach who would serve on multiple committees in women’s basketball.

Ticha Penicheiro:  From Portugal, Ticha Penicheiro took Old Dominion to the 1997 NCAA Finals and professionally she would become the WNBA Rookie of the Year.  The Point Guard would spend 12 of her 15 years in the WNBA with the Sacramento Monarchs where she was a seven time Assists leader and would take the team to the WNBA Finals in 2005 where she would help them win the title.  Individually she was chosen for four WNBA All Star Teams and two First Team All-WNBA squads.  When she wasn’t playing in the WNBA she played in multiple European Leagues where she was a multi-time champion including the Polish National League (Lotos Gdynia 2001), Italian Cup (Basket Parma 2002), French National League (Valenciennes 2005), Russian National League (Spartak Moscow 2007), Latvian National League (TTT Riga 2008), Czech National League (USK Praha 2011) and the Turkish Cup (Galatasaray 2012).  Sounds like a winner to us!

Ruth Riley:  In 2001 Riley had an incredible college year where she took Notre Dame to the NCAA Championship while also winning the Naismith Player of the Year and Final Four MOP. She would play professionally in the WNBA where she led the Detroit Shock to two WNBA Championships in 2003 and 2006, the former of which saw her win the WNBA Finals MVP.  

Valerie Still:  Still played for the Kentucky Wildcats and she is still the all-time leader in Points and Rebounds.  She would win two championships in the ABL with the Columbus Quest.

The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame opened in 1999 and is in Knoxville, Tennessee.  

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate this year’s class.