1915 Hall of Fame Inductions
Commissioner
Phinieus "Doc" Victory announced the week before the 1915-16 Winter Meetings that the Arizona League Hall of Fame would have its first class of inductees.
"These three men have been true pioneers for our league and are worthy Hall of Famers in every sense of the word," Victory said.
Here's the list:
Outfielder Danny Green (1901-1914)
One of the league's pioneers, Green played his entire career for the Prescott Antelopes, helping lead them to five Arizona League championships. Green is third on the current career list in hits (2,288), seventh in batting average — minimum 2,000 at-bats (.299), third in RBIs (1,076), fifth in triples (141) and seventh in runs scored (1,019).
Green stole 420 bases, won the 1911 Big Stick Award and was voted to 11 All-Star games. He batted .270 in 75 playoff games for 'Lopes. He once had a hitting streak of 31 games back in 1911.
His 244 hits in 1911 and 154 RBIs is still a Northern League record. He batted .385 that season, still a Prescott record.
Leftfielder Ginger Beaumont (1901-15)
Another draftee from the original 1901 pool, Beaumont spent his entire career in Payson. He finished with 2,341 career hits (moving ahead of Green in his final season for second on the all-time list). Beaumont had 1,060 runs (fifth all-time), 964 RBIs (eighth all-time), 887 walks (sixth all-time) and 127 triples (14th) .
The man could flat get on base — and get home. He was a four-time All-Star and a three-time Field General Award winner. His final batting average was .287, and he hit .256 in 40 post-season games.
Pitcher Doc White (1901-15)
White concludes his career with a 270-198 career record (third-best all-time for career wins). He wasn't necessarily a strikeout pitcher, but he was solid at keeping runs down (2.78 ERA). And he was Mr. Endurance on the hill, throwing 387 complete games (sixth-best in the Arizona League) and 46 shutouts (tops in the league).
White threw two no-hitters in his career, both for Carefree. The first was in 1909 and the second in 1912. He earned Top Hurler honors for the Northern League in 1907, compiling a 28-13 record for the Blues with a 2.17 ERA. He was an eight-time winner of the Field General Award.
Left off the list for now is long-time Jerome IF
Nap Lajoie, the first player chosen in the 1901 draft. His name may pop up again in future Hall of Fame discussions, however...