Four Elected to St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame

The St. Louis Cardinals announced on Wednesday afternoon that Jim Edmonds, Willie McGee, Marty Marion, and Mike Shannon were elected into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.
Image provided by the St. Louis Cardinals
The four will be members of the first induction class since the Cardinals Hall of Fame opened on Opening Day. Induction ceremonies will be held on August 16, 2014.

“We are proud to enshrine this elite group of Cardinals whose outstanding achievements have earned them the honor of permanently joining the greatest names in Cardinals history in our Hall of Fame,” Bill DeWitt Jr., Cardinals Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement. “We congratulate each of them on this tremendous honor and look forward to celebrating their achievements in August during Induction Weekend.”

To be eligible for the Cardinals HOF, one must have played at least three seasons while wearing the Birds on the Bat and have been retired as a player for at least three years. In addition to modern players, veteran players must be retired for 40 years prior to their induction.

The Cardinals Hall of Fame Gallery presented by Edward Jones is located on the second floor of Cardinals Nation in Ballpark Village. The gallery is free and open to the public. Matthews International produces the plaques for the Cardinals Hall of Fame and the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

There were 22 members of Inaugural Class to be inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame. They were either enshrined in Cooperstown or saw their number previously retired by the Cardinals. Those members are: Jim Bottomley, Ken Boyer, Lou Brock, Jack Buck, August A. “Gussie” Busch Jr., Dizzy Dean, Frank Frisch, Bob Gibson, Chick Hafey, Jesse Haines, Whitey Herzog, Rogers Hornsby, Tony La Russa, Joe Medwick, Johnny Mize, Stan Musial, Branch Rickey, Red Schoendienst, Enos Slaughter, Ozzie Smith, Billy Southworth and Bruce Sutter.

The 2014 class is the first class that will be inducted by a formal process that includes fans, baseball experts, and the Cardinals.

“We want to thank our fans and the Red Ribbon Panel for choosing an outstanding first induction class,” Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III said in a team statement. “It wasn’t easy to make a selection from a list of the truly greatest players in team history.”

The initail ballot was selected by a Red Ribbon Panel of Cardinals baseball experts through a secret ballot process. The names were then presented online to fans to cast their votes over a seven-week period. McGee and Edmonds were the top vote-getters during the online vote.

Marion was elected by the Red Ribbon Panel. The late shortstop was named the 1944 National League Most Valuable Player and selected to seven All-Star teams. During his 11 years in a Cardinals uniform, Marion was a member of three World Series championship teams in 1942, 1944, and 1946.

The club also retained the right to select an important figure in team history should their contributions to the franchise warrant induction. This year, the club selected Mike Shannon. Shannon has been involved with the club as a player or broadcaster since he first signed with the Cardinals.

The 2014 Cardinals Hall of Fame Red Ribbon Panel: Tom Ackerman, Frank Cusumano, Derrick Goold, Rick Hummel, Randy Karraker, Martin Kilcoyne, Jenifer Langosch, Tony La Russa, Bernie Miklasz, Joe Ostermeier, Rob Rains, Red Schoendienst, Joe Strauss and Brian Walton.