Darowski: At long last, the Deacon is in
From SABR member Adam Darowski at the Hall of Stats on July 29, 2013:
Yesterday, in front of one of the smallest Cooperstown crowds in recent memory, Deacon White was inducted into the Hall of Fame. The honor came 74 years after his death, but much better late than never.
Jerry Watkins, White’s 66-year-old great-grandson, delivered an excellent induction speech on behalf of the great barehanded catcher and pioneer. I smiled as I heard Watkins thank both Joe Williams and Peter Morris, two great people I’ve met because of Deacon.
Morris, a historian and author, was part of the 16-member Pre-Integration Era committee that inducted White (along with Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert and umpire Hank O’Day).
Williams is a longtime SABR member who has championed White’s induction for far longer than I have. Joe chairs SABR’s Nineteenth Century Overlooked Legend Committee—a committee he asked me to join a few months ago. Deacon was voted the 2010 Overlooked Legend and is now the first recipient of the award to eventually make it into Cooperstown (the 2013 winner will be announced in just a couple days).
I was pleased to hear that Joe was able to spend much of the weekend with White’s family. He even gave them a tour of the Hall of Fame. Sounds like a pretty magical weekend for not only Joe but the family. I couldn’t be happier for all of them.
Read the full article here: http://www.hallofstats.com/articles/the-deacon-is-in
Originally published: July 29, 2013. Last Updated: July 29, 2013.