November 15th, 2021 at 8:30 am 
by Ron Cervenka If you were anywhere near Dodger Stadium during the 1960s and early ’70s and you heard “Go! Go! Go!” echoing throughout Chavez Ravine, it meant only one thing – speedy Dodgers shortstop Maury Wills was on first base but would soon steal second base … and often times third. In fact, during the 1962 season, the then 29-year-old Washington, DC native stole 104 bases to set a new modern era single-season stolen base record, topping the previous record of 96 set by Hall of Famer (a clue) Ty Cobb in 1915.
Wills’ record stood for 12 years until broken by Hall of Famer (a clue) Lou Brock in 1974, who stole 118 bags. The current modern era record is 130, set by Hall of Famer (a clue) Rickey Henderson in 1982.
The burning question is, of course, why isn’t the now 89-year-old Wills enshrined in the sacred Halls of Cooperstown along with fellow base thieves Ty Cobb, Lou Brock, and Rickey Henderson?
Wills finished his 14-year MLB career with a slash line of .281/.330/.331/.661 and slashed a near-identical .281/.331/.332/.663 in his 12 seasons with the Dodgers. He also finished it with a combined 586 stolen bases in 794 attempts for a Hall of Fame-worthy success rate of 73.80%. He was a seven-time All-Star, a two-time Gold Glove winner, and was the National League MVP and Player of the Year in 1962. His combined 586 stolen bases rank 20th on MLB’s all-time stolen base list, and his 490 stolen bases as a Dodger remains a franchise record.
Well, guess what? The extremely popular and well-respected Wills, who can still often be seen around Dodger Stadium, gets another shot at baseball immortality. He, along with fellow former Dodgers Gil Hodges, Dick Allen, and Ken Boyer, are among the 10 candidates on the Golden Days Era ballot to be considered for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as the Class of 2022.
The Golden Days Era Committee considers candidates from 1950–69. The Hall will also consider 10 candidates on the Early Baseball Era ballot from players who played prior to 1950. The Committees will meet during the 2021-2022 MLB Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida, December 5-9. Candidates must receive 75 percent of the votes, which means 12 votes from the 16-member committee, to earn election into the Hall of Fame. Candidates receiving the requisite number of votes will be inducted into the Hall on July 24, 2022.
(Photo courtesy of PristineAuction.com)
Wills spent nearly 10 seasons in the Dodgers minor league farm system. He was 27 when he finally received his call-up to The Bigs in 1959.
Here’s your shot to finally get it right, guys. Don’t blow it … again.
Play Ball!
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Here’s hoping both Gil Hodges and Maury Wills make it this time.
DAMN! TEN years in the minors. You have to think that in today’s game the Dodgers would have brought Maury up in half that time. Imagine how many stolen bases he’d have had if he’d spent the majority of his twenties in the majors!
If each era’s stolen bases leader is already enshrined in Cooperstown then Wills belongs there too despite his later life drug issue. Hopefully he is enshrined in his lifetime. GO! GO! GO!
Yes Maury should be there along with Don Newcombe. The HOF has not been kind to our Dodger hall of famers. The politics of the past elections have created a legacy of shame for those in charge. But whether they get voted in or not their accomplishments and their character will not be forgotten.