Cubs Hall of Fame analysis by decade

The Chicago Cubs have selected 56 players to be in the Cubs Hall of Fame. Let’s just right into the interesting part. What eras got the most attention.

The tally by decade:
1870s: 2 members
1880s: 5
1890s: 5
1900s: 11
1910s: 11
1920s: 13
1930s: 15
1940s: 13
1950s: 13
1960s: 14
1970s: 17
1980s: 14
1990s: 5
2000s: 2
2010s: 0
2020s: 0

The 1960s Cubs, AGAIN?

When I initially saw the member list, I admittedly grew tired of seeing all the players from the 1960s dominate. But when I broke down the stats, the 1970s (17 members) has the most.

1980s Cubs

The 1980s seemed fared well too. But the 1980s list has people like:

• Jack Brickhouse (1940-1981)
• Yosh Kawano (1943-2008)
• Lou Boudreau (1958-1987)
• Ferguson Jenkins (1966-1983)
• William Wrigley III (1977-1981)

I don’t think of Jenkins as a player from the 80s. Yosh Kawano was the Clubhouse Manager for many years, so he pads an extra stat onto all the decades going back to the 1940s.

The real 1980s list is:

• Bill Buckner (1977-1984)
• Lee Smith (1980-1987)
• Harry Caray (1982-1997)
• Ryne Sandberg (1982-1997)
• Rick Sutcliffe (1984-1991)
• Greg Maddux (1986-2006) (These are the years listed on Maddux’s plaque. They are misleading. It should really be 1986-1992, 2004-2006)
• Andre Dawson (1987-1992)

2000s Cubs

The only Cubs after 1998 is Greg Maddux and Yosh Kawano. Again, Yosh Kawano being the Clubhouse Manager. Thus, according to the Cubs HOF, the greatest Cub since 1998 is Greg Maddux. In his three years of 2004-2006, he was 38-37 with 4.27 ERA.

But really? No other Cub player since 1998 in the Cub HOF? Just so hard to believe.

No Kerry Wood, Carlos Zambrano, Derek Lee, Aramis Ramirez. I guess they are leaving it open to vote them into the Hall in future years, so there’s more to celebrate during these years when the Cubs aren’t winning.

For reference, here’s the complete list of players. Then we’ll jump into who is missing from the Cubs all-time leaders in home runs, WAR, wins, and strikeouts.

The complete list

This list is sorted by the player’s first year as a Cub. (The years are what is shown on each Cubs official plaque. Some are incorrect, like Greg Maddux.)

William Hulbert	1876	1882
Albert Spalding	1876	1902
King Kelly	1880	1886
John Clarkson	1884	1887
Jimmy Ryan	1885	1900
Bill Lange	1893	1899
Clark Griffith	1893	1900
Frank Chance	1898	1912
Joe Tinker	1902	1916
Johnny Evers	1902	1921
Frank Schulte	1904	1916
Mordecai Brown	1904	1916
Ed Reulbach	1905	1913
Orval Overall	1906	1913
Heinie Zimmerman	1907	1916
Hippo Vaughn	1913	1921
William Wrigley Jr	1916	1932
Grover Alexander	1918	1926
Gabby Hartnett	1922	1940
Charlie Grimm	1925	1960
Joe McCarthy	1926	1930
Hack Wilson	1926	1931
Riggs Stephenson	1926	1934
Charlie Root	1926	1941
Margaret Donahue	1926	1958
Kiki Cuyler	1928	1935
Rogers Hornsby	1929	1932
Billy Herman	1931	1941
Stan Hack	1932	1956
Pat Pieper	1932	1977
PK Wrigley	1934	1953
Phil Cavarretta	1934	1953
Jack Brickhouse	1940	1981
Andy Pafko	1943	1951
Yosh Kawano	1943	2008
Hank Sauer	1949	1955
Ernie Banks	1953	1971
Lou Boudreau	1958	1987
Billy Williams	1959	1974
Ron Santo	1960	1973
Don Kessinger	1964	1975
Glenn Beckert	1965	1973
Ken Holtzman	1965	1979
Leo Durocher	1966	1972
Randy Hundley	1966	1977
Ferguson Jenkins	1966	1983
Rick Reuschel	1972	1984
Bruce Sutter	1976	1980
William Wrigley III	1977	1981
Bill Buckner	1977	1984
Lee Smith	1980	1987
Harry Caray	1982	1997
Ryne Sandberg	1982	1997
Rick Sutcliffe	1984	1991
Greg Maddux	1986	2006
Andre Dawson	1987	1992

Hitters missing from the Cubs Hall of Fame

Of the Cubs top ten HR hitters all-time, four are not in the Cubs Hall of Fame:

#1: Sammy Sosa (1992-2004)
#6: Anthony Rizzo (2012-2021)
#7: Aramis Ramirez (2003-2011)
#9: Bill Nicholson (1939-1948)

Of the Cubs top 20 offensive WAR all-time, nine are not in the Cubs Hall of Fame:

#1: Cap Anson
#7: Sammy Sosa
#12: Bill Nicholson
#13: Mark Grace
#16: Bill Dahlen
#17: Aramis Ramirez
#18: Anthony Rizzo
#19: Ned Williamson
#20: Kris Bryant

Of the Cubs top ten OPS, six are not in the Cubs Hall of Fame:

#2: Sammy Sosa
#3: Ray Grimes
#4: Derrek Lee
#5: Aramis Ramirez
#6: Kris Bryant
#9: Bill Madlock

Of the 25 Cubs who played the most games, 9 are not in the Cubs Hall of Fame:

#2: Cap Anson
#9: Mark Grace
#10: Sammy Sosa
#16: Bill Nicholson
#19: Anthony Rizzo
#21: Shawon Dunston
#23: Tom Burns
#24: Aramis Ramirez
#25: Woody English

Of the 20 Cubs with the highest WPA/LI, 8 are not in the Cubs Hall of Fame (WPA/LI is a stat for clutch hitting)

#2 Sammy Sosa
#5 Mark Grace
#7 Anthony Rizzo
#11 Bill Nicholson
#12 Aramis Ramirez
#13 Kris Bryant
#13 Derrek Lee
#16 Leon Durham

Pitchers missing from the Cubs Hall of Fame

The top ten Cubs pitchers with the most strikeouts… five are not in the Cubs Hall of Fame:

#2: Carlos Zambrano (2001-2011)
#3: Kerry Wood (1998, 2000-2008, 2011-2012)
#7: Bill Hutchison (1889-1895)
#9: Larry Corcoran (1880-1884)
#10: Bob Rush (1948-1957)

Of the Cubs top ten most winning pitchers all-time, four are not in the Cubs Hall of Fame:

#3: Bill Hutchison (1889-1895)
#4: Larry Corcoran (1880-1884)
#6: Guy Bush (1923-1934)
#9: Bill Lee (1934-1943, 1947)

Of the Cubs top 20 pitching WAR all-time, 11 are not in the Cubs Hall of Fame.

#5: Bill Hutchison (1889-1895)
#6: Pete Alexander (1918-1926)
#9: Carlos Zambrano (2001-2011)
#12: Bob Rush (1948-1957)
#13: Claude Passeau (1939-1947)
#14: Lon Warneke (1930-1935, 1942-1943, 1945)
#16: Larry Corcoran (1880-1884)
#17: Bill Lee (1934-1943, 1947)
#18: Bill Hands (1966-1972)
#19: Kerry Wood (1998, 2000-2008, 2011-2012)
#20: Kyle Hendricks (2014-2021)

The Cubs I’d like to see in the Cubs Hall of Fame

Retired Cubs that should be in the Cub HOF

• Sammy Sosa (1st in HR, 2nd in WPA/LI)
• Carlos Zambrano (2nd in strikeouts)
• Kerry Wood (3rd in strikeouts)
• Derrek Lee (4th in OPS)
• Aramis Ramirez (5th in OPS, 7th in HR)
• Mark Grace (5th in WPA/LI, 9th in games played)
• Shawon Dunston (since 1976, 2nd in triples)
• The Shawon-o-Meter guy

Active players that should eventually be in the Cub HOF

• Anthony Rizzo (6th in HR, 7th in WPA/LI)
• Kris Bryant (6th in OPS)
• Javier Baez
• Jake Arrieta
• Jon Lester
• Kyle Hendricks (he could still build up some stats with the Cubs)

Who would you like to see in the Cubs Hall of Fame?

» Leave a comment below.

Source

I manually typed into a spreadsheet all the years from the Cubs Hall of Fame plaques. Here’s a screenshot of my spreadsheet and how I calculated the numbers per decade.