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 Hulbert18761882
Albert Spalding18761902
King Kelly18801886
John Clarkson18841887
Jimmy Ryan18851900
Bill Lange18931899
Clark Griffith18931900
Frank Chance18981912
Joe Tinker19021916
Johnny Evers19021921
Frank Schulte19041916
Mordecai Brown19041916
Ed Reulbach19051913
Orval Overall19061913
Heinie Zimmerman19071916
Hippo Vaughn19131921
William Wrigley Jr19161932
Grover Alexander19181926
Gabby Hartnett19221940
Charlie Grimm19251960
Joe McCarthy19261930
Hack Wilson19261931
Riggs Stephenson19261934
Charlie Root19261941
Margaret Donahue19261958
Kiki Cuyler19281935
Rogers Hornsby19291932
Billy Herman19311941
Stan Hack19321956
Pat Pieper19321977
PK Wrigley19341953
Phil Cavarretta19341953
Jack Brickhouse19401981
Andy Pafko19431951
Yosh Kawano19432008
Hank Sauer19491955
Ernie Banks19531971
Lou Boudreau19581987
Billy Williams19591974
Ron Santo19601973
Don Kessinger19641975
Glenn Beckert19651973
Ken Holtzman19651979
Leo Durocher19661972
Randy Hundley19661977
Ferguson Jenkins19661983
Rick Reuschel19721984
Bruce Sutter19761980
William Wrigley III19771981
Bill Buckner19771984
Lee Smith19801987
Harry Caray19821997
Ryne Sandberg19821997
Rick Sutcliffe19841991
Greg Maddux19862006
Andre Dawson19871992

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:

: 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:

: 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.

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2 thoughts on “Cubs Hall of Fame analysis by decade”

  1. Oh nuts. I didn’t have Rick Sutcliffe checked for the 1990s column. The count for the 1990s should be 5, instead of 4.

  2. How does Starlin Castro rank with the Cubs all-time? When you look across 44 offensive categories, the highest Starlin Castro ranks in any Cub stat is 12th — and that is double plays grounded into. Then the next highest ranking is 19th — for strikeouts. 

    Oh snap. I already blogged about this in 2015 when he was traded to the Yankees. I came to the conclusion that Castro is a top-40 all-time Cub. Huh. 

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