by: Gary Livacari

Making the Case: Cecil Travis For the Hall of Fame



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Making the Case:

Cecil Travis For the Hall of Fame

Two months ago, Michael Keedy submitted an essay for publication here on Baseball History Comes Alive highlighting the career of the Washington Senators’ outstanding shortstop, Cecil Travis. The essay was written for our ongoing series, “Basdeball’s Forgotten Stars.” Michael had no previous connection to Travis, but as he did his research for this essay, he became impressed with the accomplishments of a player he (and I) had barely heard of. The more he read about Cecil Travis, the more convinced he became that a strong case can be made that this overlooked star belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Cecil Travis

After reading Michael’s essay and our subsequent discussion, I came to agree with his assessment. Some of you may remember that two years ago, here on BHCA, we championed the cause of Gil Hodges. We like to think that our efforts played at least a small part in his eventual selection. Although this is admittedly a much longer shot, what matters is the validity of the cause. As was the case with Gil Hodges, maybe our efforts will pay off again.

I know many of you reading this may be asking, why Cecil Travis? Before you dismiss Michael’s contention out of hand, I invite you to click on this link to read his comprehensive article that makes a strong case for this outstanding ball player who was also a genuine American war hero. Then decide for yourself the merits of the case. If, after reading Michael’s essay, you come to share our opinion, then we invite you to sign the “Cecil Travis for the Hall petition” which you will find at the bottom of the page with Michael’s essay. This petition will be sent to the Classic Era Committee before it meets in December 2024,  giving us a full year to champion the cause.

Click On This Link to Read Michael Keedy’s In-Depth Essay in Support of Cecil Travis for the Hall of Fame

As an overview, consider these facts: Cecil Travis’s .314 career batting average is the third-highest of all shortstops in the Hall of Fame (behind only Honus Wagner and Arky Vaughan). It remains the highest batting average of any American League shortstop. In addition, his .370 on-base percentage is ahead of 15 of the 24 shortstops already enshrined. He was on a path to a truly great career before WWII rudely intruded upon so many dreams. When he returned four years later, battlefield injuries left him a shell of his former self.

To start things off, I also invite you to read my interview with Michael where he highlights the salient points of his interest in Cecil Travis and his contention that Cecil Travis belongs in the Hall of Fame. Following that, I hope you will take a few minutes to read Michael’s in-depth essay.

My Interview with Michael Keedy

GL:  What sparked your interest in Cecil Travis?

MK: I was writing a series of essays for Baseball History Comes Alive, featuring obscure stars of the diamond from long ago. My research led inevitably but quite unexpectedly to Cecil Travis, whom I had scarcely heard of. It was like unearthing a gold ring while raking the backyard.

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GL:  There are a lot of deserving guys not in the Hall. Why do you think his case deserves special consideration?
MK: I don’t mean to diminish other candidates, but it’s tough to imagine any others in the field more worthy than Travis. Clearly, he was on track to accumulate 3,000 hits when his career was interrupted by the war.  His lifetime average after eight years in the majors, still in ascension, stood at .327, and his overall productivity at the plate was every bit as impressive, especially considering that he labored throughout for a chronically second-division team.  Not only did Travis sacrifice four full seasons of his athletic prime to the cause of freedom, but the debilitating injuries he incurred while overseas rendered him a mere shell of the outstanding ballplayer he was before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941.   Even with a batting average that plunged to .314 in the postwar, that final number is still higher than 22 of the 24 shortstops in the Hall and the highest of any who ever played in the American League.
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GL:  Do you have any personal connection to him?

MK: No, my connection with Travis is strictly spiritual.  It’s easy to identify with one as modest, undersung, and eminently deserving as he.  His exclusion from the Hall of Fame is one of sports’ great injustices, and that alone makes this particular cause worth fighting for.

Heinie Manush, Buddy Myer, Joe Kuhl, Cecil Travis, Johnny Stone
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GL:  What do you think his chances are?
MK: Unless and until our campaign for Travis catches fire, his odds are dim and none.  Before my research project began he was virtually anonymous, even to enthusiasts of baseball history such as you and I. On the other hand, if we succeed in acquainting other appreciative students of the game with a player of his caliber, character, and integrity, I’m confident he’ll soar from little-known underdog to celebrated front-runner in less than a year.
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GL:  Why do you think he’s been overlooked?
MK: Even when he was dubbed by The Sporting News “the best shortstop in baseball,” Travis toiled on a team known for being “first in war, first in peace, and last in the American League.”  He wasn’t a hot dog; he never promoted himself, and he didn’t complain about being passed over by the Hall.  World War II took him out from under any limelight he enjoyed as a big leaguer, and when he returned after the war his ability to play this challenging game at a high level had been lost.  He went home to the family farm in Georgia, leading a quiet, contented life until he died in 2006.  Perhaps most remarkably, he doggedly refused to acknowledge his own greatness, on or off the field.
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GL:  Do you think his years lost to military service hurt him?

MK: Most definitely, his long service during the height of his physical powers cut deeply into a baseball career that was carrying him ever closer to enshrinement.  His serious injuries forced him into a premature retirement, and that was that.  In retrospect, however, I have to believe that his extraordinary service in the Armed Forces will now be recognized and appreciated as never before.  If so, it could be the catalyst needed to send him to Cooperstown.

Cecil Travis during WWII
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GL:  What about personal attributes?
MK: If “integrity, character, and sportsmanship” truly are qualities that can help to make “immortals” out of eligible baseball players, as the Hall’s criteria for induction clearly states, then Travis should be a shoo-in this time around.  As mentioned in our profile, he was voted the “favorite” among major league umpires, a clear measure of their high regard for his righteous character and outstanding sportsmanship.  He willingly, almost totally, sacrificed his athletic career for the good of his country and the cause of freedom.  I cannot think of any figure in the long history of professional baseball with greater integrity, or higher character than this heroic man.
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GL:  Do you have any thoughts on how his teammates and contemporary ball players viewed him?

MK: Ted Williams, acknowledged as one of the greatest hitters in the game, called Travis “one of the best left-hand hitters” he had ever seen.  Repeatedly but to no avail, Williams championed his induction.  So did Bob Feller, probably the most dominant pitcher in the league during most of Travis’s playing career.  In his “book” on the all-time toughest outs he had had to face, Feller listed Travis, right along with such immortals as Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Jimmy Foxx, Hank Greenberg, and Charlie Gehringer.  In my research on Travis, I also uncovered numerous quotes from his manager and teammates citing him as the best and most valuable player on the club.

Click On This Link to Read Michael Keedy’s In-Depth Essay in Support of Cecil Travis for the Hall of Fame

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Gary Livacari 

Subscribe to our website, Baseball History Comes Alive with over 1400 fully categorized baseball essays and photo galleries, now surpassing the one million hits mark with 1,135,000 hits and over 950 subscribers

 

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7 thoughts on “Making the Case: Cecil Travis For the Hall of Fame”

  2. Can’t sign on for this. Travis’ numbers are similar to Pete Runnels, also a former Senator who later played for the Red Sox. Do a comparison on Baseball Reference’s site. Pretty near identical. Plus, Pete won two batting titles and played in more All Star games. Even the most diehard Red Sox fan ( 🙋‍♂️) would never go to bat for Runnels. And he was one of my favorite players in those sad sack years of the early 60’s where the Red Sox
    were horrible.

    Granted ,Travis lost the war years and that equation perhaps May skew the comparison , but playing baseball is like playing the stock market-prior results are not a guarantee of future returns.

    I would say that Luis Tiant has more of a case. His numbers are nearly identical to Catfish Hunter’s career. While you’re in Baseball Reference’s site, also do a comparison.

    Reply

  4. Hmm. Not to strong-arm Sir Paul, whose mind on this matter seems fairly fixed, but for the benefit of other readers I want to mention these few, quick comparisons between Travis and Runnels:

    1. Travis hit a red-hot .327 in eight seasons before WWII, and closed his career with a reduced average of .314 after attempting but failing at a post-war comeback, age 33. Runnels, whose career was not interrupted, batted .291 lifetime.

    2. Travis, who had about three-quarters of the total at-bats as Runnels, outpaced Pete in slugging and OPS, scored runs at a comparable rate, collected more triples and RBIs, a nearly identical on-base percentage, and just 17 fewer doubles. Runnels led him in strikeouts, 627-to-291.

    3. All quibbling over stats aside, Travis’s four years of outstanding (and career-wrecking) service in the war help to underscore his character and integrity, two of the half-dozen criteria for enshrinement, in ways exhibited by very few other ballplayers — including Runnels.

    Our pitch for Cecil, like the standards for induction, is an attempt to evaluate the whole man, and not merely his numbers. His numbers are most impressive, standing alone — but they don’t begin to tell the entire story.

    Many thanks,

    Michael

    Reply

  5. Michael,
    Duly noted. Runnels enlisted in the Marines after graduating high school in 1945 and served for three years. The war was over by then, but he did lose three years to the start of his baseball career voluntarily. I would submit that character and integrity were part of his makeup also.

    He just missed a third batting title in 1958. He and Ted Williams were tied on the last game of the season. Williams had two hits in the final game where Pete went hit less and finished .322 to Ted’s .328
    Runnels was versatile in the field , playing 1B, 2B and 3B during his career.

    Both were good players and my post was not to besmirch Travis’ talents, but to submit that the Hall of Fame is not the Hall of Pretty Good,( even though Harold Baines is a member).

    Reply

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