If the title of this post in anyway comes off as a slight of Gene Autry, or his prowess as a baseball man, then I apologize, and concede to it being cheap humor at that.*

The OC Register and AP report that Gene Autry is amongst this year’s candidates for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The former and original owner of the Angels is part of a special “executives and pioneers” ballot that includes several other team owners as well.

Autry bought the expansion Angels in 1960, persuaded to do so by the management who were impressed by him buying the exclusive radio rights to the team. The OC Register’s Angels blog writes:

Autry was the Angels’ owner from the franchise’s inception in 1961 until his death in 1998, bringing many star players to Anaheim with his willingness to spend (particularly in the early years of free agency) — but only three division titles and no World Series appearances in that time.

The results of the Angels blog poll question: “Should Autry be in the Hall of Fame” are falling resoundingly in his favor.

Autry also served as Vice President of the Amercian League from ‘82 until he died. In ‘92, the Angels retired the #26 in his honor - baseball teams keep a 25-man roster, I think you can figure out why they gave Autry 26.

A 12 person committee of Hall of Famers, baseball writers and current and former executives will vote on the nominees, and the results will be released on Dec. 7. Separate voting and different committees decide the players’ and coaches’ ballots. Funny how it took Gene Autry for me to bother to figure out how Hall-of-Fame voting is decided.

*That disclaimer seemed necessary, given the wide readership of metalheads on this site.

(some information found via Wikipedia)