National Baseball Hall of Fame Posthumous Inductions and Rookie Cards
The 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies were - as they nearly always are - magical. The latest line of historic players gets the ultimate honor of joining other greats that were inducted before them.
But there was something off about the inductees voted in by the Classic Baseball Era Committee. Dick Allen and Dave Parker both got their long overdue recognition, the only problem is they were both dead.
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Hall of Fame voters have for a long time mystified the public. For instance, this year there was a voter who left Ichiro off their ballot. Way worse, however, was that Allen missed entering the Hall of Fame twice by one vote. In 2014 he fell one vote short, waiting another six years for consideration, he again missed out by one vote, even though he died just a few months before voting in 2020.
He had to wait - rather, his family had to wait - another four years until he made the cut.
Dick Allen's Hall of Fame plaque made the journey to Philadelphia on Saturday as Willa Allen and the @Phillies celebrated his legacy. pic.twitter.com/dClY2RP3oh
— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) August 3, 2025
The Hall of Fame honors these men with induction; it certainly is a great honor for their families, but it misses the mark. Dead men would rather attend their inductions, and honor comes in life, while remembrance comes in death. The Hall of Fame voters must do a better job of honoring legendary players while they are alive.
It’s as if death convinces voters that the players belonged all along. Death is the price of admission. Here we look at the rookie cards of recent posthumous Hall of Fame inductees.
Dick Allen (Inducted 2025, Died in 2020)
Allen fell short of induction in 2005 and 2007, not considered again until 2015, when he fell one vote shy. He again fell one vote shy in 2022. He finally received the votes in 2024 for the Class of 2025.
In 2005, he received 14% of the vote from what was then called the Veterans Committee. He was below players like Maury Wills, Vada Pinson, Luis Tiant, Roger Maris, and Ken Boyer.
In 2007, he received one fewer vote, registering only 13% of the 75% needed to gain induction. He was again below the aforementioned players. But something remarkable happened.
In voting for the 2015 Hall of Fame, the Veterans Committee was disbanded for the Golden Era Committee, and the number of voters trimmed from 80 to 16. Allen received 11 out of 16 votes, falling just shy. But he bypassed Tiant, Boyer, and Wills, while also tying or surpassing Tony Oliva, Jim Kaat, Gil Hodges, and Minnie Minoso.
The aforementioned names are important to remember because in voting for the 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame class, all of those players gained induction while Allen remained one vote shy.
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Dave Parker (Inducted 2025, Died in 2025)
In his 15th and final year on the BBWA ballot, Parker received 15.3% of votes in 2011. Parker needed 75% for induction.
His candidacy circulated again in 2014 by the Expansion Era Committee, though he did not receive the requisite support. In 2018, the Modern Baseball Era Committee gave Parker fewer than seven on the necessary 12 votes. Again in 2020, the Modern Baseball Era Committee gave Parker 7 out of 16 votes. His candidacy seemed dead.
But in 2024, Parker received 14 votes from the Contemporary Baseball Committee. He gained induction ahead of players like Tommy John, Ken Boyer, Steve Garvey, and Luis Tiant. By this time, Parker’s health was in poor condition. He passed away on June 28, 2025, just one month shy of the induction ceremonies on July 27th.
Minnie Minoso (Inducted 2022, Died in 2015)
For years, Minnie Minoso was one of the biggest Hall of Fame snubs. He was a historic player as a Black Latino, breaking barriers while also putting up Hall of Fame stats.
Minoso fell short of the Hall various times, including in 2005, 2007, 2012, and 2015. His candidacy wasn’t considered until voting for the Class of 2022 began, when, with him no longer alive, he led the Golden Days Era Committee with 14 out of a possible 16 votes. Minoso made the Hall along with Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, and Tony Oliva.
The Hall of Fame voters inducted Kaat (83 years old at the time) and Oliva (84 years old) while they were alive; and still are.
HOFer Minnie Miñoso was born OTD in 1923. In 1976 got his final hit at age 52. pic.twitter.com/um9mdWDzyh
— Stirrups Now! (@uniformcritic) November 29, 2024
Buck O’Neil (Inducted in 2022, Died in 2006)
In 2006, Buck O’Neil came under consideration for induction under the Committee on African-American Baseball. The committee reviewed the careers of 39 pioneering figures of the Negro Leagues and the era defined as pre-Negro Leagues. Seventeen of the 39 candidates made the Hall of Fame on Feb. 27, 2006, but O’Neil was not one of them.
He passed away later that year in Oct. 2006. O’Neil was not considered again until 2022, when he gained entry into the Hall of Fame. O’Neil had long been snubbed, especially by the Committee on African-American Baseball, because he was such a rich and knowledgeable voice pertaining to baseball history and especially the Negro Leagues.
Marvin Miller (Inducted in 2020, died in 2012)
Marvin Miller fell one vote shy of the Hall of Fame in 2011 as determined by the Expansion Era Committee. He died in 2012.
Miller was the first executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. He held the role from 1966 to 1982.
In 1966, the average MLB salary was $19,000. By the end of his tenure in 1982, the average salary was $326,000. He also ushered in the end of the reserve clause, thanks to Curt Flood. The reserve clause kept players under team control even after their contracts had expired. Miller was a historic sports figure in the labor movement.
After falling short of induction in 2011, he posthumously fell short again in 2014 2018 but made it in for the 2020 Class.
Horacio is an avid sports card collector and writes about trending card auctions and news across several major hobby sites, including Sports Collectors Daily and Collectibles on SI.
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