In 2020 baseball lost not one but a remarkable six Hall of Famers: Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Joe Morgan, Tom Seaver, Whitey Ford and Al Kaline. This issue of LIFE remembers those great players in all the glory of their times with unmatched photography as well as extraordinary, moving narratives by a cadre of leading writers. Brock on the basepaths. Gibson throwing high and tight. Morgan revving the engine of the Big Red Machine. Seaver saving a franchise. Ford winning like no others. Kaline modeling pure excellence. Includes inside stories from the field and from the Hall of Fame.
Those We Lost 2020
LIFE Baseball Hall of Fame
THE ONE PERCENT • So long as legends live and stories are told, the Baseball Hall of Famers who died in 2020 will still be with us
STEALING THE SHOW • Both student and master of the stolen base, and a prolific hitter, he soared in the World Series—and by calling out injustice
“There are three factors to success.” • Louis Clark Brock, Hall of Fame Induction Speech, July 28, 1985
PURE HEAT • Few pitchers were more intimidating than the glowering Cardinal, whose presence could dismantle a hitter even before an at-bat had begun
“Playing baseball was my life” • Robert Gibson, Hall of Fame induction speech, August 2, 1981
MOST VALUABLE • With speed, power, and plenty of pizzazz, Little Joe (and no he didn’t mind the name) was the most productive player on one of baseball’s storied teams. And then there was his kindness
“It seemed like it went all too quickly” • Joe Leonard Morgan, Hall of Fame Induction Speech, August 5, 1990
NOBODY BETTER • Nicknamed the “Franchise” after rescuing the Mets from ignominy, the right-hander dominated hitters for years on end, a model of consistency and greatness
“The last flower in the bouquet” • George Thomas Seaver, Hall of Fame Induction Speech, August 2, 1992
MR. TIGER • Possessed of extraordinary skills and an ordinary demeanor, he delivered to Detroit a career of excellence, a stirring title, and a hero to hold on to
“Proudest moment of my life” • Albert William Kaline, Hall of Fame Induction Speech, August 3, 1980
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD • Quick with a joke, the preternaturally poised lefthander used his deep arsenal of tricky pitches to become the consummate winner of his time
“I was a Yankee fan at age five” • Edward Charles Ford, Hall of Fame Induction Speech, August 12, 1974
Photo Credits
Collectible Memories
