ST. LOUIS, Mo., May 22, 2020 – In a televised special on FOX Sports Midwest this evening, the St. Louis Cardinals announced that Tom Herr, John Tudor and Bill White will be inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame. This is the seventh induction class since the team dedicated the Cardinals Hall of Fame with an inaugural class on Opening Day in 2014. Details regarding a formal induction ceremony for the 2020 Induction Class will be announced at a later date.
Chosen by the fans, Tom Herr and John Tudor were the top two-vote getters in the Cardinals Hall of Fame online balloting presented by Edward Jones. The ballot, which also included Cardinals legends Steve Carlton, Keith Hernandez, Matt Morris, Edgar Renteria and Lee Smith, was selected by a Red Ribbon committee of St. Louis baseball experts through a secret ballot process. Cardinals fans cast a record 113,000 votes over the nine-week voting period.
In addition to nominating modern players for fan balloting, the Red Ribbon Committee also elected Bill White, a veteran player, for induction using a secret ballot process. White, a Gold Glove first baseman and African-American pioneer, was a starter for the Cardinals from 1959-1965 and returned to finish his career in 1969. The 1964 World Champion would later become the first black president of a major sports league when he was named National League President in 1989.
“Selecting the members of the Cardinals Hall of Fame Induction Class is one of our organization’s greatest traditions,” said Bill DeWitt Jr., Cardinals Chairman and CEO. “We thank the over 100,000 fans and our Red Ribbon Committee who cast their votes for this year’s induction class and look forward to celebrating the achievements of these remarkable players with Cardinals Nation very soon.”
The St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame was established as a way to recognize the exceptional careers and significant achievements of the greatest players in Cardinals history, as well as those who have made exceptional contributions to the organization. To be eligible, players must have played for the Cardinals for at least three seasons and must be retired as a player from Major League Baseball for at least three years. The eligible pool of players is divided into two categories of “modern players” and “veteran players”. If a player retired more than 40 years prior to the induction year, he is classified as a veteran player.
Each member of the Cardinals Hall of Fame is permanently enshrined in the Cardinals Hall of Fame Gallery presented by Edward Jones that is located on the second floor of Cardinals Nation in Ballpark Village, just outside the entrance to the Cardinals Museum. The Hall of Fame Gallery is free and open to the public. Fans can visit cardinals.com/HOF for more information. #CardsHOF
The following is a description of each Inductee’s career as a Cardinal:
Tom Herr (Modern Era Player — Fan Selection)
Years: 1979 – 1988 .274/.349/.354, 1021 H, 179 2B, 31 3B, 498 R, 152 SB (1029 Games)
Making his debut the same night Lou Brock clubbed his 3,000th career hit, Tom Herr made his mark on one of the most popular eras of Cardinals baseball. He led the National League in both fielding percentage and assists as a second baseman in 1981 and finished in the top-three in double plays turned in six of his 10 seasons in St. Louis. Herr’s finest offensive season came in 1985 when he was named to the All-Star team and finished fifth in NL MVP voting after finishing in the league’s top-ten in on-base percentage, batting average, hits, doubles, runs batted in and walks. That season he had 110 RBI and only eight home runs, making him the last player in NL history to reach 100+ RBI with less than 10 HR. A fan favorite of the Whiteyball era, Herr may best be remembered for hitting a 10th inning walk-off grand slam against the New York Mets on “Seat Cushion Night” at Busch Stadium, resulting in thousands of fans hurling their cushions onto the field.
John Tudor (Modern Era Player — Fan Selection)
Years: 1985 – 1988, 1990 62-26, 2.52 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 22 CG, 12 SHO, 881.2 IP (125 Games Started)
During his five seasons in a Cardinals uniform, John Tudor accumulated a .705 winning percentage and 2.52 ERA over 125 starts, both of which still stand as all-time Cardinals records (minimum 750.0 IP). The left-hander’s finest season came during his first year with the club in 1985 when he won 21 games (including a mind-blowing 20-1 record after June 1) with a miniscule 1.93 ERA and 10 complete game shutouts, and finished second in National League Cy Young voting. A member of two National League pennant-winning teams in 1985 and 1987, Tudor had a 3.16 ERA over nine post-season starts for the Cardinals. Tudor would go on to win at least 10 games in each of the four full seasons he pitched for the Redbirds and remains the only pitcher to reach double-digit shutouts in a single season in the last 45 years.
Bill White (Veteran Era Player — Red Ribbon Panel Selection)
Years: 1959 – 1965, 1969 .298/.357/.472, 1241 H, 209 2B, 140 HR, 843 R, 870 RBI (1113 Games)
Acquired via trade two weeks before the start of the 1959 season, Bill White would go on to spend the next seven years in the Cardinals starting lineup. The left-handed first baseman was named an All-Star in five of those seven seasons, and was part of the all-Cardinals starting infield in the 1963 All-Star Game. After setting career highs in batting average (.324) and OPS (.868) in 1962, White returned with an even better year in 1963, establishing career bests in hits (200, runs (106, home runs (27) and RBI (109). The next year, White finished third in NL MVP voting after putting up another 20+ HR and 100+ RBI season as the Cardinals won their first World Series title in 18 seasons. In addition to his prowess at the plate, White earned six consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 1960-1965. While playing for the Cardinals, White worked part-time for KMOX, a precursor to him becoming the first African-American play-by-play broadcaster for a major league team in 1971 and the first African-American president of a major sports league (National League President) in 1989.
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