By Dan Schlossberg One of the most stringent standards for Hall of Fame considerations is whether a candidate changed the game. Maury Wills certainly qualifies. In his 14-year career, Wills was a seven-time All-Star who won three World Series rings, two Gold Gloves, and an MVP trophy. He revolutionized the use of speed as a vital part of the offense, stealing a then-record 104 bases in 1962. That broke Ty Cobb’s record of 96, which had stood for 47 years. Neither Babe Ruth’s nor Hank Aaron’s home run records lasted that long. When Wills was in the minors, Spokane manager Bobby Bragan would make frequent calls to Dodgers GM Buzzie Bavasi urging his promotion to the majors. "Bobby would call six times a day and tell me over again how Wills had learned to switch-hit and how he was a great team leader, off and on the field, and how I was absolutely nuts if I didn't bring him up right away," Bavasi said. Wills was finally promoted to the majors in June of 1959 after batting .313 in 48 games for the Pacific Coast League club. He never looked back. A switch-hitter who led the National League in stolen bases six years in a row, Wills hit .281 with 586 steals. He would have had more except for his late start; he was 26 when he arrived in Los Angeles. Wills parlayed his speed into several championships for the Dodgers, starting in his very first season. The ‘59 Dodgers finished in a tie with the Milwaukee Braves, then won the first two games of an unscheduled best-of-three pennant playoff. The banjo-playing shortstop even supplemented his then-meager baseball salary by singing and cutting records during the off-season. Wills spent 12 years with the Dodgers, sandwiching his stints around stops in Pittsburgh and Montreal. He later managed the Seattle Mariners. Like Lou Whitaker, Maury Wills was a star infielder who somehow got overlooked by the Hall of Fame. It’s an oversight that needs to be corrected. Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ writes baseball for forbes.com, USA TODAY Sports Weekly, Sports Collectors Digest, Memories & Dreams, and others. Contact him at ballauthor@gmail.com.
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