1976-85
This was a decade when Hall voters were presented with — and accepted — a succession of single candidate ballots. Banks went in in 1977, Mathews in 1978, Mays in 1979, and Gibson in 1981.
All were obviously worthy, but all were also singular. The 1982 writers class only consisted of two names, but what a pair they were. Hank Aaron was the all-time home leader at the time with 755, a former MVP, a two-time batting champion, and the key figure on Milwaukee’s 1957 World Series run.
"Hit 755 home runs in 23-year career to become majors all-time homer king."From Hank Aaron's home run plaque
His enshrinement partner, Frank Robinson, echoed Aaron’s credentials. A Rookie of the Year and two-time MVP, he hit 586 home runs with a career .926 OPS.
Even the hard-to-please voters were impressed: they voted Aaron in with 97.8 percent and Robinson with 89.2 percent. It was the first time since the inaugural Hall vote that two candidates had both topped 89 percent. In the more than 40 succeeding elections, that’s only happened six more times.
1977-86 personal favorite: Ernie Banks was my childhood hero. His 1977 election stands out.