When Hall of Fame Voters consider candidates for induction, they usually start with the “Hardware” (awards) that a player collected. Here is the list of awards that Munson accumulated in his 11-year career:
Awards
- 1970 Rookie of the Year Award and 1976 AL Most Valuable Player trophy (until Aaron Judge, Munson was the only Yankee to win both awards)
- Finished in the top ten in MVP voting in two other seasons
- Named 1976 American League Player of the Year by The Sporting News
- Selected America League catcher of the decade in the 1970s by The Sporting News in 1998
- Named to Seven All-Star appearances (six straight from 1973-1978)
- Named to The Sporting News Baseball Manager’s Clutch Player All-Star teams of 1977 and 1978
- Three Gold Gloves
- Unanimously selected for induction into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame (NYSBHOF) in 2019 -the nation’s premiere state baseball hall of fame
Intangibles-
While statistics and awards tell a story, they do not paint the complete portrait of a player’s contributions to the game of baseball. They do not tell us what the player meant to his team, if he was a leader or a selfish player, did he inspire his teammates to play better or what opposing players think of him. Statistics do not inform voters about a player’s impact on the game.
Not surprisingly, today’s Hall of Fame voters look at intangibles such as leadership when evaluating candidates. Indeed, when Scott Rolen and Joe Mauer were recently elected to the Hall of Fame, the commentary emphasized their leadership skills.
Thurman Munson’s legacy transcends statistics. When he joined the Yankees, the franchise had endured it worst consecutive six seasons in its history. Munson had an immediate impact on the team. In his first full season in 1970, the Yankees won 93 games and unexpectedly finished second in the American League eastern division to the world champion Baltimore Orioles. In 1972, Munson’s Yankees competed for the pennant race until mid- September. In 1973, his Yankees occupied first place during mid- summer for six weeks before fading towards the end of the season. In 1974, Munson led his team into first place in September and they occupied that slot until game 154 when they were finally overtaken by the Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees were not eliminated until the next to last day of the season. In 1975, the Yankees surged into first place in June but then a series of injuries caused the team to fall out of contention.
Munson played a major role in the resurgence of the Yankees. Munson was the first captain of the Yankees since Lou Gehrig. He was the heart and soul of the championship Yankee teams of the 1970s . Carlton Fisk has been quoted as saying “The resurgence of the Yankees as winners was due to one man’s efforts in particular, and that man was Thurman Munson.”
Munson’s death ended the Yankees championship run. The Yankees would not win another world championship until 1996 when they were led by another Munson-like leader, Derek Jeter. Reggie Jackson was quoted in “Out by a Step: The 100 Best Players Not in the Baseball Hall of Fame” by Shalin and Shalin as saying that had Munson been alive in 1980 and 1981, the Yankees would have won two more world series championships. Former Oriole Ken Singleton told Yankee Magazine in 2019, Munson was a “legacy-type player. He was one of those players that fathers would talk to their sons about, even when the sons never saw him play, or grandfathers would talk to their grandsons about, even though the kids might not have seen him play. What a competitor he was.” The attached Appendix contains testimonials from former teammates of what he meant to his team and what contemporaries thought of him.
Thurman Munson continues to have an impact in his hometown. In 1978, Ohio Governor James Allen Rhodes presented Thurman with the prestigious “Ohio Governor’s Award.” Later that year, The National Father’s Day Committee selected Munson was among others as “Father of the Year,” in honor of his “dedication to family and charity.” In 1993, Munson was voted into the Greater Akron Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993 and to the Kent State All-Time Baseball Team in 2014. The City of Canton recently undertook a $5 million renovation of Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium.
Munson donated to several charities during his life including the Easter Seals and the ARHC New York City Foundation which funds programs for children and adults who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. Since 1980, the Thurman Munson Awards dinner has been held each year in NYC and has raised over $20 million to support AHRC programs.
Thurman Munson has inspired two separate college scholarship funds: The Thurman Munson Scholarship Fund presented by the J Babe Stearn Boys and Girls Club awards $2000 scholarships annually to Stark County graduating baseball or softball playing seniors going on to college students. The winners portray three qualities of Thurman Munson which made him a hometown hero: love of family, love of community, and leadership both on and off the field. The Stark Community Foundation established the Thurman Munson Memorial Scholarship to assist Stark or Summit County high school seniors who are members high school varsity baseball or softball teams. Applicants must demonstrate scholastic aptitude for advanced education and need for financial assistance.
Thurman Munson was the kind of man who exemplifies the character, integrity and sportsmanship criterion that has long been a part of the formal rules for election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.