Saturday, November 28, 2015

HALL OF FAME #38: JOHN "POP" LLOYD: CLASS OF 1977

Next up in our “Hall of Fame Inductees” thread is another Negro Leagues great, one of the best shortstops to ever suit up, John “Pop” Lloyd.
Check out the card I whipped up:


Jumping around from team to team since, as he put it, “wherever the money was, I went”, he played for no less than ten organizations during his Hall of Fame career, batting a cumulative .343 as far as recirds show.
Referred to as the “Black Honus Wagner”, he also played in the Cuban League between Negro League stints (and even during off-seasons) for 12 seasons, hitting a combined .329 there as well.
He finally got the recognition he deserved when the Negro League Committee elected him into Cooperstown’s hallowed halls in 1977, securing his place in baseball history.