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The 1944 Major League Baseball Hall of Fame Class saw two players inducted, both getting in on their sixth attempt. 3B Franz Bolt received 77.2% to get in, while SP Dee Walters squeaked in at 66.4%, just above the 66% threshold required to get in. 3B Brantley Lloyd on his second ballot barely missed it at 64.5%. 2B Kenny Goldman on his fourth try got 59.3%. CL Noah Pugliese, 1B Israel Bishop, and RF Jake Nicholson were the others above 50%.



Bishop was dropped after his 10^th try at the Hall and hovering around the 50% mark most years. The Grenadan first baseman peaked at 58.5% on his fourth try. He played with New Orleans, Atlanta, and Minneapolis and won American Association MVP in 1922. Bishop’s stats were 2218 hits, 1144 runs, 385 home runs, 1245 RBI, a .312/.368/.527 slash and 64.8 WAR.

Also making his 10^th ballot and falling off was RF Boswell Lindsey, ending at 7.7% and peaking at 24.7% on his second try. Primarily with Tampa in his 18 years, he had 2465 hits, 1317 runs, 513 home runs, 1525 RBI, and 60.9 WAR. Another notable who only made it to his eighth ballot was RF Jonathan Goldstein. He was a two time MVP and had a 56 and 52 home run season in his first two full seasons, finishing with 567 homers on 2553 hits and 68.7 WAR. Despite that, he peaked at 23.7% on his first try.



Franz Bolt – Third Baseman – Nashville Knights – 77.2% Sixth Ballot

Franz Bolt was a 5’11’’, 195 pound third baseman born in Weiden in the southeast state of Bavaria in modern Germany. He’s the first German-born MLB Hall of Famer, moving to America as a teenager and playing college baseball at Vanderbilt. Bolt was a great contact hitter with solid gap power and excellent baserunning skills, although he had average at best speed. He played essentially his entire career at third base and was considered a below average fielder.

Bolt had a great college career at Vanderbilt, finishing second in the 1915 NCAA MVP voting. Despite that, he wasn’t picked until the fourth round of the 1915 MLB Draft, picked 155^th overall by Nashville. He immediately became a solid starter, earning 1916 Rookie of the Year. He spent seven seasons with the Knights and apart from a terrible 1920, was a solid contributor throughout his run. With the Knights, he put up 26.0 WAR and 1248 hits.

Nashville was a bottom-rung team in Bolt’s run and in 1923, he left and signed a five-year deal with Denver. In his third year with the Dragons in 1925, he had career bests in average (.348), WAR (.7.0) and RBI (114) and was the American Association Championship MVP, helping Denver to their first World Series title. He took second in overall MVP voting, his only time getting that close. This would be Bolt’s only time getting to play postseason baseball, but he earned a ring.

Despite all of the positives, Bolt decided to opt out of his Denver contract hoping for a big payday. He signed with the New York Yankees and during that run, picked up his 200^th career hit, 1000^th RBI, and 1000^th run. He got his second Silver Slugger in 1927. His four years with the Yankees had his highest career WAR with one team at 26.9, but New York never made the playoffs.

Bolt again opted out early and signed a big deal with Vancouver for the 1930 at age 35. Unfortunately, his production fell off hard in his time with the Volcanoes. In his four years there, he earned his 3000^th hit; the ninth player to cross that threshold.

The final line: 3062 hits, 1568 runs, 484 doubles, 375 home runs, 1485 RBI, a .299/.360/.468 slash and 76.5 WAR. Very solid career totals, but he was never a league leader or powerhouse. That, plus his lack of a signature run with one team kept him on the outside in the initial Hall of Fame voting. He barely missed on his fourth try at 65.7%, but finally crossed the 66% threshold at 77.2% to earn his spot in the MLB Hall of Fame.



Dee Walters – Starting Pitcher – Hartford Huskies – 66.4% Sixth Ballot

Dee Walters was a 5’10’’, 185 pound right-handed pitcher from West Haven, Connecticut. Walters wasn’t a dominant pitcher, but was considered pretty well rounded overall. He peaked at 94-96 mph velocity with four pitches; an extreme groundballer with a sinker, splitter, changeup, and curveball. Walters was reliable and considered a well-liked leader in the clubhouse.

Walters played college baseball at Northwestern and was drafted 44^th overall in the 1916 MLB Draft by Hartford. The Huskies kept him in the minor league in his first two seasons as a pro and part of his fourth season, as the Huskies were a top team in the Eastern League. They were the 1920 National Association champ and remained a winning team in Walters’ tenure, but would only make the playoffs once more in his run.

In his time with the Huskies, Walters was 148-111 with a 3.34 ERA, 1650 strikeouts over 2392.2 innings, and 48.0 WAR. After being a good, not great starter for most of his run, he had a career year in 1928 at age 32 with 7.8 ERA and 2.62 ERA, placing him third in Pitcher of the Year voting.

Deciding to sell high, Hartford traded Walters to Houston for prospects. In his one season with the Hornets, Walters won his lone Pitcher of the Year with 8.4 WAR, 20-0 record, 3.20 ERA and 20 complete games. He got rocked in his one postseason start, then opted to try free agency. Walters signed a four-year deal with San Diego.

He put up four strong seasons with the Seals, putting up 23.7 WAR with a 73-45 record and 3.15 ERA. After the 1933 season at age 38, Walters said it was time to call it quits to pursue other things. His final line was 241-165, 3.27 ERA, 3762.1 innings, 2527 strikeouts, 315 quality starts out of 483 and 80.1 WAR. His lack of dominance hurt him with some Hall of Fame voters, although he was always above 50%. His fifth try he got to 63.8%, finally crossing the 66% threshold at 66.4% in his sixth go and earning induction.