By: E&P Staff Larry Whiteside, the pioneering Boston Globe baseball writer and columnist, will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. next July.
Whiteside was elected to the so-called "writer's wing" of the Hall by a vote of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).
He becomes the 59th sports journalist, and only the third African American, elected to the Hall. He is also the third writer from the Globe elected to the Hall.
Whiteside died June 15 of complications from Parkinson's disease. He was the first African-American beat writer at Globe, according to an account by Globe staff writer Nick Cafardo, who nominated Whiteside for the honor.
Whiteside received 203 votes from the 415 ballots cast by BBWAA members with 10 or more years of consecutive years of service.
"He was a constant, motivating force in the world of sports journalism and for African-Americans in particular, he was our Jackie Robinson," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Editor Garry Howard said, according to an account on Richard Prince's online "Journal-isms" newsletter. "What an honor, what a life. I'm truly ecstatic over this moment, because even though Larry would say humbly, 'No big deal,' it truly is, and we at NABJ (National Association of Black Journalists) can, and should, celebrate this moment loud and proudly."
In a statement, Major League Baseball Web Commissioner Bud Selig said, "He was one of the finest reporters and one of the finest people I ever encountered. He promoted baseball with his fine, fair and objective reporting for many years."
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