Hall of Fame selection, any Hall of Fame, is terrific. Induction means others consider you worthy. You can't award yourself honors. You can award yourself commitment, energy, hard work, and integrity. But not honors.
What makes a Hall of Fame player? I'm not talking Olympic, Professional or even college. Get local.
Nobody can anticipate every contingency.
Graduate of the school. Come for three years, leave for prep school for a couple of years. No, we won't reward that.
High impact. You know it when you see it. Some are "no brainer" candidates. Best in class as it were. Some won't qualify because they belong in the "Hall of Very Good." Those athletes might have a basket of varsity letters and everyone remembers them as quality but not exceptional. I have a tee shirt, "the older I get the better I was." I'll never be old enough to deserve individual HoF entry.
Winners. Some belong to individual sports like Wrestling, Gymnastics, Golf, Swimming, and Track and Field. Others lead teams to league, sectional, and state championships. A few are hybrid between individual and team sports. Winning matters.
Awards and Honors. Players might be All-State, All-Scholastic, Player of the Year, All-League, or receive other awards. Should academics impact the selections? While being valedictorian or National Merit Scholar have value and could help a marginal candidate, they shouldn't push 'very good' into exceptional.
Character and sportsmanship. Character counts but admittedly it's nebulous. You shouldn't be inducted into the Hall from prison. If the player were a 'bad teammate' or 'polarizing personality', those count against you. Some players were so great (Ty Cobb), that being a total miscreant couldn't keep him out. PEDs obviously have.
Latent period. Many Halls have an arbitrary waiting period for years after graduation or finishing coaching. There's no magic number. The 'sure bet' candidate could be a first ballot entrant, but starting out, more candidates exist than slots. Even deserving candidates won't necessarily be "first ballot."
Special situations. A community may want to recognize individuals for contributions. Coaches have a separate category as do contributors which our community calls "Sideline Heroes."
Miscellaneous. Some athletes were late bloomers who had very good high school careers and then exceptional college careers. Each HoF committee weighs how much additional credit post-graduate years matters.
Politics. People have feelings. Apples are not oranges. Comparing a swimmer to a baseball player isn't rational. But committees won't want to reward one athlete at the expense of a superior one in the same sport. Athletes from eighty years ago may be 'legendary' but without readily available documentation. In Making Decisions, Ed Smith distinguishes the "deserving" (hard workers, popular) from the "exceptional." As the British National Cricket Selector, his job was to find the latter.
Practical considerations. Hall of Fame events, plaques, and so forth cost money. Donations and fund raising are always issues. Having a web presence also has costs. Our local HoF web redesign is under construction. It's going to be fantastic. It's not always up and some inductees aren't yet included.
Here's a profile of one member, a State Champion in three sports!
