| Birthdate | 5/11/1921 |
| Death Date | 1/25/2007 |
| Debut Year | 1946 |
| Year of Induction | |
| Teams | BBWAA |
| Position | Writer |
From 1966-1988, Jack Lang of the BBWAA was responsible for counting the votes for HoF elections and notifying men of their election.
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Jack Lang began his Hall of Fame career as a baseball writer covering the Dodgers in 1946 with the Long Island Daily Press the year before Jackie Robinson‘s big league debut. The Brooklyn native was on the Dodger beat until they left for Los Angeles after the ’57 season. Lang covered the Yankees for the next few years until the National League expansion Mets began play in 1962.
For the first 23 years of the Mets franchise Lang was in the press box detailing every move the Metropolitans made. Five years into his run with the expansion franchise, he was named the secretary-treasurer of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). The role entrusted Lang with tallying Hall of Fame votes and notifying those who made it.
It was Lang’s voice that newly minted baseball immortals first heard when they got the Hall call. From Red Ruffing to Willie Stargell, every player voted in by the writers from 1966 through 1988 got the good news from Jack Lang.
In 1986, Lang earned the highest honor a baseball writer can receive when he was awarded the JG Taylor Spink Award for “meritorious contributions to baseball writing”. When Lang – who was also a contributor to The Sporting News for 20 years – retired he remained near the game, contributing a weekly column for ESPN SportsTicker.
In the collection is Jack Lang’s business card with the ‘Ticker autographed by the Hall of Fame sportswriter.
In the collection is this envelope sent by Philadelphia Athletics owner Connie Mack and addressed to Hall of Fame baseball writer Jack Lang. Postmarked April 11, 1953 from Philadelphia, the envelope hopes to find Lang as the Sports Editor of the Buffalo Courier-Express.
The letter inside that came with it is shown in the next image. Postmarks are valuable tools that help with authentication for collectors.
In this instance the return address stamp reads, “American League Base Ball Club of Philadelphia”, and has the same US mail post mark as is dated on the accompanying letter. Mix in that the envelope is addressed to Lang in writing consistent with that of Mack, and the provenance is clear.
Legendary manager Connie Mack writes to Jack Lang in this letter of 1953. The Athletics owner clarifies some of the choices of players for the Carstairs Whiskey baseball promotion of the 1940s.
Mack lent his name to the company that made banners heralding “Connie Mack’s All Time Team“. The skipper names a player at each position. Though Mack certainly had the qualifications to pick an all time team – he started playing in 1886 and had managed until the banners were made in the ’40’s – it appears others made some of the choices for the team.
“…I did not pick (Pie) Traynor and George Sisler,” Mack writes. “The sport writers picked the team that you wrote…I did pick George Sisler at one time. I never have picked Traynor at third. I was in favor of Corcoran who was a Buffalo man.”
Mack appears to be humoring Lang, the editor of the Buffalo paper at the time.
Though Mack correspondence is quite prevalent in the hobby, this piece stands out. The majority of Mack’s handwritten letters are on hotel or personal letterhead. This one is on the ornate stationary of the Philadelphia Athletics. That, along with the postmarked envelope nearly guarantee its authenticity.
Ninety years old at the time he wrote this, Mack mentions two of the game’s great corner infielders. Hall of Fame writer Lang must’ve been pleased to receive the letter.
The rest of the players chosen for the banner as as follows: pitchers Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, catchers Bill Dickey, Mickey Cochrane, first base George Sisler, second base Eddie Collins, third base Pie Traynor, shortstop Honus Wagner, leftfield Ty Cobb, centerfield Tris Speaker, and of course Babe Ruth in rightfield.
In 1930 the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of American created the William J. Slocum Award. The honor is given each year to a person judged to have long and meritorious service to the game.
A quick glance at the list of recipients reveals a who’s who of the games greats. Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, Stan Musial, and Willie Mays head a list of more than 50 Hall of Famers who have won the award.
The New York scribes gave the award to Jack Lang in 2001. Nine years later the NY BBWAA updated the title of the award to include Lang’s name.
Today the William J. Slocum/Jack Lang Award remains one of the most prestigious the game has to offer.
In the collection is the Slocum Award given to Vin Scully in 1995.
Jack Lang’s illustrious career wound down by the time he was a guest columnist for ESPN SportTicker starting in 1989. Lang regularly wrote a Sunday baseball column for the outfit before retiring completely in 1997.
Collector Jim Smiley whose baseball autographs are featured on this site also worked for the ‘Ticker. There he overlapped with Lang for five years from 1993 through 1997. Smiley covered Dodger home games, the World Baseball Classic, and the Winter Meetings in his time with ESPN from 1993-2009.
The Bill Slocom Award is one of the most prestigious awards baseball has to offer. The little-known honor has been given to more than 50 members of the Hall of Fame.
Read More >"Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball…"
~Jacques Barzun, 1954
