Women now eligible for Hockey Hall of Fame

This deserves its own thread - the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto announced today that women can now be inducted into the hall starting in 2010.

Up to two women per year can be inducted, in addition to four men.

http://thestar.blogs.com/thespin/2009/03/fairness-delayed-but-finally-fairness.html

There are a couple of problems with this as I see it. First of all, there should not be a limit on how many people of either gender can be inducted each year. If a year comes along and six guys are deemed good enough to get in, there is no reason why anybody should have to sit out. It'll be the same when they're trying to determine the first two women - there are so many worthy candidates, why only two? If there had been limits on inductees back when the hall was just starting, I hate to think how many deserving players from the early days of hockey would have been left on the sidelines.

The second problem is, why are women to be inducted in their own category? This is just a continued marginalization of women. They should be inducted as players, builders, what have you, just like the men who have come before them. That's what the United States HHOF and the IIHF HOF have done.

It's sad that we've have to follow the examples already set by the Americans and the IIHF in finally recognizing women as good enough to be enshrined in a hall of fame - shining examples - but at least our hall is moving in the right direction at last.

A question that remains, though, is who will do the choosing? Let's make sure there is someone on the selection committee who knows and cares about women's hockey and will take seriously their responsibilities in choosing those who most deserve the honour.

 

This is certainly good news for Jaromir Jagr.......

 

Well, that didn't take long. :

Agreed on all points, JJ.

 

Well, as I understand it JJ, The four and two would apply to players, since a maximum of four players can be inducted any year, with the conventional limits of two builders and a referee/linesman still in place.

And those are maximums, so I don't think it would automatically be two women a year from this point on.

If there's a woman builder, I would assume she'd go in under that category.

 

Your understanding is correct, but I still don't see the need for limits.

 

I can understand that, certainly.

Who's the first to go in?

 

Gordie Howe's late wife, Colleen, should be at the top of the list when the first women are inducted.

Coincidentally, Mr. Hockey turns 81 today. You know, it really doesn't seem that long ago that he was a Hartford Whaler.

 

Hell, I watched him play as a Red Wing... but for you...

 

Agreed. She did far more for hockey than did her husband's ex-boss, Bruce Norris, who of course has been in the HHOF for decades.

Hell, I'd say Bruce's sister Marguerite Norris deserves to be in the HHOF ahead of him. Unlike Bruce, Marguerite actually won Stanley Cups as president of the Red Wings.

 

Bruce Norris was as worthless as balls on a statue...

 

Oh my gosh, there are so many names running through my head right now ...

Danielle Goyette, Manon Rheaume, Cassi Campbell, Cammi Granato ... Christ, Abby Hoffman has to be one of the initial inductees ... Dawn McGuire, Shelley Coolidge, Jayna Hefford, Jenn Botterill, Geraldine Heaney, Angela James, Vicki Sunohara, Jenny Potter, Gillian Apps, Angela Ruggerio, Nancy Drolet, Shirley Cameron, Sami Jo Small, France St. Louis, Kim St. Pierre ...

Wickenheiser, the second she retires ...

That's just the players ... the builders, the coaches ... it's an entirely untapped pool of people that deserve recognition.

 

Wickeheiser will have to wait the five (or is it three, I can't remember right now) years after she hangs 'em up. The hall said after their last time they waived the waiting period that it would never be waived again. And considering how long it has taken them to get to this point in actually inducting women, Wickenheiser will not be given that honour.

Goyette was the one that came to mind for me for the initial class, and Manon Rheaume should probably also get some consideration there to.