Have any Hall of Famer chosen to go into the Hall, not as a member of any of the teams they played for?

Question

or more than one of them?

Answer 1

Although players do not get to pick their hat anymore (thanks to the likes of Boggs and Winfield), a number of players chose not to wear any team's emblem in the Hall, and although I can't think of all of them at the moment, I do remember Catfish Hunter being one. I remember when I was a kid and he was supposed to choose and he couldn't so he said he didn't want any team's emblem on his plaque, he said he felt equal about the Yanks and the A's.

PS, I don't understand Alan's answer since he says "no, the hall decides" (which is true now, but not then) then lists a bunch of decisions made by players, which he is correct on, except for Boggs. Boggs wanted to go in the Hall as Devil Ray (not a Yankee) because the Rays were paying him $200,000 to do it, which led to (along with Winfield taking the highest bidder on his teams) the Hall deciding THEY pick what hat the players wears, but before that, the player was allowed to pick. Winfield was actually fielding offers from the Jays and Indians, who he played with for a season or two, which basically wrecked it for the players who now get voted in the hall.

Answer 2

Why would they do that? And they can't anyways.

Answer 3

No, the HOF decides what team to use, it is supposed to be your primary team.

The Hall has also recently changed its stance regarding team membership. Although all the teams for which a player played are usually listed in the text of the plaque, most are depicted wearing the cap of one specific team. The rules of the Hall indicate that the player will be depicted wearing the cap of his "primary" team. Although the Hall always had the final decision-making power regarding which cap would appear, for many years the Hall deferred to the wishes of players for whom more than one team could fit the description of "primary" team, and allowed each player in that category to choose the cap which would appear on his plaque.

When Catfish Hunter entered the Hall of Fame in 1987, he could not choose between either of the teams for which he played — the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees — as he had been successful with both teams. Hunter's plaque shows him wearing a cap without a logo.

Nolan Ryan, born and raised in Texas, entered the Hall in 1999 wearing a Texas Rangers cap on his plaque, although he spent only five seasons with the Rangers, and had longer and more successful tenures with the Astros (nine seasons, 1980–88) and Angels (eight seasons, 1972–79). Ryan's only championship was as a member of the Mets in 1969. Ryan finished his career with the Rangers, reaching his 5000th strikeout and 300th win, and throwing the last two of his record-setting seven career no-hitters.

Another notable case was Reggie Jackson, who chose a New York Yankees cap over an Oakland A's cap. As a member of the Kansas City/Oakland A's, Jackson played ten seasons (1967-75, '87), winning three World Series (1972, 1973, 1974) and the 1973 AL MVP Award. While he played just five years in New York (1977-81), winning two World Series (1977-78), Jackson's crowning achievement came as a Yankee, when he hit three home runs on three consecutive pitches in the decisive Game 6 of the 1977 World Series.

Carlton Fisk went into the hall with a Boston Red Sox cap on his plaque in 2000 despite playing with the Chicago White Sox longer and posting more significant numbers with the White Sox. Fisk's choice of the Red Sox was likely because of Fisk being a New England native as well as his famous walk-off home run in Game Six of the 1975 World Series with which he is most associated.

In light of rumors that teams were offering number retirement, money or organizational jobs in exchange for the cap designation,[9] in 2001 the Hall decided to change the policy on cap logo selection. Although the decision-making process would be a mutual responsibility, the Hall, not the players, would have the final say in such matters.

Gary Carter, inducted in 2003, was the first to test this new policy; he won his only championship with the 1986 New York Mets, and wanted his induction plaque to depict him wearing a Mets cap, even though he had spent twelve years (1974-84, 1992) with the Montreal Expos as opposed to five (1985-89) with the Mets. The Hall of Fame decided that his plaque would instead show Carter with an Expos cap.

Wade Boggs was in a similar situation; his only championship was as a member of the 1996 New York Yankees, for whom he played from 1993-97, but his best career numbers were posted during his eleven years (1982-92) wearing the Boston Red Sox uniform. Boggs would eventually be depicted wearing a Boston cap for his 2005 induction, despite his acrimonious relationship with Red Sox management.

Answer 4

I don't think that's possible. There are probably rules in place saying a player has to choose a team he played for.