Today In Brewer History: Happy Anniversary, Eddie Mathews

On this day in 1978 the BBWAA announced that longtime Milwaukee Brave Eddie Mathews had been elected to the Hall of Fame, appearing on 301 of the collected 379 ballots (79.4%). Despite the fact that Mathews was one of ten future Hall of Famers on the ballot this year, he was the only one elected. All time greats Don Drysdale, Duke Snider and Pee Wee Reese, among others, had to wait for another opportunity.

Despite finishing his career just shy of 100 wins above replacement (98.3 rWAR), Mathews also had to do some waiting. 1978 was his fifth year of eligibility, but he had been passed over in each of the previous four seasons:

With help from Brewerfan.net and the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to:

• Huntsville Star Hainley Statia, who turns 26.
• 2002 Brewer Brian Mallette, who turns 37.
• 1998 Brewer Jeff Juden, who turns 41.
• Madison native Ken Frailing, who turns 64. Frailing played five major league seasons between 1972-76 as a member of the Cubs and White Sox.