This magazine was apparently issued shortly after Fox's Bar Mitzvah.

Last week, we unveiled Ron Hunt as the charter member of the Hall of GRIT. This week, we turn our attention to another deserving player: Nellie Fox (BBREF | FanGraphs | Wiki).

Over his 19 seasons in the Majors, Fox amassed a reputation for being one of, if not, the best defensive second basemen in the league. Paired with the gifted defensive stylings of shortstops Chico Carrasquel and Luis Aparicio for much of his career, Fox formed the backbone of the White Sox middle infield in the 1950s and early ’60s.

Like many of history’s grittiest, Fox was as short on power as he was on height. But striking out is for those weak in constitution — and weakness, aside from his lack of muscle mass, wasn’t part of Nellie’s repertoire.

Built from bits of rusted metal pulled from a Pennsylvania scrap heap, Nellie stood in the box at 5′9″ and 150 pounds of guts and hustle. Lil’ Nell, as he was called by people standing over 69 inches in height, choked up on his big boy bat and frustrated pitchers and infielders alike, slapping pitches left and right like a strung-out Ike Turner. And, while few of the balls he put in play were hit far enough to be played by outfielders, Nellie only struck out once every 43 at-bats or so, the fourth highest AB/SO ratio of all time.

You want a first hand account? Here’s what Sports Illustrated had to say about Nellie in a preview of the 1959 World Series.

There is Nellie Fox, short and aggressive, the senior man on the team. If you are a betting man and your favorite cousin is watching a game with you, bet him that Fox hits the ball every time he swings at it. Fox bats left-handed, crouches over the plate and chokes up at least an inch on his very thick bat. His swing is short, more of a chopping motion, so most of his hits are singles. Outside pitches are blocked into left field. Pitches down the middle are stroked through the pitcher’s mound. Inside pitches are pulled to right. Fox is also a very good bunter, and it is certain he will try to lay one down at least once during the Series. When Fox is standing out at second base and there is a lull between pitches you may get a chance to see him reach into his hip pocket and mop his brow with the brightest red handkerchief in the major leagues.

Fox is an odd case in that he’s not only among the career leaders in GRIT — in fact, if comprehensive statistics were available prior to 1955, he might be the all-time leader — but also a member of the Hall of Fame.

Although baseball writers are generally big, big fans of gritty play, they’re a bit more hesitant to put the all-time grittiest players in to the Hall of Fame. Of history’s 100 grittiest, 72 have met the eligibility requirements for induction. 40 of those players, including gritty luminaries such as Ron Hunt, Jim Gilliam, and Cesar Tovar, never received a spot on the ballot. Twenty-one of the 32 players who did make it on to the ballot never survived to see a second.

So, how many gritty players have gained entrance to the Hall of Fame?

Four. Fox, Aparicio, Ozzie Smith, and Richie Ashburn.

Four inductees out of 32 possible works out to a 12.5% induction rate. This is substantially lower than the rate among all other players of 27.1% (224 out of 827). Granted, the number of gritsters in the HOF is likely to increase in years to come. Craig Biggio has earned a spot. Baseball writers love his pine tar encrusted batting helmet. We love his beady eyes, musky scent, and what he’s done to inspire advancements in the statistical scrutiny of the plunking. Omar Vizquel will get a little consideration because he caught pop-ups backwards or something.

This simply confirms what we all assumed: grittiness is a complete and utter act of selflessness. One does not pursue fame and fortune by being gritty. No, no. An excess of grit rarely results in anything more than bad knees and an early death.

Nellie Fox's stint with the Pirates in the early '80s was crucial to his bump in support among the BBWAA.

Which brings us back to Nellie Fox. A lifelong user of tobacco, Fox died of cancer in 1975. As is the case with almost anything a gritster will do, Fox didn’t get in to Cooperstown the easy way. While he received a substantial bump in votes after his death (from 21% in 1975 up to 45% in 1976), Fox’s vote share dropped to about 30% by his twelfth year on the ballot 1982.

Not one to be easily dissuaded, Nellie had an ace up his sleeve. With baseball writers defecting from his side in droves, he was forced to play it. And play it he did.

During late 1981, Fox came back from the dead in the form of “Johnny Ray,” a second baseman for the Pirates. Between 1982 and ‘83, Johnny Ray né Nellie Fox (Fox) put together some solid performances, nearly winning the ROY award and becoming the first person to ever qualify for the award twice.

Fox’s reanimation stunt apparently impressed BBWAA voters. Following 15% bumps in both 1983 and ‘84, Fox was in prime position for induction. After languishing on the ballot for 14 years, 1985 was sure to be his year. However, despite a very productive 1984, Fox received 295 votes out of 396 — 74.7%, barely missing election by two votes. Fox would wait another 12 years before the Veterans’ Committee finally called him to join the ranks of the baseball elite in 1997.

Gritty bona fides:

• 3rd all-time in career GRIT3
• 4th all-time in career DIRT3
• 60th all-time in career DTRM3
• 4th all-time in AB/SO
• League leader in GRIT3: 1955-8, 1960-2
• League leader in DIRT3: 1955, 1958, 1960, 1964
• League leader in DTRM3: 1956, 1958-9, 1961
• League leader in AB/SO: 1951, 1954-64
• League leader in SH: 1961, 1964
• League leader in HBP: 1951
• League leader in Singles: 1952, 1954-60
• League leader in CS: 1951

While Nellie had to wait 27 years before induction in to the Hall of Fame, we here at Grit Baseball are proud to announce Nellie Fox is a charter member of the Hall of GRIT. Receiving a unanimous vote, Fox joins Hunt as a member of the Hall of GRIT’s Inaugural Class of 2009.

Congratulations, Nellie.