Four with Giants ties on Bay Area Sports HOF ballot

SAN FRANCISCO -- Pitchers Dave Dravecky and Mike McCormick, former owner Bob Lurie and ex-manager Alvin Dark are the nominees with Giants connections who appear on the 2014 ballot for the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame (BASHOF).

Besides maintaining the local sports shrine, BASHOF, a non-profit organization, helps Bay Area youngsters play sports through contributions from numerous donors.

Dravecky was named to the "contemporary" ballot, reserved for athletes whose careers occurred since 1981. He spent only three seasons with the Giants (1987-89), but starred in one of the most dramatic events in franchise history when he overcame cancer in his throwing arm to pitch eight innings in a 4-3 victory over the Reds on Aug. 10, 1989. Dravecky fractured his humerus bone in his next start, which turned out to be his final Major League appearance.

Dark and McCormick made the "veteran" ballot, consisting of nominees whose careers preceded 1981. Dark, a three-time All-Star shortstop with the New York Giants during the 1950s who's still alive at 91, managed both San Francisco and Oakland into the World Series, winning the title with the A's in 1974. McCormick became the Giants' first National League Cy Young Award winner when he finished 22-10 with a 2.85 ERA in 1967. Among the franchise's San Francisco-era (since 1958) pitchers, he ranks third in complete games (77) and fourth in wins (104), shutouts (19) and innings (1,741 1/3).

Lurie was nominated in the "distinguished achievement" category. He helped prevent the Giants from leaving San Francisco in 1976 by playing a principal role in purchasing the franchise from Horace Stoneham, who was prepared to sell the team to Toronto investors. Lurie strove to improve conditions for fans at Candlestick Park and tried to find the Giants a new Bay Area home, but four ballpark ballot measures failed. Having exhausted his options, Lurie agreed to sell the Giants to a group that would have moved them to Tampa-St. Petersburg following the 1992 season. Then Peter Magowan, as Lurie did 16 years earlier, led a successful effort to keep the Giants in San Francisco.

Of BASHOF's 150 inductees, 11 served as a player, coach or manager with the Giants -- Vida Blue, Orlando Cepeda, Will Clark, Juan Marichal, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Lefty O'Doul, Gaylord Perry, Dave Righetti, Bill Rigney and Frank Robinson.

Winners in each category are expected to be announced in January. The annual enshrinement banquet is scheduled for May 7 at San Francisco's Westin St. Francis Hotel.