Tony Oliva falls 1 vote short for baseball Hall of Fame

Tony Oliva
Tony Oliva played his entire 15-year baseball career for the Minnesota Twins. He's pictured here as a rookie during a doubleheader on May 4, 1964.
AP 1964

The baseball Hall of Fame's Golden Era committee failed to elect any of the 10 candidates from a group whose primary contributions were from 1947-72.

The Hall announced the results Monday as the annual winter meetings began.

Tony Oliva
In this July 20, 2013 photo, Minnesota Twins great Tony Oliva acknowledges the fans as he was honored on his 75th birthday before the first inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Indians, Saturday, July 20, 2013 in Minneapolis.
Jim Mone / AP 2013

Longtime Twins outfielder Tony Oliva and Dick Allen, a former third and first baseman with several teams, each received 11 of 16 votes, one shy of the 75 percent needed for election. Jim Kaat appeared on 10 ballots, Maury Wills nine and Minnie Minoso eight.

Ken Boyer, Gil Hodges, Billy Pierce and Luis Tiant each received three or fewer votes, as did the late Cincinnati Reds general manager Bob Howsam.

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Voters who deliberated at Sunday's committee meeting included Hall of Famers Jim Bunning, Rod Carew, Pat Gillick, Ferguson Jenkins, Al Kaline, Joe Morgan, Ozzie Smith and Don Sutton; baseball executives Jim Frey, David Glass, Roland Hemond and Bob Watson; and media members Steve Hirdt, Dick Kaegel, Phil Pepe and Tracy Ringolsby.

The Golden Era Committee will next consider candidates in 2017 for the 2018 Induction year, as the process to consider candidates by era repeats on a three-year cycle, according to the Hall of Fame's website.

The pre-Pre-Integration Era committee, which considers candidates whose primary contributions were through 1946, gathers at next year's winter meetings in Nashville, Tennessee. The Expansion Era committee (1973 and later) votes at the 2016 winter meetings in Washington, D.C.

The Baseball Writers' Association of America will announce its vote Jan. 6. Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz are the top newcomers. Craig Biggio, who fell two votes short of the 75 percent needed in the 2014 balloting, tops holdovers that include Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Mike Piazza, Jeff Bagwell and Tim Raines.