I, too, had always hoped they would let Pete in the HOF. Give him an asterisk or something, like they did with Bonds. I saw Pete signing autographs outside the HOF in Cooperstown when Bill Mazeroski was inducted. I wish I had been able to wait in the line and get one, but I did not.
At a luncheon back in the day, I publicly challenged local sportscaster Stan Savran, (now deceased) who spoke at the luncheon and was vehement that Pete shouldn’t be admitted. As I was driving out of the parking lot, I saw Stan and pulled up next to him to thank him for engaging with me on the topic. Stan laughed and said, ‘I thought you were driving towards me to run me over, for Pete’s sake’. We shared a laugh, but Stan was right, I had been fuming about it.
Rest in peace, Pete.
You are a legend.
jmo