ASSEMBLY STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION No. 232

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MARCH 17, 2021

      The Assembly State and Local Government Committee reports favorably Assembly Resolution No. 232.

      This resolution respectfully urges the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum to induct Joan Whitney Payson into the Hall of Fame.

      Mrs. Payson was instrumental in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB) from the 1950s to the 1970s.  Following the New York Giants’ decision to move the franchise to San Francisco in 1957, Mrs. Payson, who was a minority stakeholder at the time, sold her stake in the team and spearheaded an effort to create a new franchise for New York City.  In 1962, Mrs. Payson co-founded the New York Mets to compete in the National League of MLB.  Mrs. Payson would serve as the team’s president from 1962 to 1975.  She was the first woman to buy majority control of a team in a major North American sports league.

      Mrs. Payson was deeply involved in all aspects of the franchise and much admired by the team's personnel and players.  In 1969, in just their 8th season in existence, the Mets would win their first of two World Series Championships.  The 1969 team became known as the “Miracle Mets” because of their perceived underdog status against the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles.  Mrs. Payson continued to serve as president of the Mets until her death in 1975.

      Despite the numerous contributions by women to the game of baseball, only one woman, out of 333 total inductees, has been inducted into the Hall of Fame.  The Golden Days Era Committee of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was established in 2016 to consider Hall of Fame candidates whose primary contributions to the game came from 1950 to 1969.  Mrs. Payson’s contributions to Major League Baseball during that period make her more than qualified for induction through the Golden Days Era Committee, which next meets to consider candidates in the fall of 2021.  Based off of these qualifications, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and the Golden Days Era Committee should strongly consider and ultimately induct Joan Whitney Payson as part of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022.