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By Dan Allison
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – In upstate New York, legends are made from All-Star highlights in July and championship-winning plays in October.
But just 2,000 miles southwest of Cooperstown sits another hall of fame, where heroes are made during February and March.
With the start of spring training in Arizona, The Arizona Cactus League Association, in collaboration with the Mesa Historical Museum, is set to induct four members to their Cactus League Hall of Fame this spring. The Cactus League has been inducting members into its Hall of Fame since 2014, now housing 46 inductees.
The Hall of Fame’s exhibit, located in north Mesa just a few miles from the spring training homes of the Cubs and Athletics, tells not only the stories of such stars as Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson, but also the unsung heroes in Cactus League history.
“Back in 2014, the inductees had more to do with our founders and people who were a part of the Cactus League. We felt those people needed to be recognized,” said Jeff Meyer, Cactus League president and board member. “But it’s a wide variety. We don’t just induct players, we induct people that contribute in so many different ways.”
It truly is a “who’s who” for spring training’s most prestigious club. Names of broadcast icons such as Vin Scully and the late Bob Uecker reside among African-American pioneers of the game such as Ernie Banks and Willie Mays.
Players, announcers, founding members and even groundskeepers have joined the ranks of spring immortality.
But sporting a diverse pool of inductees prompts the question: What is the vetting process?
“We come up with a large list of potential folks,” said Susan Ricci, executive director of Mesa Historical Museum and a Cactus League Hall of Fame committee member. “I think this past year we had at least 20 names, and the committee will get the list and look into it. They can add names if you see a name that is not there as well.”
Those 20 names were cut to four in December, when the Cactus League chose to honor 2018 MLB Hall of Fame inductee Trevor Hoffman, Chicago Cubs announcer Pat Hughes, former San Francisco Giants equipment manager Mike Murphy and former Cactus League president Ron Pies during the 2025 Cactus League season.
“The Cactus League Hall of Fame recognizes those who made outstanding contributions to spring training in Arizona. Whether it was on the field, in the broadcast booth or behind the scenes, each of these individuals played an important role in the growth of the Cactus League,” Cactus League executive director Bridget Binsbacher said in a statement.
“After the voting, we get together for a discussion and then finalize it,” Ricci said. “I was able to call Pat Hughes to tell him the news, which was really cool. He was just elated. He was so happy.”
With board meetings and phone calls now finished, it is time for the festivities to begin. Once just an induction luncheon, the ceremonies have grown into a full-on stadium celebration for each recipient, with the inductees being honored before a spring training game at their respective ballparks.
“We inducted Willie Mays in 2017, my first year as president and being a part of the event. He was incredible,” Meyer said. “He had the mic at the end of the ceremony and I think people would have stayed for hours to hear him tell stories. It was fun for him to be back in Scottsdale with that experience.”
After being presented at the ceremony, a plaque of the newly inducted Hall of Fame members will head to Mesa, where it will cycle through being on display while another is sent to the recipient or the recipient’s family.
Plaques line the walls of the “Play Ball” exhibit at 2345 North Horne St., but for Ricci and the Mesa Museum, this is only a small part of the story.
“I didn’t want it to just be the Cactus League Hall of Fame because we are not big enough to be Cooperstown,” Ricci said. “We need to tell the story of Arizona baseball.”
A 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks World Series ring, a Chicago Cubs locker room door and even the ledgers of the Scottsdale hotel Willie Mays stayed in are just a few items on display.
While the Cactus League Hall of Fame grows in size, the museum looks to do so as well. A renovation of an old auditorium next door is in the works for the “Play Ball” exhibit to have its own official space, officially making it Arizona’s only history museum for baseball.
The Mesa Historical Museum hopes to begin renovations later this year, ideally opening the baseball museum in time for spring training in 2026. The first of the 2025 ceremonies is set for March 8, when Mike Murphy will be honored at Scottsdale Stadium.
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