in 1951, below the 75% threshold. Heilmann died before action could be taken on the proposed special election, but on January 31, 1952, the National Baseball Hall of Fame announced that Heilmann would be inducted that summer, having garnered 203 of the 234 (86.75%) votes cast. He was represented by his widow at the induction ceremony in July 1952. Heilmann has continued to be recognized as one of the greatest players in the history of the game. Significant honors include the following: In 1969, Heilmann was selected in fan voting as one of the three outfielders (Ty Cobb and Al Kaline were the others) on the all time Detroit Tigers team. In 1994, fellow Hall of Fame slugger Ted Williams rated Heilmann as the 17th best overall hitter of all time. In 1999, Heilmann was ranked 54th on The Sporting News list of 100 Greatest Baseball Players. In 1999, he was selected as one of the 100 greatest players as part of the voting process for Major League Baseball's All-Century Team. See also List of Major League Baseball batting champions List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders List of Major League Baseball doubles records List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders List of Major League Baseball career triples leaders List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders List of Major League Baseball career total bases leaders References External links 1894 births 1951 deaths American League batting champions American people of German descent American people of Irish descent Baseball players from Detroit Baseball players from San Francisco Cincinnati Reds coaches Cincinnati Reds players College football announcers Deaths from cancer in Michigan Deaths from lung cancer Detroit Tigers announcers Detroit Tigers players Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball right fielders National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Portland Beavers players Portland Colts players Radio personalities from Detroit Radio personalities from San Francisco San Francisco Seals (baseball) players